Cowboys Need to Modify Game Plan for Ezekiel Elliott

The Dallas Cowboys have made no secret that Ezekiel Elliott is the centerpiece of their offense.

The game plan every week features a ton of Zeke left, Zeke right, Zeke up the middle. Recently the team has even added Zeke catch and run.

Elliott gets a ton of work week in and week out, but why fix what ain’t broke, right? Elliott has led the league in rushing in two of his first three seasons and has earned a reputation as one of the league’s top running backs.

First-year offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has expressed an interest in slowing down Elliott’s load, but it sounds unlikely that it’ll happen.

“At the end of the day, we want to get him as many touches as we can. At the same time, you got to recognize what a 16-plus game season is,” Moore told reporters. “We’ll see how it progresses (with the other RBs), but if we can get it to Zeke, we’re gonna get it to Zeke.”

That’s nice and all, but at his current pace, Elliott might be closer to a burning out star than a shooting one. If the Cowboys are really interested in keeping Zeke in a Cowboys’ uniform long term, his workload needs to be slowed.

Bob Sturm of The Athletic put together a list of offensive touches since Elliott entered the league in 2016. Elliott is far and away the leader with 1,078 touches. Rams running back Todd Gurley is the next closest at 1,031, but no other running back even breaks 900. Chargers’ RB Melvin Gordon is third at 890.

That’s not to mention Elliott missed six games during his second season due to a suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, which stemmed from a domestic violence incident. Add those carries in there and Zeke would be well ahead of the field.

Dan Graziano of ESPN recently said that a long-term deal for Elliott is not among the team’s top priorities this offseason, with both Amari Cooper and Dak Prescott in more urgent need of deals, as they both could hit the free agent market following the season. The team picked up Elliott’s fifth-year option this offseason, keeping him through 2020 with  the possibility of still adding a franchise tag on top of that to buy another season.

The team has said all the right things about wanting to keep their bell cow in the backfield for the long haul. But could it just be a ruse to not pay top-dollar for a position that sees the steepest drop off once physical wear and tear takes its toll?

“Certainly we’ve got a couple years there with Zeke to get that done,”  Cowboys COO Stephen Jones told the PFT PM podcast following the draft when asked about an extension for Elliott. “We certainly want to get him done. He’s the straw, if you will, that stirs our drink. He’s a key part of what we’re about. Those things take time to get done. They don’t happen overnight. Certainly he’s a priority in terms of ultimately getting him signed. There hasn’t really been a timetable put on this.”

Tony Pollard and Mike Weber are behind Elliott on the depth chart, but it’s unlikely either of them could end up shouldering the massive role Zeke currently occupies in the offense. Heck, even as a duo it’d be hard. Elliott had over 20 carries in seven games last season, and recorded five or more catches in nine games.

Maybe Elliott does end up signing a long-term deal before camp that keeps him in Dallas and he establishes himself as one of the Cowboy greats. But there’s also a chance that doesn’t happen, which will likely leave the former top-five pick mulling where he draws the line on his workload with his longevity and future earning-ability potentially at risk.

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