Getty Dallas Cowboys Running Back Ezekiel Elliott
When it comes to fantasy football, Ezekiel Elliott is the undisputed No. 1 option.
Sports Illustrated’s Michael Beller released his list of the “Top 300 Players for 2019” and the Dallas Cowboys running back was the top overall pick, cruising ahead of New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara and New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley.
Elliott has been a fantasy monster since entering the league, leading the NFL in rushing in two of his first three seasons.
He burst onto the scene by going for 1,631 yards and 15 touchdowns as a rookie, and did it again last year with 1,434 yards and six touchdowns. Even in a year where he missed six games due to a suspension, Elliott still nearly managed 1,000 yards rushing, finishing 17 yards short.
Here’s what Mike Tagliere of FantasyPros had to say of Zeke.
“If you wanted to select Elliott at No. 1 overall, you shouldn’t feel guilty or bad about it. In fact, he should probably be the favorite to finish as the top running back considering the lack of competence in the Giants offense. Elliott has played 40 regular season games in his career and delivered RB2 or better numbers in 92.5 percent of those games, which is actually better than Le’Veon Bell’s 91.9 percent. Elliott is as safe as they come.
The fantasy knock on Elliott in his first two seasons could have been his lack of pass catching, but he added that wrinkle to his game in 2018, hauling in 77 passes for 567 yards and three scores. His previous high was 32 catches during his rookie season.
What fantasy players can also take solace in if they take Elliott No. 1 overall are the comments from Cowboys’ first-year offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore. While Moore has expressed a desire to try and taper Elliott’s workload a bit, it still sounds like the reigning rushing camp will be a very busy man on game days.
“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,” first-year Cowboys offensive coordinator 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.”
At No. 30, Amari Cooper is the next-highest Cowboy on the list and fellow Cowboys pass-catcher Michael Gallup snuck just inside the top 100 at No. 99). Quarterback Dak Prescott landed at No. 105 and first-year Cowboys Randall Cobb came in at No. 206. The Dallas Cowboys Defense is No. 249, followed by kicker Brett Maher (No. 254), veteran TE Jason Witten (No. 285), and rookie RB Mike Weber (No. 295).
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