Getty Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said Ezekiel Elliott won't be asked to carry too big a load.
Once the draft had passed and it dawned on the Cowboys that a running back had not fallen into their laps as they’d hoped, the move was obvious: Dallas needed to fill a hole in the backfield and former Cowboys great Ezekiel Elliott needed a job. The Cowboys locked him up on a minimum contract. It was a win for sentimentality.
But was it really a win on the field for the Cowboys, who dropped Elliott a year ago because it was clear he just was not effective anymore? He had an uninspiring season playing for a terrible Patriots team, and now it appears the Cowboys will call on him to head a committee that also features Rico Dowdle, 2022 sixth-rounder Deuce Vaughn and newly signed Royce Freeman.
The Cowboys have downplayed the idea that the team will lean on Elliott as the lead back. But the other trio in the committee combined for 727 yards last year on a total of 184 carries. These are not exactly workhorse numbers. Elliott had 642 yards on 184 carries.
According to Bleacher Report, this all sets up a very regrettable situation for the Cowboys.
Cowboys Made a ‘Risky’ Move
Indeed, Elliott was not the same running back in 2022 when Tony Pollard essentially swiped his job as the Cowboys starter. He showed flashes, but on the whole, he was no better with the Patriots in 2023. Thus, in an article titled, “10 Draft Picks, Trades, Signings from 2024 NFL Offseason That Teams Will Regret Most,” B/R analyst Kristopher Knox highlights the decision to bring back Elliott.
“The Dallas Cowboys’ decision to bring back Ezekiel Elliott wasn’t risky, it was a flat-out head-scratching move,” Knox wrote.
“No one should be particularly excited about Elliott’s return. The 28-year-old has lost most of the burst he showcased early in his career and has seen his efficiency dip dramatically over the last two years. He averaged 3.8 yards per carry with Dallas in 2022 and just 3.5 yards per carry last season with the New England Patriots. The Cowboys simply aren’t likely to field a quality rushing attack this season, which is a big problem.”
How much a problem it will be can be debated. The Cowboys’ running game was middle-of-the-pack in 2023, putting up 1,920 yards, which was 14th in the NFL. Yet Dallas led the league in points and was fifth in total yardage. They can withstand a mediocre running game if Dak Prescott shines like he did in the 2023 regular season.
Ezekiel Elliott Will Not Be Asked to Be a Workhorse
But, do the Cowboys even have enough to be middle-of-the-road? Given the lack of proven production in the rest of the lineup, this could all end up with the team relying heavily on Elliott. Coach Mike McCarthy was asked about Elliott having to be a workhorse for the Cowboys.
“I don’t think that’s fair,” he said. “What do you mean? The guy carried the ball more than anybody in the history of football in the first couple of years. That’s not going to be his role, we’re a running back by committee. He’ll definitely play at the level that he’s played at in my time here. I anticipate that. I don’t see any drop off in the way he moves.”
Elliott has as sterling a resume as a Cowboys running back as just about any in franchise history.
He led the league in rushing as a rookie, and again in his third season, and led the NFL in yards per game for his first three years, at 108.7 yards, 98.3 and 95.6. He scored 68 touchdowns in seven seasons. His drop-off was considerable over the past two years, though. The Cowboys are counting on him to turn that around.
They might regret that, though.