One of the more fascinating but less talked-about storylines from Tuesday’s Hard Knocks debut was a particular tête-à-tête concerning Ezekiel Elliott.
HBO cameras rolled as Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy and executive vice president Stephen Jones were discussing the star running back’s conditioning at the start of training camp — a hot-button issue at Oxnard.
“I don’t even think we should run him this whole camp,” McCarthy told Jones, via The Athletic. “He’s up there in carries career-wise. He’s in much better shape this year than last year.”
Elliott arrived in Oxnard at a svelte 216 pounds, down about 10 lbs. since his maligned 2020 campaign during which the three-time Pro Bowler totaled a career-low 979 rushing yards and tied for a personal-worst six touchdowns.
The results, noticeable.
The impetus, evident.
“Cleaned up the diet a little bit, little bit different training — definitely made an emphasis to get lighter coming into the season,” Elliott told Fox Sports’ Erin Andrews amid last week’s Hall of Fame Game.
Labor bore fruit; Elliott looks slimmer and appears to be playing faster in camp, an extra spring in his step. Perhaps this was by design. Perhaps the $90 million was told he needed to drop a few pounds. Perhaps, instead, the weight loss is a conscious effort to proverbially shed last season’s skin.
That his handlers are reticent to “run him,” however, is no surprise. McCarthy told the NFL world long before Dallas’ debut on the silver screen.
“We’ve got Tony Pollard, and Rico [Dowdle] has looked good,” he said last month, via SB Nation. “We’ve got some younger guys who can play and produce, so it’s not necessary for Zeke to run the ball 25-30 times a game. When you get to December, January football, you want him to be in top form to be able to run the ball 25-30 times if needed.”
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Less Preseason = Increased Rust?
In their latest mailbag, David Helman and Rob Phillips of the Cowboys’ official website were posed an intriguing question: Is there a correlation between Elliott’s typically limited preseason usage and his “slow starts” at the beginning of the regular season?
“Last year was obviously a tough season by Zeke’s standards, but I wouldn’t say slow starts have been a trend his entire career,” Phillips wrote in response. “In 2017 he was dealing with the league suspension and last year the pandemic was a factor in everybody’s preparation. As McCarthy said on the show, he’s come into camp in terrific shape. And I do think it’s important to monitor a running back’s preseason work. The Cowboys did the same thing with Emmitt Smith back in the day and they’ve actually done that with Zeke going back to his rookie year.”
Added Helman: “It’s theoretically possible, although I would point out that Zeke did play in the preseason as a rookie and still struggled out of the gate. For me, it’s just about risk versus reward. It’s unfortunate if Zeke needs a week or two to get things going, but that’s a heck of a lot better than losing him for an extended period of time during a meaningless game. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but I just don’t see it as a big enough problem to take too much risk.”
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Mike McCarthy, Stephen Jones Caught in Curious Ezekiel Elliott Conversation