I want to see what Dallas does at running back in the next 48 hours. Are they going to use a notable draft pick on the position? Or will they instead opt to bring back Ezekiel Elliott?
Drafting Bijan Robinson seems like a Jerry Jones move. He hit it big with Emmitt Smith and Elliott in the past. And Robinson played his college ball at Texas. I could see Jones going down that path. Recall that he had to be talked out of picking Johnny Manziel.
But rolling it back with Elliott, I think, is also a possibility. He’s not what he was a few years back, of course, but he’s only 28. It could make some sense to bring him back at a reduced rate, using him in a tandem with Tony Pollard. There have been suggestions of that possibility coming out of the front office, and Dak Prescott says he’d like to see Elliott return.
When he comes to punching in goal-line touchdowns or moving the sticks on key third down plays, Elliott can still do it. Twenty times last year they used him when they needed 1 yard to either score a touchdown or keep a drive alive on third or fourth down. He was successful on all but one of those plays. Among the 35 players who handled the ball at least 10 times in those situations, he was the most effective.
| "AND ONE" RUSHING EFFICIENCY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Good | Att | Pct |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 19 | 20 | 95.0% |
| Derrick Henry, Ten. | 14 | 15 | 93.3% |
| Josh Allen, Buff. | 13 | 14 | 92.9% |
| Dak Prescott, Dall. | 12 | 13 | 92.3% |
| Kenny Pickett, Pitt. | 12 | 13 | 92.3% |
| Justin Herbert, LAC | 11 | 12 | 91.7% |
| Jalen Hurts, Phil. | 31 | 34 | 91.2% |
| Justin Fields, Chi. | 10 | 11 | 90.9% |
| Daniel Jones, NYG | 10 | 11 | 90.9% |
| James Conner, Ariz. | 16 | 18 | 88.9% |
| Trevor Lawrence, Jac. | 13 | 15 | 86.7% |
| Cam Akers, LAR | 13 | 15 | 86.7% |
| Dameon Pierce, Hou. | 12 | 14 | 85.7% |
| Devin Singletary, Buff. | 11 | 13 | 84.6% |
| Jacoby Brissett, Cle. | 15 | 18 | 83.3% |
| Tyler Allgeier, Atl. | 10 | 12 | 83.3% |
| Brian Robinson, Was. | 16 | 20 | 80.0% |
| Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 8 | 10 | 80.0% |
| Joe Burrow, Cin. | 9 | 12 | 75.0% |
| Tony Pollard, Dall. | 8 | 11 | 72.7% |
| Latavius Murray, N.O. | 8 | 11 | 72.7% |
| Taysom Hill, N.O. | 8 | 11 | 72.7% |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 10 | 14 | 71.4% |
| Josh Jacobs, L.V. | 12 | 17 | 70.6% |
| Austin Ekeler, LAC | 12 | 17 | 70.6% |
| Rachaad White, T.B. | 9 | 13 | 69.2% |
| Jamaal Williams, Det. | 20 | 29 | 69.0% |
| AJ Dillon, G.B. | 10 | 15 | 66.7% |
| Travis Etienne, Jac. | 10 | 15 | 66.7% |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car.-S.F. | 13 | 20 | 65.0% |
| Jonathan Taylor, Ind. | 9 | 14 | 64.3% |
| Kenneth Walker, Sea. | 9 | 14 | 64.3% |
| Nick Chubb, Cle. | 6 | 10 | 60.0% |
| Leonard Fournette, T.B. | 11 | 19 | 57.9% |
| Dalvin Cook, Min. | 4 | 10 | 40.0% |
With that in mind, I could see them bringing back Elliott to handle a supplementary role. They’ll need to add somebody (they won’t want to overwork Pollard).
But at the same time, Elliott has definitely declined (as evidenced by him apparently receiving no interest from other teams in free agency). Early in free agency, he suggested he’d like to play for the Bengals, Eagles or Jets, but none of those teams have shown any interest in signing him.
And the overall effectiveness numbers from last year aren’t good. He averaged only 3.8 yards per carry, 5th-worst among backs with at least 100 carries. Running behind the same offensive line, Pollard averaged almost a yard and a half more per attempt (3rd best).
If the Cowboys re-sign Elliott, it should be to a one-year deal (so they’re not in the position of having to released him again next spring).
| RUNNING BACKS: Yards Per Carry | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| Khalil Herbert, Chi. | 129 | 731 | 5.67 | 4 |
| Aaron Jones, G.B. | 213 | 1,121 | 5.26 | 2 |
| Tony Pollard, Dall. | 193 | 1,007 | 5.22 | 9 |
| Travis Etienne, Jac. | 220 | 1,125 | 5.11 | 5 |
| Nick Chubb, Cle. | 302 | 1,525 | 5.05 | 12 |
| Rhamondre Stevenson, N.E. | 210 | 1,040 | 4.95 | 5 |
| Tyler Allgeier, Atl. | 210 | 1,035 | 4.93 | 3 |
| Raheem Mostert, Mia. | 181 | 891 | 4.92 | 3 |
| Miles Sanders, Phil. | 259 | 1,269 | 4.90 | 11 |
| Jeff Wilson, S.F.-Mia. | 176 | 860 | 4.89 | 5 |
| Isiah Pacheco, K.C. | 170 | 830 | 4.88 | 5 |
| Josh Jacobs, L.V. | 340 | 1,653 | 4.86 | 12 |
| Cordarrelle Patterson, Atl. | 144 | 695 | 4.83 | 8 |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car.-S.F. | 244 | 1,139 | 4.67 | 8 |
| Devin Singletary, Buff. | 177 | 819 | 4.63 | 5 |
| Kenneth Walker, Sea. | 228 | 1,050 | 4.61 | 9 |
| D'Onta Foreman, Car. | 203 | 914 | 4.50 | 5 |
| Austin Ekeler, LAC | 204 | 915 | 4.49 | 13 |
| Jonathan Taylor, Ind. | 192 | 861 | 4.48 | 4 |
| Saquon Barkley, NYG | 295 | 1,312 | 4.45 | 10 |
| Latavius Murray, N.O.-Den. | 171 | 760 | 4.44 | 6 |
| Dalvin Cook, Min. | 264 | 1,173 | 4.44 | 8 |
| Kenyan Drake, Balt. | 109 | 482 | 4.42 | 4 |
| Derrick Henry, Ten. | 349 | 1,538 | 4.41 | 13 |
| Damien Harris, N.E. | 106 | 462 | 4.36 | 3 |
| James Conner, Ari. | 183 | 782 | 4.27 | 7 |
| Dameon Pierce, Hou. | 220 | 939 | 4.27 | 4 |
| Cam Akers, LAR | 188 | 786 | 4.18 | 7 |
| AJ Dillon, G.B. | 186 | 770 | 4.14 | 7 |
| Jamaal Williams, Det. | 262 | 1,066 | 4.07 | 17 |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 223 | 897 | 4.02 | 2 |
| David Montgomery, Chi. | 201 | 801 | 3.99 | 5 |
| Brian Robinson, Was. | 205 | 797 | 3.89 | 2 |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 210 | 814 | 3.88 | 7 |
| James Robinson, Jac.-NYJ | 110 | 425 | 3.86 | 3 |
| Kareem Hunt, Cle. | 123 | 468 | 3.80 | 3 |
| Najee Harris, Pitt. | 272 | 1,034 | 3.80 | 7 |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 231 | 876 | 3.79 | 12 |
| Rachaad White, T.B. | 129 | 481 | 3.73 | 1 |
| Antonio Gibson, Was. | 149 | 546 | 3.66 | 3 |
| Leonard Fournette, T.B. | 189 | 668 | 3.53 | 3 |
| Michael Carter, NYJ | 114 | 402 | 3.53 | 3 |
—Ian Allan