After he was the second overall pick in the 1983 NFL draft, Eric Dickerson exploded on the scene with the Los Angeles Rams. Dickerson’s rookie season was one for the ages that nobody has come close to replicating.
Dickerson ran away with the 1983 NFL Rookie of the Year award after establishing rookie records with 390 rushing attempts, 1,808 rushing yards, and 18 rushing touchdowns. Dickerson was also named the Player of the Year and to the All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams.
Ezekiel Elliott was drafted fourth overall by the Dallas Cowboys this year and has yet to play a regular season game. However, Elliot has already told Dickerson he plans on running down his records.
“I know a little bit about him,” Elliott told ESPN. “Eighteen hundred yards. We joke about it all the time. I told him I’m going to get it.”
Dickerson’s response was simple: Good Luck.
“He told me through his agent that he was going to break my record,” Dickerson said. “I just laughed and said, ‘Good luck.’ Many have said that; all have failed.
“I like the record because you get one shot at it and that’s it, because you’re a rookie one time. You don’t get three or four shots at that record. ‘Oh, let me do it again.’ Nah.”
Whereas many have tried and failed, not all have had the offensive line Elliott will be working with. The Cowboys’ offensive line is one of the best in the game thanks to All-Pro linemen Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, and Zack Martin.
“When I look at that offensive line, man, if I had that offensive line I’d run for 2,600 yards,” Dickerson told reporters. “I might not even need a quarterback. The holes are so gaping big, almost like when Emmitt [Smith] played.
ESPN reported as well that Elliott should get his fair share of opportunities, as Cowboy’s playcaller Scott Linehan wants to run a 50-50 run-pass scheme. Dallas last used that strategy in 2014 and went 12-4 to win the NFC East.
“I like the way he runs,” Dickerson said. “He’s a north-and-south runner. He runs tough inside. I think he’ll do extremely well.”
During the 2015 season, Adrian Peterson was the only player to record more than 300 carries. In 2014, only DeMarco Murray and LeSean McCoy accomplished that feat, while McCoy and Marshawn Lynch did it in 2013. It’s safe to say Elliott will have to have an incredible year to make it happen.
[ESPN]
