The Dallas Cowboys had a 1-2 punch of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard in the backfield this past season. However, there are question marks regarding both players and how they fit into the team’s future moving forward.
Pollard is set to become a free agent this offseason. Meanwhile, the Cowboys have a potential out in Elliott’s contract this offseason, and he may be forced to take a pay cut to remain in Dallas.
Elliott has certainly been a productive player for the Cowboys over his career, but his numbers dropped off considerably this past season. His yards-per-carry plummeted to a career-low 3.8 this past year. This has raised some serious concerns from NFL scouts about his longevity in the NFL.
According to The Athletic’s Bob Sturm, many NFL scouts and analysts believe that Ezekiel Elliott has “very little left in his legs” and feel that his only opportunity to be paid above the league minimum is with the Cowboys.
He even went as far to compare Elliott to former Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy, who himself had an extremely drastic drop off and saw himself out of the league after only five NFL seasons.
Elliott certainly didn’t not pass the eye test for many this past season. He very clearly lacked the type of explosiveness that saw him become a three-time Pro Bowler early in his career.
It seems like the best case scenario for Elliott at this point may be a return to Dallas to play alongside a quicker running back. Whether or not that player will be Tony Pollard remains to be seen, but we may be nearing the end of productive play from Ezekiel Elliott.
