This offseason, the Dallas Cowboys have chosen to stick with what they know, but one of their new players for the 2024 team is getting special attention. Dallas didn’t make many changes for a while, but running back Ezekiel Elliott’s comeback is already raising red flags.

Elliott is cited by Alex Kay of Bleacher Report as the most overvalued running back in the NFL in a May 21 piece.

 

Shortly after the draft was over, the Cowboys re-signed Ezekiel Elliott, a former starter, to a one-year contract. The Cowboys’ attempt to make it to an NFC Championship Game for the first time in almost thirty years may come back to haunt them because of that choice. In each of their previous three postseason exits—two of which featured Elliott prominently—their backfield has painfully underperformed, according to Kay.

The main basis of Kay’s thesis is the decline in Elliott’s output during the last several years. Although you make a valid point, I don’t think Elliott’s circumstances fit the definition of “overrated.”

After all, Spotrac reports that he is playing on a $2 million, one-year contract. Considering that he’s playing at almost the league minimum, it’s difficult to see how he’s overvalued or overrated.
Elliott’s output was never going to be able to maintain the Pro Bowl level that Cowboys fans witnessed from 2016 to 2019—this was evident even years before Elliott left the team. Zeke is not exempt from the fact that an NFL RB’s shelf life is less than it has ever been.

2020 was noteworthy because, despite playing in 15 games, Elliott was unable to reach the 1000-yard rushing milestone. More significantly, according to Pro Football Reference, he averaged 4.0 yards per carry.

With 1002 running yards, 10 touchdowns, and 4.2 yards per carry in 2021, he showed some improvement. Even though his contract made him the highest-paid running back in the NFL, he was still less productive than he had been during his first four seasons in the league.

However, 2022 was the final nail in the coffin. At that point, Elliott was averaging 3.8 yards per carry and was only used in short-yardage scenarios, so Tony Pollard took front stage.
He didn’t perform any better in his one season with the New England Patriots. Despite making 17 appearances and starting five games, Elliott only averaged 3.5 yards per carry for a total of 642 yards gained on the ground.

Young RBs for the Cowboys Will Have a Big Opportunity
Pollard was backed up by Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn last season, but the Cowboys had franchise-tagged Pollard and needed to use him to gain value for their money. There is much less of an excuse not to use the young RB tandem now that Elliott is signed to a cheap contract.

In 2023, Dowdle gained 505 yards from scrimmage with an average of 4.2 yards per carry. Finally, after three years in a very limited capacity, the former Gamecock from South Carolina had proven his value. For Vaughn, the same cannot be said.

Because his father works in scouting, Vaughn was an intriguing draft choice for Dallas in the 2023 NFL Draft. However, there were many doubts regarding the former Kansas State standout’s ability to succeed in the NFL.

Despite having only 23 rushes for 40 yards from the Cowboys, Vaughn was unable to make an impact. With the other two running backs still contributing to the offence, the rookie endured a difficult debut campaign. This season, 2024, might make or break the 22-year-old.

Sports writer Evan Reier covers the NFL for Heavy.com, specialising in the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys. In the past, he worked as a managing editor for Outsider and covered sports for the Montana Standard.