Cowboys: Let’s Talk About Ezekiel Elliott
The Dallas Cowboys could go in any direction with the fourth selection in the 2016 NFL Draft, but could Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott be surprise pick?
Still outside a month before the 2016 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys are believed to be focused primarily on one area with the first-round selection, one that happens to be fourth-overall. Pick a mock draft almost anywhere in cyberspace and you’re likely to see a projection that has the Cowboys choosing a blue-chip prospect that could improve a completely underwhelming pass rush.
Beyond that heavy majority, a few mocks are still hanging on to the idea that owner and general manager Jerry Jones will finally draft a franchise quarterback, especially given his franchise’s rare draft position. If this is the chosen path for the Cowboys, there’s absolutely no indication of that right now.
While defense and quarterback seem like the obvious areas of need for the Cowboys, it’s quite possible that Dallas simply takes the best player available. The problem with predicting who that might be is the simple fact that nobody outside the Cowboys’ organization knows exactly what that draft board looks like – even Jones himself may not have decided how this year’s crop of college talent lines up.
Because of everything mentioned above, the idea that Dallas could select a running back with that fourth-overall selection seems to be overlooked. It’s not like the loss of 2014 NFL rushing champion DeMarco Murray has ever been completely recovered, right?
Yes, Darren McFadden had an admirable first season with the Cowboys in 2015, one good enough to suggest that he should have been the starter from day one – that was my feeling just as training camp was getting started.
Having said that, it’s clear that the Cowboys do not have a guy that could take over the starting job for the next 4-6 seasons, or longer. There’s obviously no dedicated runner in the backfield like Tony Dorsett or Emmitt Smith.
This is where Ohio State star Ezekiel Elliott comes into play.
Some might suggest that Elliott is a reach with the fourth selection. I would simply offer that nobody has any idea who’s a reach or not in any draft. Every year the annual player selection meeting is full of surprises early on and the only question from there is how all the moves pan out. This process takes years and only sports websites and analysts immediately go to town in grading selections based on the order they were taken.
To be clear, running back is far from the devalued position that some may want to believe. It’s true that the philosophy of keeping running backs too long and drafting them earlier than later might have veered over the last decade or so, but when there’s a special running back on the board once the clock starts ticking, don’t expect him to make it out of the first round. Until the NFL eliminates handing the ball off in the backfield, football is still a running game – and also a running league in the NFL.
Elliott is exactly the kind of player that the Cowboys would be completely justified in selecting as early as the fourth-overall selection or later, perhaps following a trade down. The combination of strength, speed and vision possessed by Elliott is rare for any running back in the NFL. His character and upbringing should be enough to make aspiring Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett drool.
In this year’s crop of NFL prospects, as in most years, there’s a wide range of running back candidates. You can find a big, bruising runner in Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry. At 6’2” and well over 240-pounds, this former Alabama star would be a nightmare to deal with in the fourth quarter. The question is how long of a career will he have, seeing as how he’ll never outrun people and the contact will add up fast.
You can also find smaller, quicker backs in players like Devontae Booker of Utah and Kenneth Dixon of Louisiana Tech. Either of these options would immediately become compatible as a backup to McFadden in the early going and might push for the starting job the following year.
But Elliott seems to be the right combination of everything. This former Buckeyes star has done just about everything there is to do at the high school and college level and he’s also capable of catching passes. He’s the most complete running back in the draft and should be gone before the 20th selection, thus making him a distinct possibility for the Cowboys anywhere they end up choosing.
The Cowboys didn’t allow Murray to walk in free agency in 2015 because they don’t like running backs. Dallas made a calculated decision based on both the player, who had never made it through a 16-game schedule and had a ton of touches during 2014, and financial worth. Murray’s only season with the Philadelphia Eagles might have shown clearly that the Cowboys made the right call.
Next: Cowboys: Jason Garrett Clueless About Future Quarterback
Only a dominant pass rush is more valuable than a dominant running game, and it doesn’t look like the Cowboys are poised to generate very much more pressure on opposing quarterbacks in 2016 than they have been since franchise sack-leader DeMarcus Ware was released in early ’14.
So why press the issue?
If we’re really gauging the best player available for the Cowboys in the first round of next month’s NFL Draft in Chicago, don’t be surprised if that player ends up being Ezekiel Elliott.