Dallas Cowboys: Ezekiel Elliott lost a step, can he get it back?

Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott won two NFL rushing titles in his first three seasons, but last season Zeke looked slow and a shell of himself.

When the Dallas Cowboys drafted Ezekiel Elliott in the first round with the number four overall pick, most of Cowboys Nation knew they had undoubtedly the best running back in the entire draft-maybe the best player.

The Cowboys saw Zeke joining other former great Cowboys’ running backs like Don Perkins, Duane Thomas, Tony Dorsett, and Emmitt Smith

Heck, the Cowboys believed so much in Zeke that they passed over All Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey when tit was clear they needed help in their defensive backfield. But Zeke was different. You know, that once in a life generational running back that can not only take any play to pay dirt, but can give opposing defensive coordinators nightmares in preparation.

Well, Zeke has been everything as advertised and then some. Even when Zeke served a six-game suspension in 2017, he finished that season with 983 yards seven touchdowns, averaged 4.1 yards a game, rushed for 98.3 yards a game, and accomplished this only playing in 10 games.

My goodness. Imagine what Zeke would have accomplished if he played in all 16 games.

Enter the 2019 season, and Zeke looked like a shell of himself. So, has Zeke lost a step? Seriously, it’s a legitimate question because Zeke appeared to be slow and nothing like the rookie who led the league in rushing with ease.

Maybe Zeke’s slow appearance can be attributed to him missing games due to him holding out for a contract extension in last summer. Zeke held out for a new contract, and got his money from owner and general manager Jerry Jones to the tune of a six-year $90 million contract extension.

As a result, Zeke became the league’s highest paid running back at $15 million a year. Jerry and Stephen Jones caved and signed Zeke, even though he had two years remaining on his contract. They caved in to Zeke’s demand like I do when my seven-year old daughter begs for ice cream for instead of eggs for breakfast.

Once Zeke signed on the dotted line and ensured his financial future, he appeared to become a different person. When the season started, no longer saw a player capably of breaking off a long run. You didn’t see the burst like you witnessed in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals during his rookie campaign.

Instead, you saw Zeke go through holes as if he was carrying a 40-pound bookbag filled with rocks. Better yet, Zeke resembled a kid going through a maze at Disney World with his shoestrings tied together.

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Even though Zeke trained vigorously in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk, the hard work and running on the sandy beaches of Cabo didn’t translate to the NFL game. Zeke would run through a huge hole, only to be caught from behind with ease by a linebacker. C’mon man!

During Zeke’s first two seasons, he had scored on long touchdown runs/receptions of 21, 32, 60, 72 and 83- just to highlight Zeke’s breakaway speed. To put this into perspective, Zeke’s 72 and 83 yard touchdown receptions were on screen passes against two, tough defensive minded opponents-the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers.

Even against an inferior defense, scoring a touchdown on an 83 yard screen pass is hard to do and requires a player to be really fast. If you go back and watch those touchdown runs, nobody came close to catching Zeke. It looked like Zeke was shot out of a cannon when he scored those touchdowns.