We’ve heard plenty about just what has gone wrong with the Cowboys running game this season, as the team sits in last place in rushing yards per game (77.0) and can’t seem to figure out which members of the team’s so-called “committee” of running backs should be on the field and when.
In the end, it’s not really the fault of former star Ezekiel Elliott that the Cowboys have gotten here. The team passed on chances to pick up a running back in the NFL draft last April, and failed to sign an effective replacement for Tony Pollard, when they easily could have made a push to add Derrick Henry.
Or Saquon Barkley.
Or Josh Jacobs.
All three are in the Top 5 in rushing here in 2024, and could have been signed by Dallas if the Cowboys had been more aggressive in free agency and creative in creating cap space. Instead, the Cowboys thought it would be a good idea to dust off Elliott—a player they let go a year earlier, figuring at the time that he had exhausted his NFL usefulness.
Now, Elliott is splitting carries with Rico Dowdle and averaging a career-low 3.0 yards per attempt. It would be ideal if he could be more productive, but the fact is, the Cowboys were delusional in thinking Elliott could still be a No. 1 back in the NFL. That’s they’re fault, not Elliott’s.
Cowboys Need to Make a Tough Choice
But the Cowboys still have 11 games to get through, and finding a way to improve the running game is a must for the rest of the way. Minimizing Elliott, perhaps by bringing up Dalvin Cook from the practice squad, is one possible solution, as Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News indicated in an article titled, “Five areas the Cowboys could realistically improve to make a run at NFC East title.”
Bringing up Cook means Elliott really has no place on the roster. It might be harsh, considering Elliott’s status as a beloved teammate and how brilliant he was early in his career in Dallas, but that likely means Elliott would be cut.
Wrote Watkins: “The Cowboys’ offseason moves — not drafting a running back, signing Ezekiel Elliott in free agency and starting two rookies in the offensive line — have hampered the running game. The Cowboys are starting Rico Dowdle with Elliott as a backup.
“One thing the Cowboys could do is elevate Dalvin Cook from the practice squad and make Elliott either inactive on gamedays or release him. Dowdle’s ability to return kicks, if necessary, allows him to remain on the gameday roster.”
Ezekiel Elliott on a 4-Year Decline
Cutting Elliott would be cold, but the Cowboys have left themselves few options in the running game, and it is clear that Elliott is just not effective anymore. As Watkins points out, part of the blame should go to the offensive line, but Dowdle is averaging 4.2 yards per carry running behind the same line.
That indicates that Elliott just does not have much traction in the league anymore. This is not exactly a severe drop-off in his performance, as his yards per attempt numbers have been steadily dropping for years—from 4.2 in 2021, to 3.8 in 2022, 3.5 in New England in 2023 and now to 3.0.
The grades at Pro Football Focus probably spell it out most clearly. Elliott, who was the league’s leading rusher in the first two seasons of his career, has warranted a grade of 51.1, with is 53rd among the NFL’s 67 running backs.
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