Dallas Cowboys: Ezekiel Elliott Will Win 2nd Rushing Title
By Erik Lambert
It sure seems like the next wave of great running backs has arrived. So who will reign as rushing kingpin in 2017? The Dallas Cowboys will love the answer.
Well to be more accurate the answers of multiple experts. Conducting a debate, NFL.com asked their top analysts this very question. Which running back will take over the league this season. The answers were fairly diverse but needless to say Cowboys instant star Ezekiel Elliott had his fair share of followers. First it was Jeffri Chadiha stated his case for why it will be more of the same from him.
"“Call me predictable, but I’m sticking with Ezekiel Elliott. The Dallas Cowboys running back ran away with the rushing title in 2016 and he’s poised to be even more prolific during his second year in the NFL. The Cowboys already have talked about wanting to use him more, even though he led the league with 322 carries last season (on his way to 1,631 yards). They also seem prepared to back up that plan, especially since Elliott wants the ball as many times as they’ll give it to him.”"
He wasn’t alone though. Elliott got even loftier praise from the one and only LaDainian Tomlinson. If anybody knows about running the football and how to have success it’s him. Given the line and the committment to the identity, there is no reason to think anybody can top Zeke for the second-straight year.
"“Ezekiel Elliott is going to win back-to-back rushing titles. The Cowboys’ offensive line is built for the run game, so he’ll get plenty of carries. And with has good Dak Prescott was in his rookie season, they will have to run the ball to be successful on offense. It’s just hard for me to argue against Dallas’ run game.”"
Health is key
The Cowboys have managed to field a 1,000-yard rusher each of the past four seasons. That’s an impressive feat especially in an era build around passing the football. Clearly the team has wanted to build more of an identity that won them three Super Bowls back in the 1990s. They achieved the first part of that with a 13-3 record last season. Unfortunately they haven’t been able to duplicate the same success on defense. Even with Elliott controlling the clock like he could.
They were also aided by a relatively light rash of injuries on the roster with only 11 players ending up on Injured Reserve. None of them being key starters. That’s quite the blessing and they’ll need for it to continue in order to fulfill this standing prediction from the experts. Not an easy feat by any means but one Dallas intends to match.