Dallas Cowboys: Tony Pollard the perfect complement to Ezekiel Elliott

The Dallas Cowboys needed a true complement to star running back Ezekiel Elliott, and they got it in Memphis’ Tony Pollard.

Tony Pollard is no stranger to playing second fiddle.

But in the Dallas Cowboys’ offense, second fiddle to Ezekiel Elliott is an increasingly important role.

Elliott is averaging 401 touches per 16 games so far in the NFL, and hit a career high in 2018 with 381 total touches.

That kind of workload is something Elliott can certainly handle, and he’s been able to average over 100 rushing yards per game so far in his NFL career, a remarkable accomplishment to say the least.

Even though Elliott is only entering his fourth NFL season in 2019, the Cowboys need to make sure they monitor his touches closely and have someone in place who can not only take some of those touches and some of the workload, but do it effectively and keep the offense moving the way it’s supposed to.

I think the Cowboys found the perfect guy in Memphis running back Tony Pollard.

Pollard was a backup in college to Darrell Henderson, who was picked a round earlier by the Los Angeles Rams, a team the Cowboys will be competing with for an NFC title this year.

Pollard’s role behind Henderson was limited (Henderson ran for over 1,900 yards this past season) but he made the most of his opportunities over the past couple of seasons.

He showed off abilities not only as a running back, but as a receiver and return specialist as well. He finished his Memphis career  with nine rushing touchdowns, nine receiving touchdowns, and seven kickoff return touchdowns.

As impressive as those numbers are, his 40.0 yards per kickoff return average in 2017 may be the most jaw-dropping of all of his accomplishments.

Not only is it borderline impossible to make big plays in the kicking game these days, teams are almost overlooking it with the new rules in place. Pollard’s abilities there could resurrect the importance of that position.

He was able to average 7.4 yards per carry over the last two seasons, and 13.2 yards per catch. He  was good for over nine yards per touch over the course of his college career and finished his Memphis playing days with over 2,200 yards from scrimmage on less than 250 touches.

His efficiency per touch in college was unreal, and while that isn’t always immediately translatable to the NFL, it stands to reason that the Cowboys took a very calculated approach to this selection knowing that the success rate of Pollard’s offensive touches (and special teams, for that matter) is exceptionally high in comparison to the rest of this running back class.

Coupled with his solid 4.52 in the 40-yard dash and 35-inch vertical, the Cowboys have an explosive athlete with production to match and a capable weapon to pair with Ezekiel Elliott in their star-studded offense.