DALLAS — With Ezekiel Elliott, the Dallas Cowboys enjoy the fruits of having one of the best running backs in the NFL. Despite loud voices picking apart Elliott and his effectiveness late in the 2021 season, he’s still a top player at the position.
Luckily for the Cowboys, they have another great option when Elliott isn’t on the field in Tony Pollard. Most would describe Pollard as the backup running back, but that doesn’t do Pollard justice.
The Cowboys have two starting-caliber running backs who keep the chains moving with little drop off. Some would even suggest that Pollard was the better player during the 2021 season.
No matter how it breaks down, Pollard is clearly a very good running back, and he is coming off his best statistical season last year. Pollard ran for 719 yards and two touchdowns, while averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Among qualified running backs last season, Pollard was tied for second in yardage per attempt.
If Elliott was to go down for any amount of time, the Cowboys would be in great shape with Pollard. During the 2020 season, when Pollard got one of the few starts of his career, the fourth-year runner out of Memphis responded with 132 yards from scrimmage and two scores.
Pollard also helped carry the Cowboys to an important win against the New Orleans Saints last season with a 58-yard touchdown run to break the game open and kickstart an undefeated December for Dallas.
With the Cowboys counting on Pollard to produce when given the opportunity, they also relied on him in the return game, where he averaged 28.8 yards per return. That would have been second in the league if he had returned enough to qualify. Pollard demonstrated his return skills in the Thanksgiving game against the Las Vegas Raiders, where he returned a kickoff for a score.
It’s clear how valuable Pollard is to the Cowboys, with his presence contributing to one of the team strengths. That’s something not lost on CEO Stephen Jones, who recently noted the importance of the running back group.
Yet, despite being important, Pollard doesn’t have any financial stability as he’s on the last year of his rookie contract with the Cowboys. As a fourth-round pick in 2019, Pollard earned a four-year deal, which expires at the end of the 2022 season. Therefore, keeping Pollard in the mix should be a priority and an extension before the new season should be given serious consideration.
Coming out of college, Pollard was thought of as a running back who couldn’t carry a starter’s load, while being more of a change of pace back. Pollard has dispelled any notion that he can’t be a full-time, impact player and his play has shown that he’s ready for a larger role.
Besides his stellar play, another reason to extend Pollard now is because of the uncertain salary cap ramifications at the position for the Cowboys. Elliott is paid like one of the league’s elite stars but the team can escape from his contract next season if they so choose.
If that’s the plan, Dallas needs to have an option to fall back on. Without Pollard under contract and without Elliott, the team would go from having two starting-caliber running backs to having none. The league might be undervaluing the position, but the Cowboys haven’t come fully around to that thinking yet.
Regardless of what the team does with Elliott, the time is right to extend Pollard. He’s one of the most explosive options for the offense and he’s extremely valuable as an alternative to Elliott. If the Cowboys don’t extend Pollard and they decide it’s time to part ways with Elliott next offseason, the price for Pollard could get too high.
The time to make Pollard a part of the future is now.
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