DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys have one of the best running back tandems in the NFL, and it’s led by Ezekiel Elliott. After failing to reach the 1,000-yard rushing mark in 2020, Elliott bounced back by surpassing that number in 2021, despite being hampered by a knee injury that he suffered in Week 5. Elliott fought through the injury to have 1,289 total yards and 12 touchdowns as the Cowboys won the NFC East.
It was a strong year for Elliott, a player that many felt was ready to fall off the running back cliff. That didn’t turn out to be the case and, prior to the partially torn PCL injury, Elliott was back to his old form.
This offseason, the seventh-year RB is back to putting in the work that helped him prepare for last season.
The video of the training drills and movements look similar to what Elliott was doing last offseason to re-energize his career. Elliott appears to be fully healed from the knee ailment that slowed him for most of the second half of the season. Elliott’s renewed agility also confirms what head coach Mike McCarthy spoke about last week when he mentioned that Elliott is looking good and hitting top speed in offseason work.
This is all good news for the Cowboys’ offense. McCarthy and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore want to be able to run the ball and a healthy Elliott is a big part of the plan. Dallas isn’t a ground and pound offense anymore, but they do want to be able to run the ball effectively when they need to, something that proved difficult at the end of the 2021 season.
However, Cowboys fans have seen this before. Football players with question marks tend to always be ‘in the best shape of their lives’ heading into the season, only to not have the results show up on the field. Elliott looks great now, but the proof will be in how well he plays when the real games arrive.
History is not on Elliott’s side. He’ll be 27-years old during the upcoming season, and that is about the age where top runners begin to slow down. As an RB who was ridden hard by the Cowboys early in his career, Elliott’s performance could be sliding even earlier due to the wear and tear over the first handful of seasons in Dallas.
That doesn’t mean the former All-Pro RB can’t still be a top performer. Through five games last season Elliott was dominating on the ground, averaging 90.4 yards per game. He also had his three best rushing performances in a three-week span, running for 95, 143, and 110 yards respectively in Weeks 3-5.
It was a testament to the hard work that Elliott put in through the offseason last year, where he pushed himself to get into great shape. Everything was pointing to a vintage Elliott season until the injury derailed what was a promising start.
The good news is that Elliott is now healthy and training for the upcoming season, just as he did last year at this time. If Elliott can avoid an injury that zaps him of his explosiveness, he can be back to being one of the leading rushers in the league. The signs were there in 2021 that could’ve been a comeback season, now Elliott appears like he’s working to make the same strides in 2022.
Dallas could use the early years of Elliott, but even if he doesn’t return to peak form, the offense can still benefit from a focused RB. Having a starting-caliber runner in Tony Pollard behind Elliott can also save the veteran’s legs and keep Elliott from getting worn down. Pollard’s emergence is a way to make sure that Elliott can be fresh late in games, and late in the season.
Ezekiel Elliott is readying himself for another great season, and he’s putting in the effort to prove that he’s got plenty of gas left in the tank. As the offseason moves on, expect to see more of the same from Elliott.
As great as Elliott looks, though, the workout videos will need to be taken with a grain of salt until the season arrives. Once the games begin, we’ll see if Elliott can get back to the form that made him one of the best RBs in the game.
Do you think Ezekiel Elliott is due for another Pro Bowl campaign for the Cowboys in 2022? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.
