DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys made eight selections in the 2024 NFL draft and despite having a need at running back, they came out of it without drafting one. Forgoing the position was one of the real surprises from the Cowboys on draft weekend, especially after they lost 2023 starter Tony Pollard earlier in free agency.
There might not have been a sense of urgency to push the envelope at running back because it was widely assumed there would be a reunion with Ezekiel Elliott after the draft. It didn't take long for those rumors to be proven true as the third leading rusher in franchise history is set for a reunion in Dallas.
After a week where Jerry Jones fawned publicly about Elliott’s ability to still play at a high level, the veteran is going through the formality of taking a physical and will re-sign with the Cowboys.
After striking out in the draft and virtually sitting out free agency entirely, the Cowboys felt that this was the best course of action, but Elliott isn’t actually the only running back that the team is adding. Dallas did sign a runner during the undrafted free agency frenzy period when they inked Missouri running back Nathaniel Peat. That signing doesn’t move the needle much for a team that lost its starter, and Elliott now appears to have been the team’s plan A.
Elliott returns after a one-year stint with the New England Patriots, where he was the backup to starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson. There wasn’t much work for Elliott with the Patriots until Stevenson suffered a high-ankle injury that cost him the last five games of the season.
With the opportunity to become the starter, Elliott had his best five-game stretch, where he scored four of his eight touchdowns and had at least 15 touches in each contest.
However, even with Elliott scoring almost weekly at the end of the season, he was extremely inefficient, averaging just 2.9 yards per carry. Part of that was due to an awful offensive scheme for a floundering New England team that was sporting a subpar quarterback, but it’s clear that Elliott’s best days are behind him. The eight-year veteran had his lowest yards per carry overall at 3.5 and had a long run of just 17 yards, also a career-low.
Despite his declining production, Elliott will be welcomed back to the Cowboys with open arms. Jerry and Stephen Jones have always had an affinity for him and he’s one of quarterback Dak Prescott’s best friends after they came into the league together in 2016.
And despite the obvious signs that Elliott isn’t the player he used to be, he’s still probably the best running back on the roster. Elliott joins a crowded, albeit mediocre, backfield in Dallas and is the favorite to be their starter.
Along with Rico Dowdle, Malik Davis, and second-year man Deuce Vaughn, Elliott joins another recently signed veteran runner Royce Freeman in the running back competition. Hunter Luepke remains in the running back room as the only fullback on the team, but his spot is also up for competition as things are suddenly a little congested.
Even if Elliott is the starter, he can no longer carry the load as his production has gone down in three of the last four seasons. He’s not coming back as a workhorse, but to rather likely be part of a committee of backs that will try to reapproximate the days when Elliott and Pollard were a two-headed monster for Dallas.
Elliott can add to the offense significantly in one area, the red zone. Few running backs have more red zone touchdowns than Elliott’s 29 over the last three years. What he lacks in explosion, he makes up for in power and a nose for the end zone. That was an area where Dallas struggled last year as Pollard and the rest of the running backs on the roster had difficulty punching the ball in near the goal line, scoring eight red zone touchdowns combined.
It’s been a wild journey to get here with Elliott; the team released the veteran running back last offseason because of his cost, only to bring him back one year later. The Joneses also blamed Elliott’s dead cap hit on their 2024 books as a reason for why they couldn’t keep All-Pro left tackle Tyron Smith.
Now, the Cowboys are paying Elliott even more to come back. He’ll be on their books for just over $6 million from when they released him in 2023, and the additional $3 million it is alleged that he’ll make on his new contract.
Despite it seemingly being a less than optimal high level solution, it’s a move that’s been brewing and after a draft where Dallas failed to select an RB, this seemed like an inevitability. The two sides took very little time in agreeing to a deal to return Elliott to the franchise that drafted him.
Ezekiel Elliott’s return to the Cowboys is just the latest twist in what has been an increasingly odd offseason.
How do you think Ezekiel Elliott will have a successful reunion with Dallas? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.
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