The Dallas Cowboys brought back an old friend earlier this week, signing running back Ezekiel Elliott to a one-year deal in an attempt to fortify their backfield.
Elliott is hardly the same elite rusher he once was, but he still has the same mindset.
While speaking to reporters, Elliott revealed what he thinks of himself heading into 2024.
“I think I still am a dominant guy,” Elliott said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “I got to go out there and prove that, but that’s the motivation. I think we all know how I feel about competing and leaving it all out there for my team.”
It’s great that Elliott is confident in himself, but it seems hard to imagine that anyone is going to buy that he is still “dominant” at this stage of his career.
The 28-year-old spent the 2023 campaign with the New England Patriots, rushing for 642 yards and three touchdowns while averaging a meager 3.5 yards per carry. He also caught 51 passes for 313 yards and a couple of scores.
In fairness to Elliott, the Patriots’ offense was an abject disaster this past year, so perhaps he would have been more productive in a better situation—like Dallas.
That being said, even Elliott’s most recent year with the Cowboys in 2022 wasn’t great, as he totaled 876 yards and 12 scores while logging a pedestrian 3.8 yards per attempt.
There certainly was a time where the Ohio State product was dominant, as Elliott led the NFL in rushing twice in his first three seasons. He topped out at 1,631 yards during his rookie year in 2016.
However, over the last several years, it has been pretty clear that the former No. 4 overall pick has been in decline, and at this point, he is probably more of a complementary back than anything else.
We’ll see if Ezekiel Elliott can turn back time come September.
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