Jerry Jones was one of Ezekiel Elliott’s most enthusiastic supporters during Zeke’s tenure with the Dallas Cowboys, but Jones is now willing to admit that he may have spent a bit too much on the star running back.
Jones spoke with reporters on Monday for his annual pre-draft press conference. When the topic of running backs came up, Jones had high praise for Elliott but said the Cowboys should not have drafted the former Ohio State fourth overall.
“There’s a bunch of nuances that go into this running back conversation,” Jones said, via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “When you start loading up, Zeke is a good football player. He’s still an outstanding football player. I’ll say the word, ‘outstanding’ football player. He’s too high for us, where he was (in the draft). That has a lot to do with this conversation about running back.”
Elliott rushed for 1,631 yards and 15 touchdowns as a rookie in 2016. He won two rushing titles and probably would have had a third if he was not suspended for six games in 2017.
The Cowboys then signed Elliott to a five-year, $90M extension prior to the 2019 season, which wound up creating salary cap issues for them.
There is no debating that Elliott was a force in the Dallas backfield. The question is whether the Cowboys could have gotten the same or similar production from a player who cost far less in terms of draft capital and salary.
The emergence of fourth-round pick Tony Pollard, who has averaged 5.1 yards per carry in his first four NFL seasons, is proof that they probably could have.
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