Scout's take: Why Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott is worth huge deal

Editor's note: This assessment of Elliott was originally posted in August 2019. It was updated after the running back agreed to a new contract.

Ezekiel Elliott’s holdout from the Dallas Cowboys generated plenty of buzz. Under his old deal, he would have made just under $3.9 million in 2019. Then the Cowboys surely would have picked up his option year and paid him a little over $9 million in 2020, when Elliott will be 26 in training camp.

No one should blame Elliott -- who agreed to a record deal for a running back early Wednesday -- for holding out. The way the current collective bargaining agreement is set up, it is difficult for running backs (because of their short shelf life) to get a big-money second contract. By taking this stand as a 24-year-old foundational player, Elliott aimed to get the money he deserves and still presumably have plenty of strong years ahead of him.

What is Elliott as a player? He’s great. But let’s dig deeper. 

From just a pure rushing perspective, Elliott is the best ball-carrier in the NFL. His production is amazing: 101.2 rushing yards per game and a 4.7-yards-per-carry average. He has 28 rushing touchdowns in 40 career games.

Elliott has supreme balance and great vision, a truly rare combination, especially when you couple it with his burst to attack a hole. He also shows patience and the ability to set up his blocks well as well as power and speed. As importantly as any of these traits, much like Emmitt Smith before him in Dallas, Elliott wants the ball and has the body and mindset to handle massive workloads.

Coming out of Ohio State, Elliott was considered an excellent prospect in the passing game. He was a sturdy and accomplished pass protector and a dangerous receiving option who brought much more to the table as a route runner than just screens and dump-offs. But during his first two seasons in the NFL, Dallas didn’t use him in the passing game near enough. Frankly, that was coaching malpractice.

But in 2018, the light finally went on for Dallas' offensive coaches and Elliott caught 77 passes, 19 more than his first two seasons combined. In fact, over Elliott’s past 16 games, including the playoff game against the Rams last season, he has been targeted a whopping 101 times. That’s more like it.

The passing game is more important than the run game in today’s NFL. With Kellen Moore, a young creative and insightful offensive mind, now installed as offensive coordinator, we should see Elliott better schemed up in all facets of the offense, but especially as a receiver. While his receiving production dramatically spiked last season, it should be noted that still too many of those receptions were of the dump-off variety. Elliott is capable of much more.

But where are the Cowboys as a team right now? They are coming off a playoff appearance and look like a contender in the NFC. Dallas’ passing game improved immensely after Amari Cooper joined the team via trade from Oakland, and this year they have back one of the NFL’s premier centers in Travis Frederick, who sat out last season with Guillain-Barré syndrome. Outside of Elliott and Cooper, though, there are far more questions with the Cowboys skill-position players than answers.

Rookie running back Tony Pollard shined in the preseason and is an interesting and dynamic player. But Pollard isn’t a fraction of the workhorse Elliott is. He could play as a gadget guy with Elliott this season, but not as a replacement.

The defense, basically all home grown with draft picks, could be one of the best in the NFL. The defensive tackles and safeties aren’t ideal, but the rest of this unit is in its prime years and filled with high-end talent.

This is a good football team and with a few bounces, Dallas could advance quite far in the playoffs. But this is only the case if they have Elliott, who could lead the NFL in touches by a non-quarterback. He has immense value and deserves to be the NFL’s highest-paid running back.  Getting Elliott, Cooper and Dak Prescott all locked up as a modern-day version of the Cowboys “Triplets” must be Jerry Jones’ top priority, but that won’t be easy to pull off.

Many will tell you that investing in running backs is bad business. But in this case, all things considered, locking up Elliott was the right move for Dallas.