Jones has to wake up to reality that Emmitt Smith, Tony Dorsett, nor DeMarco Murray are walking through the door to be his star running back.
Dorsett (1977) and Smith (1990) were first-round picks, and Murray (2011) was a third-rounder. They are the top three rushing leaders in franchise history in terms of yards per game (Smith and Murray - 85.4 and Dorsett - 76.7). No other Cowboy is over 70 yards per game.
Elliott rushed for a mere 51 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboy’s 20-19 opening week loss to the Giants on Sunday. Elliott called his performance “average.” This would be considered normal if you play in Cleveland, Oakland, or Chicago, but not in Dallas. The Cowboys as a team rushed 30 times, for a paltry 101 yards against the Giants. Elliott had 20 of those carries. The math is correct...the Cowboys new franchise running back averaged 2.5 yards-per-attempt in his NFL debut. His longest run was his touchdown run of eight yards in the third quarter...the only time Dallas found the endzone all day.
This is why you never draft a running back in the first round who is not named Peterson or Gurley...and Gurley managed just 47 yards against a porous San Francisco defense in his sophomore opener.
After QB Tony Romo decided to have his season-defining injury in training camp this year, the pressure was going to be on Elliott--the fourth overall selection in April’s draft--to put up a decent amount of yardage. Some pundits estimated that Elliott would be a lock for at least 1,400 yards and double-digit touchdowns in his rookie campaign. The Cowboys have been forced to turn to rookie Dak Prescott at QB, and missed a golden opportunity to trade for Cleveland’s Josh McCown near the end of the preseason. McCown will be starting for the next 6-8 weeks after Robert Griffin III injured his shoulder in the fourth quarter of Cleveland’s loss to Philadelphia on Sunday.
The average shelf-life of an NFL running back is 4-5 years. Running backs are the most common position on a team’s 53-man roster. You have fullbacks, halfbacks, and can really convert any other player on the field into one with a few weeks worth of practice. So why spend a draft pick that you hope will give you 10-plus years worth of service on the shortest lifespan of any position in the sport?
Never mind the most iconic franchise in the NFL is putting their future in the hands of a 21-year-old rookie, who spent most of training camp in a 1986-esque cut-off jersey. Elliott topped jersey sales among all NFL players (rookies and veterans) before even having reported for mini-camp this summer.
Never mind that Elliott was accused of domestic violence against ex-girlfriend Tiffany Thompson on July 22. Elliott was cleared of the allegations last Tuesday. At least this time the Cowboy player did not have to miss playing time due to being in jail for domestic violence...see Greg Hardy. Whether the charges against Elliott were dropped due to his stature as a hopeful NFL star, or the inconsistencies the Columbus police department stated in their final report, Elliott is following hot on the trail of his Buckeye teammate Joey Bosa for making more headlines on TMZ than ESPN. Elliott was spotted in a marijuana shop in Seattle the night before the Cowboys’ preseason game against the Seahawks on August 24. What does it say that while most players who turn 21 would love to go to a bar legally, Elliott spent time in a store that legally sells weed just weeks after turning legal age? Elliott admitted to the story, citing he was “curious,” but did not buy anything. He even stopped to take photographs with fans outside the store.
Come again?!
On the surface Elliott looks to be the victim of circumstance more than another Cowboy (and Buckeye) head case. Elliott is running behind the best offensive line in the NFL, and should rebound to have a decent rookie season, even with Prescott as his quarterback. Yet you would think in the hardest-hitting division in the NFL, where all four teams truly hate each other even when they’re not playing each other, that Elliott would make more educated choices.
When your owner is Jerry Jones, “sound decisions” are two words not usually part of your daily vernacular. Jones reportedly had to be talked out of drafting Johnny Manziel three years ago. Since Romo joined the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2003, the Cowboys have only drafted four quarterbacks (Prescott, Stephen McGee - 2009 R4, and Isaiah Stanback - 2007 R4). Jones followed up the selection of Elliott by drafting Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith in the second round. Smith tore both the ACL and LCL in his left knee in the Fiesta Bowl against Elliott’s Buckeyes.
Stop me if you heard the one about Jones taking a chance on a player who does something stupid, and doesn’t live up to the hype…
I’ll wait.
-JC24