Ezekiel Elliott was a star during his college days with the Ohio State Buckeyes. When Carlos Hyde left for the NFL, the Buckeyes would turn to Zeke to be their starting Running Back the next year. That would end up being the best decision the team made because the offense traveled through him. I’ll never forget when Ohio State played the Alabama Crimson Tide in the inaugural College Football Playoff. He ran for 230 yards on 20 carries in a stunning win over a Nick Saban coached team. A few weeks later against the Oregon Ducks in the National Championship, he ran for 246 yards rushing and helped the Buckeyes win the first College Football Playoff National Title. For his efforts, Zeke was named the Offensive MVP of the game. The Dallas Cowboys would draft the star Running Back with the fourth overall pick in 2016 NFL Draft. Zeke became a key piece for the Dallas offense along with Dak Prescott. After seven seasons, the Cowboys decided to release Zeke. This year, the veteran Running Back will be with another team. The New England Patriots have signed him for a one-year deal.
I know injuries have been hampering Zeke’s career over the years, but then again, that’s a majority of Running Backs today because they play the toughest position on the field. Think of all their bodies undergo from being tackled and hit in the open field when carrying the football to blocking and picking up blitzes in pass protection. I’m not going to hold this over Zeke’s head at all because I know what comes with this position. When Zeke is on the field, he’s still serviceable and can be productive. In his last few years with the Cowboys, people continuously bashed him for not putting up big numbers, but then I’d say you can’t have an impact if they aren’t feeding you the football and that’s exactly what was happening because they were putting the ball in Dak’s hands more. I’ve compared him to Edgerrin James over these years because he’s a three-down back with the rare combination of athleticism, pass catching and blocking skills. When Zeke is fed the ball, he pushes himself up the field with serious momentum. It may look as if he only gained one yard on the carry, but he can push it for about four or five more yards. He has burst and can gain several yards per carry no matter the defense or who’s in his face. I’ve always admired his ability to catch the ball and he’s a threat to take it the distance in that aspect of the game as well. In today’s NFL, Running Backs are looked at more on what they can do without the football. One positive about Zeke is his ability to block. He might be the best blocking Running Back in the league.
This isn’t a bad move by the Patriots. They’ve always been known to take on veterans and work with them. I often think of them acquiring Corey Dillon from the Cincinnati Bengals backs in 2004 or when they acquired Randy Moss from the-then Oakland Raiders and look how that panned out. You could even look back to when they signed Darrelle Revis in 2014. New England had been seeking a Running Back who specializes in running between the tackles. Then, you add in Zeke’s prowess as a pass blocker, this should work out for them. The only thing I worry about are the antics at times and can he leave those at the door? Belichick is a no non-sense coach and he’ll release you right after the game if that presents itself.
