As the Cowboys rely more and more on Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott might be more important than you think

OXNARD, Calif. — The Cowboys defense was at it again with double A-gap pressures.

Linebacker Eric Kendricks drove into one of the gaps between center and guard, one safety coming up from behind to tackle the other.

Micah Parsons stood behind them, ready to threaten.

The Cowboys offense hadn’t discussed it.

“What any team is going to want to do (is) block Micah,” quarterback Dak Prescott told Yahoo Sports. “But for him it was off the ball and in that look, it made it complicated for us.”

So Prescott asked the three offensive linemen to keep an eye on five potential rushers. His offensive linemen weren’t the only ones who answered the call. Have running back Ezekiel Elliott chip Parsons.

“What makes it work is Zeke is a professional,” Prescott said. “His boy leaves, follows him and can follow Micah. Boom, I step forward, throw Brandin Cooks on the back at the time.

Success.

Running a training camp game hardly guarantees success in the regular season. But on that double-A-gap pressure — a look Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer increasingly challenged the offense with throughout training camp — Elliott did a job his quarterback was still bragging about for a week and half later, despite his complete absence from the stat line.

The fourth overall pick in the 2016 draft didn’t stymie defenders like he did in his early years. Elliott hasn’t found a crease to break in like he did two seasons ago, when he scored 12 touchdowns even as his efficiency dipped.

But Elliott’s block gave Prescott the extra seconds he needed to complete the pass. Elliott’s deep understanding of classmate Prescott’s nuances and the game entering Year 9 as a pro translated into being in the right place at the right time.

Dallas expects more of that as the season approaches.

So while skepticism about Elliott’s explosiveness and perhaps his raw production is warranted, the Cowboys view Elliott’s role in their ecosystem more favorably than the general public.

“Not all running backs have that much football mental toughness,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer told Yahoo Sports. “(Elliott) sees the game like a quarterback. He sees the big picture, which is really cool.

“The hard yards, the hard yards, the four minutes (attack)? Don’t sleep on it. He still has a lot left in the tank.”

wCowboys and Zeke divorced then remarried

The Cowboys released Elliott before the 2023 season in an attempt to shed an expensive contract that was likely past market value.

Elliott received a six-year, $90 million extension in 2019 after a holdout similar to the current absence of wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. He still punished in that first season back, rushing for 1,357 yards and 12 touchdowns while averaging 4.5 yards per carry a season after leading the league in rushing, yards and total touchdowns .

But soon, Elliott’s effectiveness declined. From 2020 to 2022, Elliott averaged 4 yards per carry against his rookie 5. He still scored 32 total touchdowns in three years, but by 2022 he was attacking as a one -two with Tony Pollard, from the fourth round of 2019.

The Cowboys relished the chance to wear down defenses with Elliott’s strength and then confuse defenders’ tackle angles with Pollard’s elusiveness. But after Pollard totaled 1,378 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns, the Cowboys decided the more expensive Elliott was expendable.

Dallas won 10 more games, leading the league in scoring and fifth in yards.

But Elliott’s absence was conspicuous. The Cowboys’ rushing attack slipped from ninth in 2022 to 14th, and its scoring from second to 15th.

A year after completing a league-high 71.43 percent of their red zone trips, Dallas completed just 56.34 percent (14th) last season.

In New England, with a much less talented offense and offensive line, Elliott racked up 955 yards and five touchdowns from scrimmage.

So, for a veteran minimum salary of $1.25 million, the Cowboys brought him back.

“I was bad in the red zone last year,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told Yahoo Sports. “We weren’t on top of our game and Zeke has a nose to put the ball in. (So) I still think Zeke is going to be tremendously successful.”

Defining Elliott’s success will require considering his assists.

Elliott will still figure in the running game — but it may not be his most valuable role

The Cowboys enter 2024 without a clear-cut top running back for the first time in Prescott’s nine seasons.

Elliott filled that role for six seasons, splitting it with Pollard in a seventh and passing it to Pollard in the eighth.

The Tennessee Titans gave Pollard a three-year, $24 million deal this spring that was richer than the Cowboys were willing to pay. So Elliott will be among the Cowboys’ top two options with Rico Dowdle, who rushed for a career-high 361 yards and two touchdowns last season while also catching 17 passes for 144 yards and two scores.

Dowdle, an undrafted product out of South Carolina, didn’t start a game last season as he played just 22 percent of the offensive snaps.

Dallas relies on the Elliott-Dowdle combination to be enough.

“We’re going to be a committee this year,” Schottenheimer said of the running backs. “I’m excited about it – I think that’s where the league is going anyway.”

Teams are moving away from star quarterbacks because of the perceived devaluation of the position on second contracts and because of the emergence of analytics that scream efficiency of the passing game.

And that’s where the Cowboys expect Elliott to help.

Don’t expect Elliott to feature much in Prescott’s reads, with Lamb the Cowboys’ clear first option, followed by tight end Jake Ferguson, Cooks and wide receiver Jalen Tolbert.

Instead, think about the double A-gap pressure Prescott faced earlier in training camp. Elliott, he says, made the transition happen.

“As I talk about my experience making me better, his experience makes him better,” Prescott said. “Now, does he have the burst that he once had, does he have the speed that he once had? Not necessarily. But I think he’s better at riding the wave and pushing his goals and then making cuts, getting guys on their feet. I feel like it’s better, and when you’re able to do that, it’s still the same.

“So it evens out.”