The 2018 Dallas Cowboys offense will look vastly different than it did a year ago, meaning running back Ezekiel Elliott could have a huge year. Perhaps MVP worthy, and here are five reasons why.
It’s hard to draw a bead on the 2018 Dallas Cowboys, particularly on offense where they lost tight end Jason Witten to retirement and parted ways with wide receiver Dez Bryant this offseason.
A year after boasting a middle-of-the-pack offense, quarterback Dak Prescott and Co. will be pressured into figuring out ways to avoid falling into offensive pitfalls, keeping up with more complete offenses within the NFC East and taking pressure off a largely young and developing defense.
Well, there’s one way to do it — feed running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Elliott’s 2017 campaign was defined more by his six-game suspension than his on-field efforts. And it didn’t help the Cowboys were dealing with other issues, namely looking at a future sans Witten and Bryant, which largely overshadowed a still-impressive season from the former Ohio State Buckeye.
Sure, while Elliott’s overall numbers and averages weren’t quite on par with his All-Pro (heck, all-everything) rookie season, 2017 still has to be looked at as elite-like totals:
| Game | Rush | Rush | Rush | Rush | Rush | Rush | Rece | Rece | Rece | Rece | Tota | Tota | Tota | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | Pos | G | Rush | Yds | TD | Lng | Y/A | Y/G | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | Touch | Y/Tch | YScm | Fmb |
| 2016*+ | 21 | DAL | RB | 15 | 322 | 1631 | 15 | 60 | 5.1 | 108.7 | 32 | 363 | 11.3 | 1 | 354 | 5.6 | 1994 | 5 |
| 2017 | 22 | DAL | RB | 10 | 242 | 983 | 7 | 30 | 4.1 | 98.3 | 26 | 269 | 10.3 | 2 | 268 | 4.7 | 1252 | 1 |
| Care | Care | 25 | 564 | 2614 | 22 | 60 | 4.6 | 104.6 | 58 | 632 | 10.9 | 3 | 622 | 5.2 | 3246 | 6 |
And there are reasons to believe Elliott could be even better this season.
Yes, perhaps MVP-like numbers in 2018. Now this isn’t exactly a prediction piece. There are more than a few stars around the league capable of recording that accolade. It would be foolish to count out Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers or Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley. You might even see an MVP-caliber season from running back Le’Veon Bell, who promised this would be his best season yet.
But if Elliott winds up getting the nod here, these five reasons will be why.
Next Page: No. 5
