Tony Pollard Named Dallas Cowboys 'Most Under-Appreciated'
FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys have made it fairly clear that they value Tony Pollard, and, increasingly, as something more than just Ezekiel Elliott's caddy.
But NFL.com's Cynthia Frelund does not think that "value'' has been made clear enough, and she has tapped Pollard as the most "under-appreciated" player on the team.
Frelund's reasoning? She writes ...
"Pollard’s 6.4 yards per rush outside the tackles in 2021 ranked second among backs with at least 50 attempts, per Next Gen Stats. His success as Dallas' No. 2 back helped earn him PFF's second-highest grade (90.3) among all RBs.
"Given questions along the O-line, there is a strong and logical case to be made for Dallas to feature more plays with both Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott on the field."
We're not sure what "questions along the O-line'' have to do with any of this, but ...
Last season, Pollard had 719 rushing yards, 337 receiving yards and two total touchdowns while largely working behind Elliott, the NFL's two-time rushing champion. Already this offseason, we have seen a suggestion of an increase in Pollard's role. As an example: On the very first OTA snap open to the media last week, both Pollard and Zeke were on the field together, with the elusive Pollard - who played some wide receiver in college at Memphis - shifting out to the slot.
Frelund taking the position that Pollard is the most "under-appreciated player" on the Cowboys, while making a push, as she says, for the "strong and logical case to be made for Dallas to feature more plays with both Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott on the field'' is reasonable. And we invite that, especially when compared to the recent ESPN take that calls for the benching of Elliott.
If the Cowboys did that? Shortly thereafter, NFL.com would likely be writing, justifiably, that Ezekiel Elliott is the most under-appreciated Cowboy.
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