Dallas Cowboys 'License to Drive': Dak Prescott Reveals Best Ezekiel Elliott Story
FRISCO - Ezekiel Elliott, as a heralded first-round pick, and Dak Prescott, as something far shy of that as a fourth-round pick, joined the Dallas Cowboys at the same time in 2016, and the bond was a natural one.
"For a quarterback and running back coming in the same class, you're just going to naturally bond,'' Prescott said this week as he preps for an AT&T Stadium reunion on Sunday when Elliott shows up as a member of the visiting New England Patriots. "We learned the offense together, spent time together."
But there was another reason, Prescott revealed this week, that he and Elliott became "best friends,'' like "brothers.''
Cowboys pals Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott
"He didn't have a license at the time,'' Dak said with a laugh. "And I had a car.''
There will be more stories (not all of them for public consumption), more laughs, and tears, and emotion on Sunday for the big names on the 2-1 Cowboys and the 1-2 Patriots, who signed the two-time NFL rushing champ Zeke after Dallas made him a cap casualty in the spring. Elliott has suggested this will be "just another game.'' ... which is of course a fib. He's since conceded that it will be "weird'' and "special.''
"I expect Zeke's best every time he gets on the field," Prescott said. "He said it's gonna be emotional. I can't imagine that he doesn't come in and run a little harder than he normally does."
Dak and Zeke has a lengthy phone call this week, sharing memories from seven years of grand (though non-Super Bowl) times together. There were bumps in the road, certainly for Elliott and early-career charges of behavioral issues. But the running back's maturation as a Cowboys leader is among the reasons Pats coach Bill Belichick brought him into the New England locker room.
Said Prescott: "We came into this thing together. Grew on the field, off the field. It was awesome. It was unfortunate for him to go to another team, but that's part of this business. We learned that pretty quick. Happy for him, always pulling for him. ... I'm blessed for the time we had and it'll go well beyond our time playing."
