Zeke is ‘Fast & Crisp’ at OTAs, says Cowboys’ Kellen Moore
FRISCO - Dallas Cowboys' starting running back Ezekiel Elliott, who turns 26 next month, had a forgettable 2020. Much of the team did. Regardless of the reasons and excuses, results are what most people remember.
And it’s why glowing accounts of his OTA work are so inviting.
Cowboys coordinator Kellen Moore said he looks “great. Zeke has had an awesome offseason. ...Total command of the whole thing. ...Fast and crisp.
“He looks really good, and we're excited."
Injuries were the reason and excuse, and the overall theme of the Cowboys' 2020 season. The result? Elliott started 15 games last year and posted career-lows in rushing yards (979) and combined touchdowns (8). He also tied his career-high with six fumbles, five of them becoming turnovers.
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When we consider the fact that Dak Prescott went down with his season-ending injury in Week 5, that could’ve opened the door for Elliott to shine with the running game becoming a priority. But it didn't. The Cowboys stayed 'pass first' after losing Dak, with the carousel of quarterbacks they rolled out the rest of the season.
Elliott will no doubt have something to prove in 2021, and he has started early. The work has apparently paid off and already started to show in OTAs. And that’s just Just the result of his coordinator’s testimony.
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Former NFL scout and current NFL analyst for 105.3 The Fan Bryan Broaddus had this to say after watching Zeke this past week:
“Zeke, a couple of times, jump cut, the defender comes at you, plant, avoid, get out of the way with some quickness. Those drills that we’ve been seeing on social media look like they’re paying off a little bit … when you talk about his footwork, clearly it’s been something he’s been very conscious of because there were a couple of times where he got into the hole and was able to bounce it outside with a quick move and I was thinking ‘Oh, I haven’t seen that in a little time’.”
Our guy Mike Fisher, who attends OTAs alongside Broaddus, said, “Zeke moves more like a ‘scat-back’ than he has since his rookie year.”
We might also guess he's been working on holding on to the ball as well.
Zeke enters the 2021 season tied for second-most in the league in yearly average salary for running backs, according to OverTheCap.com. He's being paid as one of the best in the game. Now we'll see if that can translate from OTAs to the playing field in 2021.
