RGIII And Mark Ingram Heap Praise Upon Cowboys RB Zeke Elliott

Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott has been a seemingly constant target for fan criticism.

And that criticism is unjust.

The basis for continuing to slam Elliott is because of the unfair assessment that he's coming off a season considered by many to be a "down" year. The former first round pick's down season included 12 combined rushing and receiving touchdowns.

According to former division rival Robert Griffin III and current Saint Mark Ingram, those criticisms are unwarranted and Elliott's talent, toughness and production should be appreciated.

“People say (Ezekiel Elliott) had a down year last year but he ranked 7th in rushing yards, 6th in rushing touchdowns, and averaged 4.2 yards per carry,” Griffin, a former quarterback, said in a Thursday afternoon tweet. “They paid him to be the best but stop acting like he didn’t improve in every major stat category from the previous year.”

In September of 2019, Dallas signed Elliott to a six-year extension worth $90 million, including $50 million guaranteed.

During the 2021 season, Elliott played all 17 games for a Cowboys team that advanced to the playoffs. In addition to his 12 touchdowns, Elliott rushed for more than 1,000 yards and caught 47 passes for 287 yards.

He apparently did so while less than 100%, yet didn't miss a regular season or post season game.

Ingram, a former Heisman Trophy winner, highlighted the fact that Elliott produced despite being banged up. That's something that Ingram, more than most, can appreciate because he knows first-hand that the beating NFL running backs take is incomparable to that of any other position.

A veteran of 153 career games, Ingram is yet to play all 16 (and now 17) games in an NFL regular season since being drafted in 2011. He responded to RGIII's tweet with an opinion of his own, pumping up Elliott.

" “They” just hate running backs bro Zeke balled with a knee injury all last year," Ingram tweeted. "Mf need to pay homage n respect greatness!!"

Since the 2021 campaign came to a close, it's been confirmed that Zeke played most of the season with a partially torn PCL.

He enters 2022 with the third-most rushing yards in Cowboys history (7,386).

 

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