A recent NFL runner ranking compiled by league management showed that Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott did not make the top ten. But what does Shannon Sharp say about Elliott’s recent ranking?
In Wednesday’s issue of Undisputed, Sharp addressed Elliott’s ranking outside the top 10. He found himself agreeing with that.
Sharp explained that it was impossible to justify Elliott’s entry into the top ten with the hope that he would regain his former dominance. He said that runners in the “7th year” don’t get back what they lost in previous years.
“You can’t justify putting him in the top ten,” Sharp said. “We don’t see that RB in the 7th grade have regained what they have lost over the past 2-3 years. Zeke’s not that guy anymore.”
In his first three seasons in the NFL, Ezekiel Elliott led the league in yards per game each season. He nearly won every major award as a rookie, running for 1,631 yards and 15 touchdowns.
But over the past two seasons, Elliott’s performance has declined slightly. Although he still finds the scoring zone fairly regularly, his yards per touch have dropped to the lowest level of his career.
In part, this can be explained by the fact that the Dallas Cowboys took some of the load off Elliott and shared responsibilities with Tony Pollard.
But it still seems premature to write off Elliott as a downswing runningback. The coming year will be extremely revealing.
