With the season almost upon us, I’ll look at the various backfields across the NFL. Let’s look at the NFC East and West. Welcome home, football.
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys
Ezekiel Elliott
Locked in as a top pick for most of the offseason, Ezekiel Elliott might be poised to have his best season ever. Elliott finished last season as a top-three RB (top-five in points per game) and was among the leaders in a variety of metrics.
When Dallas played with a lead of at least a touchdown, Elliott was the team’s primary RB.
Interestingly, Elliott was also utilized as the primary RB when Dallas trailed by a touchdown or more.
If the Dallas offense is as explosive as we expect it to be, Elliott could finish as the RB1 this season.
Tony Pollard
Tony Pollard is an injury to Elliott away from being a league-winning pick this season. Over the course of his rookie year, Pollard produced three massive games, underscoring why he is a viable late-round best ball pick.
Pollard checks in as the RB7 in Shawn Siegele’s ZRB list.
Rico Dowdle
I have already mentioned that the Dallas offense is primed to explode, which means all Cowboys should be on your radar. That includes UDFA RB Rico Dowdle.
However, Dowdle’s list of comps is awful and he should only be rostered in the direst of circumstances.
