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Film room: What separates Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott from his peers?

The NFL is filled with talented backs, but this small part of Elliott's game sets him apart.

The NFL has an exorbitant amount of talent at the running back position. There’s tall backs, short backs, light back, heavy backs, fast backs and powerful backs — the NFL has them all, as running back may be the most talent-rich position in the sport. Therefore, for a running back to truly set himself apart from the pack, he has to master the details and nuances that go beyond physical abilities.

Since being drafted in 2016, Ezekiel Elliott has undoubtedly done just that, as he’s separated himself from the pack and has been one of the premier running backs in football since he cleats first touched down on an NFL field.

From 2016-19, he ranked second in rushing TDs (40; Todd Gurley is first with 48) and first in attempts (1,169), rushing yards (5,405) and rushing yards per game (96.5). During that time, we’ve marveled at his consistency, vision, toughness and physicality as he’s pounded opposing defenses into submission.

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Additionally, sans 2019, Elliott was one of the NFL’s most explosive running backs, as evidenced by the fact that Elliott led the NFL in explosive runs (15+ yards) in 2016 (22; which accumulated 33.7% of his rushing total) and 2018 (25, which resulted in 36.7% of his rushing total), as his 2017 season was limited to 10 games due to suspension.

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Nevertheless, in 2019, the punishment from the 1,000+ carries in four seasons appeared to finally take its toll. Despite playing a full 16-game schedule, Elliott fell all the way to 13th in explosive runs (12, which is less than half of 2018′s total despite playing one more game). He appeared to lack the juice and open-field acceleration to turn moderate gains (5-10 yards) into explosive runs, which has forced him to rely on the totality of his skill set to still be among the league’s best.

This is evidenced by the Cowboys finishing 18th in open field yards (0.72; defined as the yards which this team’s running backs earn more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage, divided by total running back carries) in 2019, but were first in second-level yards (1.42; which is the yards which this team’s running backs earn between 5-10 yards past the line of scrimmage, divided by total running back carries), per Football Outsiders.

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Don’t get it twisted, however, despite the precipitous decline in explosive runs in 2019, Elliott still maintained his standing as one of the league’s best backs. He finished first in defense-adjusted yards above replacement (DYAR) in 2019 at 324, meaning if a replacement-level player was given Elliott’s 301 carries last year, that player would be expected to gain 324 fewer yards than Elliott (who accumulated 1,357 rushing yards) did, which is more than any other back last season. He also finished fourth among RBs (minimum 100 carries) in success rate (56%), behind just Mark Ingram, Chris Carson and Latavius Murray, none of whom are tasked with as much volume as Elliott.

Moreover, with Elliott leading Dallas’ rushing attack, the Cowboys ranked second in the NFL in power success rate — as 76% of their runs on third or fourth down, two yards or less to go, that achieved a first down or touchdown (also includes first- and second-and-goal) — and first in stuffed rate — as just 13% of Dallas’ runs were stopped at or prior to the line of scrimmage.

One big reason why Elliott’s maintained his effectiveness is his contact balance, forward lean and savviness enable him to create positive gains on plays that would otherwise be negative or negligible. Here’s an example:

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On this play, the Cowboys are running a weak lead zone concept from 21 personnel (two running backs, one tight end and two receivers).

Once Elliott receives the handoff, the Vikings do a great job of clogging all of the running lanes. However, instead of putting his head down and attacking forward into the designated hole — the strongside A-gap between Zack Martin and Travis Frederick — Elliott remains patient and slows his pace to see if any other running lane develops while still pressing that strongside A-gap.

By remaining patient and pressing that strongside A-gap, Elliott manipulates the nose tackle (No. 94) to cross Frederick’s face and shed inside to make the tackle, which opens up a running lane in the weakside A-gap between Frederick and Connor Williams.

From there, Elliott does an excellent job maneuvering himself into the open running lane; however, Everson Griffen (No. 97) does a good job shedding Tyron Smith’s block to make contact and drag Elliott to the ground. Nonetheless, it should be noted that Griffen’s contact was indirect, which enabled Elliott to stumble forward for an extra three yards.

If Elliott had put his helmet down at attacked that strongside A-gap initially, then he would have been tackled square, where it would have been much less likely that he was going to stumble forward for a couple of extra yards. It’s much easier to create those ‘dirty yards’ against indirect contact rather than square contact, and it’s a huge reason why Elliott consistently churns out those tough yards through contact.

It’s not going to go on many highlight reels, but turning a probable zero-yard gain into three yards is quite a feat, especially against a defense as talented as Minnesota’s, but it’s abnormal for Elliott. These dirty yards don’t seem like much individually, but they add up and put the offense in better down-and-distance scenarios.

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If turning a probable zero-yard gain into three yards doesn’t blow your hair back, then how about a play where Elliott channels his inner Emmitt Smith to shuck off the best defender on Earth in the backfield to create a 10-yard gain out of nothing? Well, your wish is my command (volume turned ON):

The Cowboys are once again in 21 personnel but are running a wham concept, where Aaron Donald (No. 99) is left initially unblocked so that Jamize Olawale can then use his upfield penetration against him to wall Donald off from the hole. However, Donald, who is the best defender in the NFL, gets so much penetration that Olawale didn’t have the angle to make a clean block, giving Donald free access to Elliott.

However, Elliott utilizes a baby arm — a technique often utilized by Cowboys HOFer Emmitt Smith in the past — to prevent Donald from latching onto his torso, causing Donald to slide off the tackle as Elliott shucks him off. Elliott then does an excellent job manipulating the linebacker (No. 58) by initially veering outside, which forced the LB to stay outside to keep contain, giving Elliott a huge vertical seam into Los Angeles’ secondary for the big gain.

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Running the ball is already a safe play-call as it is, but Elliott makes it even safer because of his ability to consistently churn out positive yards and maximize the value of runs when the running lanes are muddied, just like above.

Now, it goes without saying that the Cowboys offensive line certainly deserves a lot of credit for his consistency, as they been one of the best units for most of Elliott’s career, but Elliott’s vision between the tackles and ability to make quick decisions while deciphering, anticipating and manipulating blocking leverage in tight quarters enable him to consistently accumulate positive yardage. Here’s an example:

Here, the Cowboys are once again in 21 personnel running a wham concept; however, Donald hangs closer to the line of scrimmage, giving Olawale the optimal angle to shield Donald for the designated running lane.

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The play-side stacked linebacker (No. 51) does an excellent job playing cat and mouse with Tyron Smith to avoid the All-Pros block, which enables him to fill the strongside A-gap between Frederick and Su’a-Filo.

Nonetheless, when Elliott receives the ball, he doesn’t immediately panic with an unblocked barreling down him and bounce outside into Michael Brockers’ arms, who has contain (outside) leverage with his inside arm fully extended, putting Su’a-Filo on his heels. Instead, Elliott presses that A-gap hard, which influences Brockers to attempt to cross Su’a-Filo’s face to make the tackle. Elliott waits until Brockers fully commits to crossing face before bouncing outside, creating a nice running lane for Elliott to pick up positive yardage.

Once Elliott crosses the line of scrimmage, he smartly gets vertical to maximize the positive yardage he can gain. In the process, he absorbs indirect contact from the side and drags the defender an extra five yards for a total gain of 10 yards.

Elliott is a true puppet master on the football field, as he manipulates second-level defenders as if he has them attached to a string — Elliott is Geppetto and opposing linebackers are just his collection of Pinocchios.

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We can argue all day about the inherent value of running backs in today’s NFL; however, what can’t be argued with is that Elliott is truly one of the best at, arguably, the most talent-rich position in all of football.

Hopefully, now, you have a better understanding as to why.

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