Cowboys NFL Draft Talk: Ezekiel Elliott 'Too High'? Clearing Up Jerry Jones Goof-Up

With the Cowboys linked to a running back with their first-round pick, the Joneses discuss the selection of Ezekiel Elliott in 2016. ... and a mess is made.

FRISCO - Was this a Jerry Jones goof-up, the Dallas Cowboys owner's "Arkansas Word Salad'' confusing a message about Emmitt Smith and Texas' Bijan Robinson and Alabama's Jahmyr Gibbs and most of all, Ezekiel Elliott?

Or is the lack of clarity the fault of the media, which thought it heard something come drawling out of Jones' mouth in Monday's pre-Draft press conference here at The Star that he simply did not say?

Was it, Zeke WAS "too high for us''? Meaning, "We drafted him No. 4 overall in 2016 and that's a mistake we'll not repeat this year by overrating a running back''?

Or was is, "Zeke IS "too high for us,'' meaning the present circumstance - his talented level and his salary - forced this offseason's goodbye?

Alas, it was the latter. But the misinterpretation of what Jerry said is now toothpaste oozing out of the tube, with countless national websites aggregating an unfortunate misstep by the local paper, creating the impression that Dallas regrets having ever drafted a heart-and-soul player and a two-time NFL rushing champion.

And away the headlines go ...

*"Jerry Jones Makes Surprising Admission About Elliott.''

*"Jerry Admits Cowboys Drafted Zeke 'Too High.''

*"Cowboys' Jerry Jones Admits Ezekiel Elliott Was Picked 'Too High' in 2016 NFL Draft.''

*"Jones Finally Owns Up to Glaring Mistake with Ezekiel Elliott.''

Powerful stuff - all based not on the Cowboys' draft mistake - they do not to this day believe selecting Elliott was a mistake at all - but rather, based on the media's mistake.

Jerry's full quote: ”Zeke is a good football player. He’s still an outstanding football player. I’ll say the word, ‘outstanding’ football player. He’s too high for us, where he was. That has a lot to do with this conversation about running back.”

And why was this broached? Because as Jones noted, when to draft a running back during this era of the "devaluation'' of the position is a hot topic - and one the Cowboys are wrestling with. While on paper it might appear as easy to draft the best player, Cowboys COO Stephen Jones detailed the thought process that goes into the potential use of a first-round pick at the position.

“What comes to my mind when we have this conversation is the physicalness and the injury factor,” Jones said. “You can have one and the next play not have one at a higher possibility there than maybe at another position. There’s a bunch of nuances that go into this running back conversation."

The Cowboys, having just released NFL rushing champ DeMarco Murray before the 2016 NFL Draft, knew exactly what they were getting into with Elliott. Said Stephen: “Obviously, we made a conscious decision to take Zeke. I think he was a big part of our success there when we got Dak (fourth-round surprise Prescott) and Zeke in there together, what he brought to the table, but at the same time, there are very few Emmitt Smith’s that play at a high level, a productive level, for 10 years."

The "Emmitt'' mention is an important one, as the Cowboys don't want to fool themselves into thinking any ol' star running back is going to play for 15 years and rush for an NFL-record 18,000 yards, as Smith did.

So ... the Cowboys are wrestling with the idea. Does a first-round player, if he's a running back, necessarily have to be worthy of a second big contract five years later? Is Tony Pollard here for 2023 at $10 million only to be replaced by the next "cheap'' kid from this draft? Is there reason for pause for the Cowboys about taking a running back in the first round again while understanding that picking at No. 26 (as Dallas presently is scheduled to do) has nothing to do with picking at No. 4 (Zeke's old spot)?

And most of all, come this weekend in the draft: Do they believe that there is a viable helper at running back in later rounds? Or that either Robinson or Gibbs is the super-difference-maker they need on offense, to help contend for titles as long as they can, thus negating the narrative of first-round running backs?

Those are the real questions the Dallas Cowboys are asking themselves about the running back position, all important but unfortunately obscured by a media goof-up that unfairly makes it seem that team officials themselves are the ones who got this all wrong.

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You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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