Defending Zeke: Where Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott Really Ranks in NFL

Locked On Cowboys: Is Ezekiel Elliott a Top-5 running back?

Jeremy Brener | Jul 13, 2021

The Cowboys are about to enter Year 6 of the Ezekiel Elliott era.

Zeke has been a staple of the Cowboys and his impressive stats have become mundane because he set himself such a high bar during the first four years of his career.

Last year, Zeke had arguably the worst season of his career with his pal Dak Prescott on the sideline for most of the year. He ran for just 65.3 yards per game and 979 yards, both career lows. However, those numbers are lows because Zeke set the bar so high for himself.

Elliott has managed at least 240 carries in each of his first five seasons and he ranks 15th all-time for rushing yards in the first five seasons of a career. Eight of the backs ahead of Zeke are in the Hall of Fame.

On today's episode of "Locked On Cowboys," hosts Marcus Mosher and Landon McCool debate whether Ezekiel Elliott is still a top-5 running back and his expectations leading into the 2021 season.

Plus, they debate who could be the breakout star of the 2021 season for the Cowboys and what would need to happen for the defense to be considered among the league's best.

Marcus and Landon deal with all that more on this episode of "Locked On Cowboys." Join us here!

Published Jul 13, 2021

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.