NFL draft takeaways: Cowboys passing on RB opens door to Ezekiel Elliott reunion
Despite the projections, declarations and well, the undeniable need, the Dallas Cowboys came out of the NFL draft without selecting a running back.
Does this set the stage for a reunion with Ezekiel Elliott? The two sides have a deal in place, pending a physical, as first reported by NFL Media.
Elliott and his agent, Rocky Arceneaux, met with the Cowboys brass last week. Since then, Jerry Jones and Co. haven’t been bashful in expressing their love for the aging running back.
Assuming it happens, Zeke would become the quintessential run-it-back.
Of course, Elliott, 28, is no longer one of the league’s most dominant runners. During his one season away from the Cowboys in 2023 with the New England Patriots, he put up career-low numbers across the board. He logged 184 carries for 642 yards, averaging 3.5 yards with three rushing TDs.
Teams haven’t been exactly banging down the door to sign him as a free agent.
Yet Elliott seemingly has some special value to the Cowboys beyond the positive locker room influence that Jones noted during the draft.
Maybe Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy dropped a hint when asked about the running back shutout during the draft, maintaining, "We’re not done yet."
They sure could have used Elliott last season as the most glaring weakness for the NFL’s highest-scoring offense was its struggles punching the ball in when close to the goal line. Now, with starting running back Tony Pollard gone to the Tennessee Titans, the Cowboys try to sort out the backfield with the likes of Rico Dowdle, recently signed Royce Freeman and second-year pro Deuce Vaughn.
Dallas also signed Missouri running back Nathaniel Peat, clocked at 4.37 seconds in the 40-yard dash, as an undrafted college free agent.
How could Elliott be fed in this mix? I’m guessing that he’d have to be a role player specializing at the goal line and in short-yardage situations. If the sides can agree on how that value pays on a contract, Elliott – who rushed for 8,262 yards and 68 TDs in seven seasons with Dallas – might mimic the dangerous threat Marcus Allen posed for the Kansas City Chiefs during the latter stages of his Hall of Fame career. In his final season in 1997, Allen rushed for 11 touchdowns – with zero starts.
It would have made sense, too, had the Cowboys drafted a running back as widely expected. Yet this apparently wasn’t the year of such depth. The most-coveted running back, Jonathon Brooks of Texas, went off the board in the second round, 46th overall to the Carolina Panthers.
Dallas might have targeted Brooks with its pick at 56th overall, but the Panthers, already slotted ahead of the Cowboys with the 52nd pick, traded up six slots to get Brooks.
The Cowboys’ draft, meanwhile, was stamped by the investments in rebuilding the offensive line after key free agent departures. Enter first-round Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton (No. 29 overall) as the projected replacement for long-time anchor Tyron Smith and third-rounder Cooper Beebe (No. 73) from Kansas State, the unanimous All-American projected to fill the void of departed center Tyler Biadasz.
No, the Cowboys didn’t have a sexy draft. Yet with the draft considered deep in offensive line talent, Jones made no apologies for seeking the potential answers for the trenches.
"Why do you rob banks?" Jones quipped. "Because that’s where the money is."
Farewell, Pac-12
Not a bad curtain call, Pac-12. The conference produced the No. 1 pick overall in USC’s Caleb Williams. It produced three of the record-setting six quarterbacks drafted within the top 12 picks, with Williams joined by Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon’s Bo Nix. And when the draft ended, there were 43 players from Pac-12 schools selected, second-most of any conference after the SEC’s 59 picks.
"It shows that the last year of the Pac-12 was really good for us," said Williams, the new face of the Chicago Bears. "It was a good way to close out the Pac-12."
Ravens influence
Sure, it was Jim Harbaugh’s first draft as Los Angeles Chargers coach, accented by the selection of two of his former Michigan players, third-round linebacker Junior Colson and seventh-round receiver Cornelius Johnson.
Yet just as significant, it was the first time that new Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz ran a draft. And Hortiz was flanked by the new assistant GM, Chad Alexander.
Hortiz and Alexander worked together for 20 years with the Baltimore Ravens, trained by legendary GM Ozzie Newsome and current Ravens GM Eric DeCosta. They watched DeCosta serve as Newsome’s right-hand man for years. Now Alexander, who came over from the New York Jets, is in a similar role under Hortiz. With another Harbaugh as coach, they could feel the presence of their mentors.
"We do bring a lot of it," Hortiz said of the Ravens’ process. "I’ve never done it from that chair, but after doing it, after meetings and everything, you learn a lot more than you even realized just by sitting there and watching them.
"Some of the philosophical stuff that Ozzie taught us way back when, that came into play in my mind many, many times and certainly, the mechanic and the strategy that Eric has employed since he was the director of college scouting and director of player personnel in Baltimore. I watched him do it for so long. A lot of that rubbed off on me."
Hortiz used his first pick, fifth overall, to select Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt.
Incidentally, Newsome used his first pick, fourth overall, on a tackle, too, in 1996 while running the Ravens draft for the first time. And Jonathan Ogden wound up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
No pressure, Hortiz.
CMC’s new pupil
Isaac Guerendo, the explosive Louisville running back chosen in the fourth round by the San Francisco 49ers, realizes that his new gig comes with a bonus: the opportunity to learn from Christian McCaffrey, the three-time first-team All-Pro and reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
"I was just telling my family, I think that he’s probably going to get annoyed with me and how many questions I’ll ask him just because of the amount of production he has and continues to have and how consistent he is," Guerendo said. "And then his recovery plan, just all that stuff. Just being able to pick a great back like that’s brain, is really important. So, hopefully in the next few weeks he’s not annoyed by me, but we’ll see."
Business decision
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is a Philadelphia Eagles linebacker now. Just like his father, who earned four Pro Bowl selections while wearing an Eagles uniform and is in the team’s Hall of Fame. Yet Eagles GM Howie Roseman, who traded up to draft Trotter, insists there was no hometown bias in drafting the fifth-round pick from Clemson whom he has known for many years. It was strictly business.
As Roseman joked, "You know, the best person in the world that I know is my wife, and I don’t want her playing linebacker for us."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2024 NFL draft takeaways: Ezekiel Elliott Cowboys reunion coming soon?
