Should Cowboys have paid Zeke?

[basel90]

who put this defense together ? who selected these DBs, CB DTs ?

 

[reddyuta]

Cowboys should not have drafted Zeke.no RB is worth a 1st RD pick,they are just not worth it because they get hit a lot and their shelf life is low.

 

[BoysfanfromCanada]

I feel like if Randle wasn't such a flop in 2015, the front office may have been more ok with letting Zeke walk (their idea of drafting him to be a weapon for Romo wasnt the worst idea, Romo just got hurt before he could utilize him). I think that whole fiasco (Dunbar, McFadden, etc being average at best) made them think they needed Zeke enough to pay that amount

 

[catiii]

NO --should not have drafted a RB at #4 AND it was stoopid to pay him early. Shoulda' let him walk.
Jones boys = alcohol, low standards and poor decisions. I would love to see how much money these bumpkins lose with plunger bets in Vegas by betting emotionally based on ego afraid to lose in front of a cute craps dealer, and totally forgetting about the basics like money management, knowledge of the game, bankroll, & discipline - they've got none of that as we've seen.

 

[Aviano90]

I feel like if Randle wasn't such a flop in 2015, the front office may have been more ok with letting Zeke walk (their idea of drafting him to be a weapon for Romo wasnt the worst idea, Romo just got hurt before he could utilize him). I think that whole fiasco (Dunbar, McFadden, etc being average at best) made them think they needed Zeke enough to pay that amount

I think that is one of the problems I think we have as a fanbase. Too man people think too lowly of 2015 and too highly of 2016-2020. It’s just nobody wants to go to bat for the 2015 running backs. I guarantee if Zeke was our back in 2015, more people would dig a little deeper.

The 2015 rushing attack was 9th best despite having only the 18th most rushing attempts. We were top 5 in ypc (4.6). We had the leagues 4th leading rusher and we led the league in average time of possession per drive until the last weekend of the season and finished 3rd best for the season.

This was all accomplished with one of the worst passing games in the league. Romo only played 3.5 games and we had Weeden, Cassel and Moore as back ups. Additionally; Dez was only healthy for 1 quarter before he got dehydrated and ultimately broke his foot in week 1. He missed and/or came back still hurt for the remainder of the season, so we really didn’t have a legitimate #1 receiver.

2015, if anything, shows we didn’t need to go get Zeke. It worked out for 2016 because a phenomenal rookie year but in 2017 Zeke averaged 4.1 ypc, the same as Randle did in 2015, while McFadden was at 4.6 ypc.

 

[Flamma]

It’s a reminder of how little attention Cowboys management was paying to the NFL landscape in the summer of 2019 when they honored Elliott’s holdout and made him the highest-paid back in the league.

The last thing any NFL team ever wants is the highest-paid back on its payroll, which is why Zeke has no trade value whatsoever. Nobody is looking to add a huge salary cap hit at the running back position for 2021 with a declining player who now can’t stop fumbling along with not being able to break runs of any consequence.

Yet here the Cowboys are because the Joneses got scared and were afraid of what might happen if they opened the 2019 season without Zeke.

The Cowboys are a franchise out of step, and now it’s running out of having anything on offense beyond some top-notch receivers and a running back whose history and contract far exceed his present value.

As time passed and Prescott developed and the Cowboys added Amari Cooper and then CeeDee Lamb, this became Dak’s offense. Elliott’s importance diminished on an almost weekly basis. He became a luxury item , a $90 million player with zero trade value.

My problem was the actual contract. They should have used the Steelers approach and gave him the same amount of money but only guaranteed the signing bonus.

 

[aria]

no. zeke may have been great. maybe great. but you don't pay a RB. days of emmitt smith are over. and all we had to do was watch the rams with Gurley and how that worked out. plus, Zeke had two....TWO years left on his contract. Jones blinked. he should have let him sit out 6 games and then he would be back and he would have the upper hand.....

But then we would never had made the playoffs...wait...playoffs?

 

[NorthoftheRedRiver]

Many of us here advised against buckling to Zeke's demands. This is what happens when leadership ignores us like that.

 

[LowTech]

Woulda, shoulda, coulda doesn't really matter now.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

Hindsight and IF........two of the most misused words in the NFL.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

But then we would never had made the playoffs...wait...playoffs?

we probably would have made the playoffs.....

 

[Diehardblues]

It appears the captain obvious awards are as prevalent as participation trophies. Soap box derby's used to be car races for kids. Not mindless babbling in an attempt to garner attention. Following mnf's pathetic performance, it seems sufficient to just say this defense has no heart.

I’d argue the turnovers are a major contributing factor. And there’s other factors we could add. Pick up a paper or tune in to any source of media.

And if fans don’t want to be exposed to the criticism why come on social media?

 

[Big_D]

who put this defense together ? who selected these DBs, CB DTs ?

Same people who overdrafted and are now overpaying the RB.

 

[kumizi]

There haven't been any because of his contract.

Today I learned that paying ****** players $15 million a year has no effect on your team building.

Thank you for your incredible insight as always

 

[Diehardblues]

I think that is one of the problems I think we have as a fanbase. Too man people think too lowly of 2015 and too highly of 2016-2020. It’s just nobody wants to go to bat for the 2015 running backs. I guarantee if Zeke was our back in 2015, more people would dig a little deeper.

The 2015 rushing attack was 9th best despite having only the 18th most rushing attempts. We were top 5 in ypc (4.6). We had the leagues 4th leading rusher and we led the league in average time of possession per drive until the last weekend of the season and finished 3rd best for the season.

This was all accomplished with one of the worst passing games in the league. Romo only played 3.5 games and we had Weeden, Cassel and Moore as back ups. Additionally; Dez was only healthy for 1 quarter before he got dehydrated and ultimately broke his foot in week 1. He missed and/or came back still hurt for the remainder of the season, so we really didn’t have a legitimate #1 receiver.

2015, if anything, shows we didn’t need to go get Zeke. It worked out for 2016 because a phenomenal rookie year but in 2017 Zeke averaged 4.1 ypc, the same as Randle did in 2015, while McFadden was at 4.6 ypc.

I agree with some points. In 2015 McFadden had over a 1,000 yards rushing. Randle just wasn’t the right compliment . A RB by committee could have worked with the right personnel.

But no doubt using our 1st rd pick was an over reaction after letting Murray go and the results there of.

And what will be looked back on as one of the biggest bundles by this dysfunctional organization is not taking advantage of Dak and Zeke on their Rookie contracts. That was our best window of opportunity.

 

[Ken]

It’s a reminder of how little attention Cowboys management was paying to the NFL landscape in the summer of 2019 when they honored Elliott’s holdout and made him the highest-paid back in the league.

The last thing any NFL team ever wants is the highest-paid back on its payroll, which is why Zeke has no trade value whatsoever. Nobody is looking to add a huge salary cap hit at the running back position for 2021 with a declining player who now can’t stop fumbling along with not being able to break runs of any consequence.

Yet here the Cowboys are because the Joneses got scared and were afraid of what might happen if they opened the 2019 season without Zeke.

The Cowboys are a franchise out of step, and now it’s running out of having anything on offense beyond some top-notch receivers and a running back whose history and contract far exceed his present value.

As time passed and Prescott developed and the Cowboys added Amari Cooper and then CeeDee Lamb, this became Dak’s offense. Elliott’s importance diminished on an almost weekly basis. He became a luxury item , a $90 million player with zero trade value.

NOPE and I said that before they did it.

They should have called his bluff and made him report last year. Play out this year and be done.

The patriots would have never gave him that contract.

 

[kskboys]

Cowboys should not have drafted Zeke.no RB is worth a 1st RD pick,they are just not worth it because they get hit a lot and their shelf life is low.

Belechick and Andy Reid disagree w/ you.

 

[vlad]

Of course not. They shouldn’t have drafted a rb with the #4 pick. The jones love to double down though

 

[kskboys]

Very true………..everybody's gotten a kings ransom from Jerry...…..except Dakota; Jerry broke it off in him

They offered Dak a king's ransom. He turned it down.

 

[buybuydandavis]

If you draft a player #4 overall, you have to give them a second contract unless they are a bust, so yes, they had to pay him.

The problem is drafting a RB at #4 overall.

No. Sunk cost.

Zeke was a Romo Window pick. Window was done a long time ago. His play and our needs just didn't justify the extension.