Twitter: Zeke's declining yard average per year

[Hawkeye0202]

I'm not saying Zeke is worth his contract, we all know he's overpaid but the declining production is not ALL his fault...........OL and Kellen Moore raise your hand.


For reference, notice Derrick Henry's rushing attempts the last three years.....303, 378, 219 ( only 8 games). Last year he was on pace for 400+ carries






Keep in mind his targets/carries also declined

2016...15 games 322 carries
2017...10 games 242 carries
2018...15 games 304 carries
2019...16 games 301 carries
2020...15 games 244 carries ( MM 1st year as HC )
2021...17 games 232 carries


https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HenrDe00.htm

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/ElliEz00.htm

 

[morasp]

I really hope they can rebuild the offensive line this year.

2018 Travis Fredrick goes to IR and is replaced by Joe Looney
2018 Connor Williams becomes starting LG

2019 Travis Fredrick Returns but is not the same player

2020 Joe Looney replaces Travis Fredrick,
2020 Tyron Smith starts 2 games

 

[Bobhaze]

I'm not saying Zeke is worth his contract, we all know he's overpaid but the declining production is not ALL his fault...........OL and Kellen Moore raise your hand.


For reference, notice Derrick Henry's rushing attempts the last three years.....303, 378, 219 ( only 8 games). Last year he was on pace for 400+ carries






Keep in mind his targets/carries also declined

2016...15 games 322 carries
2017...10 games 242 carries
2018...15 games 304 carries
2019...16 games 301 carries
2020...15 games 244 carries ( MM 1st year as HC )
2021...17 games 232 carries


https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HenrDe00.htm

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/ElliEz00.htm

There are a ton of miles on his tires going all the way back to Ohio State. Zeke has had a ton of punishment on his body and even though he’s only 26, with his workload he’s more like 30. He may actually be more effective as part of a RBBC than being the workhorse. But I don’t think JJ will allow. His highest paid players MUST play full time. It’s part of his marketing plan.

 

[charron]

Rushing attempts go down when your yards per carry is terrible which limits the ability to call multiple run plays within a set of downs. The coaches are miss using Zeke and Pollard because they look at contracts not ability when deciding who gets snaps, carries, etc.

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

Zeke is washed.

Everyone knows it. He knows it. The coaches know it. Jerry knows it.

He is just another anchor on this team at this point and we should move on as quickly as possible. Oh, and NEVER draft another RB high!

 

[Sarge]

If you haven’t noticed the decline then you don’t want to and probably never will.

 

[Doomsday101]

The 2021 season was the fourth 1,000-yard campaign for Elliott in six seasons. However, after two 100-yard performances and averaging 90.4 yards per game with five rushing touchdowns in the first five weeks, Elliott registered just 45.8 yards a contest in the last 12 games, and the reason why was because he played with a partially torn PCL for most of the season which was revealed after the Cowboys playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round.

He played injured, I will give him a certain amount of the benefit of the doubt. He will play this year and we will see

 

[baltcowboy]

In defense of Zeke he was fine until he hurt his knee, Tyron went down and Collins returned to the lineup as the starting right tackle. Pollard in Zeke formed the number 1 rushing duo in the league for the first 7?games. I am concerned because Zeke lost his wiggle. We blame Jarwin and Schultz for those bad edge blocks but Zeke should have beaten the backup safety to the end zone against Tampa.

 

[Ken]

I'm not saying Zeke is worth his contract, we all know he's overpaid but the declining production is not ALL his fault...........OL and Kellen Moore raise your hand.


For reference, notice Derrick Henry's rushing attempts the last three years.....303, 378, 219 ( only 8 games). Last year he was on pace for 400+ carries






Keep in mind his targets/carries also declined

2016...15 games 322 carries
2017...10 games 242 carries
2018...15 games 304 carries
2019...16 games 301 carries
2020...15 games 244 carries ( MM 1st year as HC )
2021...17 games 232 carries


https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HenrDe00.htm

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/ElliEz00.htm

Let's not mince words here...it is all his fault. Sure...OL is not the same but as the highest-paid RB in the league and former #4 overall pick, that shouldn't turn him into what he has become. He literally has been trash the last two years. He was slightly above average the year before that.

Fumble galore in 2020 and completely useless after his injury last year. Just have to get thru this year.

 

[Redline360]

Has a ton of miles on him simply due to the way he runs/blocks. Mid 20s but the miles of someone in their 30s.

His break away speed / miss tackle ability is long gone however can still wear defenses down with his running style. With Pollard and Zeke there is absolutely no reason why we shouldn't be able to run through most teams even with the OL having medicore rush win rates.

The majority of the run problems is KM fault imo. We were doing fine in the beginning of the year but regressed back to JG 2.0 run game schemes

 

[Majic]

Zeke is washed.

Everyone knows it. He knows it. The coaches know it. Jerry knows it.

He is just another anchor on this team at this point and we should move on as quickly as possible. Oh, and NEVER draft another RB high!

Not sure Stephen knows it.

 

[glimmerman]

He was injured and he isn’t getting as many carry’s. Need better O-Line play. And the playcalling could be better instead of up the gut. So he could hurry and get to a pass play call. This next year needs some commitment to the run and some variety. Some toss plays or off tackle stuff.

 

[G2]

He's not going to be as productive as he was earlier in his career. Yes, the O line isn't elite and yes, Moore can't utilize the running game. But Zeke shouldn't have even started after he was injured last season. But Jerry gonna Jerry.

 

[Hawkeye19]

The only way Zeke succeeds going fwd is to have an elite OL again and to target no more than 20 touches a game.

Is that worth his cap figure? I’d cut him immediately after 2022– or trade him if he happens to play well.

Lots of wear on those tires

 

[Hawkeye0202]

He was injured and he isn’t getting as many carry’s. Need better O-Line play. And the playcalling could be better instead of up the gut. So he could hurry and get to a pass play call. This next year needs some commitment to the run and some variety. Some toss plays or off tackle stuff.

Our OL from last season;
RT and LG ....released
Center......most, if not all fans/posters are calling for an upgrade
LT........only reliable for what 8-10 but with those, showing signs of decline
RG..........ALL PRO

Again, I'll admit Zeke isn't the same RB from 2016 but to place the team's entire rushing issues on him is misguided IMO.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

The only way Zeke succeeds going fwd is to have an elite OL again and to target no more than 20 touches a game.

Is that worth his cap figure? I’d cut him immediately after 2022– or trade him if he happens to play well.

Lots of wear on those tires

1000%....all of this

 

[conner01]

If you haven’t noticed the decline then you don’t want to and probably never will.

His yards per carry last year was 4.2 per carry
That’s .3 below his career average
Mostly because early in the season, before his injury, he was playing really well
Zeke is far from done in the nfl and when healthy is still very effective
He is also going into his last season as a Cowboy

 

[MyFairLady]

Remind me again when he got his money? How does that correlate with the chart?

 

[Jfconrow]

Just get a new RB in round 2 and leave it at that

 

[Hawkeye0202]

He's not going to be as productive as he was earlier in his career. Yes, the O line isn't elite and yes, Moore can't utilize the running game. But Zeke shouldn't have even started after he was injured last season. But Jerry gonna Jerry.

I get the impression they gave him a choice to sit or play and HE chose to play. In other words, no team can force an injured player to play who doesn't want to. Their agents will eat them alive......
Remember Stephen was praising him for being a warrior after the season, this is what I think he was talking about. The fact he played through an injury when he could have shut it down.