Should Dallas not extend Zeke?

[JD_KaPow]

I'll be shocked and disappointed if they give him a big second contract.

 

[pancakeman]

Not only should they extend Elliott, they should do it this offseason. Give him a new deal that takes him to 30 years of age. It would be one of the safest contracts in the league as only an unforeseen injury would give you buyers remorse.

I think there's still a little residual "knucklehead" risk.

 

[kskboys]

Might not be a popular thing to talk about. But might be the smart thing to do. The Cowboys made that absolute right decision not to resign DeMarco Murray fresh off an 1800 yard season. He was the 4th best player in the league at the time, according to the top 100 players. He was also a 3rd round 71st player taken in the draft. Solid RB's can be found in the later rounds.

He also lasted only 3 years after the Cowboys wisely let him walk. They could have been on the hook with him like they were with Marion Barber. Paying for a player that wasn't even in the league anymore.

Murray 934 att 4526 yds 28 TDs 1200 receiving 1 TD (remember that TD? Skins?)
Elliott 868 att 4048 yds 28 TDs 1199 receiving 6 TDs

Similar Stats. Although Murray's are over 4 years, he wasn't used as much his rookie year and only had about 500 yards. They are doing the same thing with Zeke. Running him into the ground. He will blow by Murray's carry totals easily this coming year. They've been lucky he's been so durable. There is nobody behind him. The smart move may be franchising him for a year possibly, and then say adios.

EZ is built much tighter and more solid than either of those two, and has not been injury prone even in the slightest. So I don't agree w/ that as an argument.

Solid? Maybe, but EZ is a game changer. Those are rare.

No, I would not overpay. If he wants to sign a reasonable extension, I'd do it in a nanosecond. If he wants to break the bank, I'd let him play out his contract, then maybe franchise him once or twice, depending on where we're at as a team.

 

[Hawkeye19]

What is the point of clearing cap space only to let great players walk away?

Is Eilliott a great player? Yes. Sign him.

 

[kskboys]

That would be idiotic. More fear from the "men" these days.

Zeke is 23 years old. He's one of the greats the position has seen over the last 20 years. He's nothing like DeMarco Murray, who I campaigned for not bringing back.

Not only should they extend Elliott, they should do it this offseason. Give him a new deal that takes him to 30 years of age. It would be one of the safest contracts in the league as only an unforeseen injury would give you buyers remorse.

I agree w/ this, though I would be hesitant about breaking the bank. I'd be hesitant about overpaying any player, though.

 

[mattjames2010]

What is the point of clearing cap space only to let great players walk away?

Is Eilliott a great player? Yes. Sign him.

Because longevity and patterns of RBs decline throughout history has meaning....

Elliott is a great player in a league that devalues and tosses away RBs in a few years. Elliott will probably make the argument he's the best RB in the league by a longshot and end up getting a big deal. Also, watch out for what Bell gets, because whatever Bell gets, Elliott might want more.

 

[dfense]

For anyone in the not extend camp...
Look at the difference between a guy like McFadden finishing in the top 4 in rushing yards for the year for us and zeke finishing leading the league 2/3 times and should’ve been 3/3 without Goodells legal hard on.


The difference is clear.

Zeke had 0 runs over 40 yards in 2018.

 

[kskboys]

Zeke had 0 runs over 40 yards in 2018.

That's not how you evaluate a RB.

 

[kskboys]

Because longevity and patterns of RBs decline throughout history has meaning....

Elliott is a great player in a league that devalues and tosses away RBs in a few years. Elliott will probably make the argument he's the best RB in the league by a longshot and end up getting a big deal. Also, watch out for what Bell gets, because whatever Bell gets, Elliott might want more.

I'm still thinking Bell screwed himself and won't get a huge contract. Be interesting to observe.

 

[mattjames2010]

That's not how you evaluate a RB.

Lack of a homerun ability from an RB that is supposedly the "MVP" of this team and built around the run certainly is how you should evaluate Elliott.

The lack of long TD runs, or just long runs in general, is alarming. Elliott doesn't have that same burst he had his rookie season and it's something to look out for.

 

[Future]

You have to.

That decision was made when you spent a #4 overall pick on him.

Yep, pretty much.

The second you drafted him is the second you said he's here for a long, long time.

 

[Q_the_man]

That would be idiotic. More fear from the "men" these days.

Zeke is 23 years old. He's one of the greats the position has seen over the last 20 years. He's nothing like DeMarco Murray, who I campaigned for not bringing back.

Not only should they extend Elliott, they should do it this offseason. Give him a new deal that takes him to 30 years of age. It would be one of the safest contracts in the league as only an unforeseen injury would give you buyers remorse.

One of the only things we agree on, Zeke is the engine to the Cowboys offense, what I don't understand is we wanted a RB to replace Emmitt and we finally get one and some are saying not extend him, lol. Zeke is one of the best if not best RB in the NFL.

If anything go back to the power I-formation and go from there.

 

[Q_the_man]

Lack of a homerun ability from an RB that is supposedly the "MVP" of this team and built around the run certainly is how you should evaluate Elliott.

The lack of long TD runs, or just long runs in general, is alarming. Elliott doesn't have that same burst he had his rookie season and it's something to look out for.

So are you saying Zeke has no homerun ability, if so that is the most absurd thing I ever heard about Zeke. Zeke has homerun and big play ability.

 

[mattjames2010]

So are you saying Zeke has no homerun ability, if so that is the most absurd thing I ever heard about Zeke. Zeke has homerun and big play ability.

Either he has homerun ability or he doesn't anymore...

You state it's "absurd" - yet, he didn't break a single run beyond 41 yards and didn't have single run beyond 30 yards in 2017. His long run in 2017 was a screen play - that's fine and dandy, however, not having a run beyond 30 and 41 yards in 2017 and 2018 with the amount of carries he gets a game is ridiculous for a guy we rely on to score for us.

Let's compare another top 5 pick recently, one in our division. Barkley had 68, 50, 51, and 78 yard TD run. That's 4 long TD runs that added to his 11 rushing TD total along with his 4 receiving TDs, one of which went 51 yards.

Barkley is a homerun hitter - Zeke seems to lack that. It's funny, because Murray used to get criticized for "leaving meat on the bone" - when is that criticism going to pop up for Zeke?

 

[dfense]

That's not how you evaluate a RB.

Just sayin.

 

[dfense]

One of the only things we agree on, Zeke is the engine to the Cowboys offense, what I don't understand is we wanted a RB to replace Emmitt and we finally get one and some are saying not extend him, lol. Zeke is one of the best if not best RB in the NFL.

If anything go back to the power I-formation and go from there.

Emmitt had 17 runs over 40 yds and 94 over 20 yards. He was an enigma.

 

[cowboyfan4lyfe]

That would be idiotic. More fear from the "men" these days.

Zeke is 23 years old. He's one of the greats the position has seen over the last 20 years. He's nothing like DeMarco Murray, who I campaigned for not bringing back.

Not only should they extend Elliott, they should do it this offseason. Give him a new deal that takes him to 30 years of age. It would be one of the safest contracts in the league as only an unforeseen injury would give you buyers remorse.

This guy is a team leader. He has been a handful to handle. This season he seem to take his career and off the field behavior seriously. I agree if you're going to extend Zeke you need to do it while he is young. Front load the contract this way when his skills demise you can get from under the contract.

 

[QuincyCarterEra]

He's had more carries than any TB in football the last three years and it's not even close. Especially when you consider he missed 6 games due to suspension. By the time his rookie contract is up, he'll have logged way more carries and usage than any TB in the NFL, likely easily.

The trends don't lie. RBs, other than maybe Adrian Peterson, tend to see production fall off as the usage mounts and they get into their late 20s, 30s.

It's a tough call. If the Cowboys are going to pound him for nearly 325 carries again next year, I am not sure I want him on the hook for 8 digit cap hits as he enters the 2nd half of his 20s.

And he's already shown signs of slowing down as well.

 

[QuincyCarterEra]

Trivia questions for whoever wants to play:

1. In 2017 did the team average more yards per carry when Zeke was on or off the field?

2. In 2017 did the team average more yards per pass attempt when Zeke was on or off the field?

3. In 2018 when we had a 2nd best offensive performance including total yards and points scored, was Zeke playing that game or was it the only game he missed that season? The other team only had one defensive starter missing for that game, and it was the most points the team had given up all season long.

 

[QuincyCarterEra]

For anyone in the not extend camp...
Look at the difference between a guy like McFadden finishing in the top 4 in rushing yards for the year for us and zeke finishing leading the league 2/3 times and should’ve been 3/3 without Goodells legal hard on.


The difference is clear.

The difference was the QB play