Let us balance all this bluster with some facts.
Here are the lowest yards per reception rankings in the NFL last season.
1
Myles Gaskin MIA 24 rb 17 10 63 49 77.8% 234 4.8 4 13 24 3.7 2.9 13.8 2
2 Devonta Freeman BAL 29 rb 16 8 42 34 81.0% 190 5.6 1 9 15 4.5 2.1 11.9 0
3 Devin Singletary BUF 24 RB 17 16 50 40 80.0% 228 5.7 1 11 19 4.6 2.4 13.4 5
4 Mike Davis ATL 28 rb 17 8 58 44 75.9% 259 5.9 1 12 20 4.5 2.6 15.2 4
5 Ezekiel Elliott DAL 26 RB 17 17 65 47 72.3% 287 6.1 2 17 21 4.4 2.8 16.9 1
6 Najee Harris*
PIT 23 RB 17 17 94 74 78.7% 467 6.3 3 22 25 5.0 4.4 27.5 0
7 Saquon Barkley NYG 24 RB 13 13 57 41 71.9% 263 6.4 2 13 54 4.6 3.2 20.2 2
8 Josh Jacobs LVR 23 RB 15 14 64 54 84.4% 348 6.4 0 14 29 5.4 3.6 23.2 2
9 Dalvin Cook*
MIN 26 RB 13 13 49 34 69.4% 224 6.6 0 9 24 4.6 2.6 17.2 3
The first thing that jumps out is that they are all running backs.. The second thing to point out is that Zeke was not the worst but 5th from the bottom.. 17 of his 47 catches went for first downs.. 36.2%. Compare that to Dalvin Cook whom most would agree is a "more explosive" back.. went 9 first downs on 34 receptions. 26.4% . In fact Zeke had a higher first down percentage than all the guys on this list. That would certainly indicate to me that checking the ball down to him came with a higher probability of a successful outcome than most other backs in the league. In fact as I eyeball the list only a handful of backs were better in this regard.. But yall don't let the facts get in the way of a good story.. Have at it.