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RB Ezekiel Elliott, NE (5 Viewers)

montana_grizzly_bears said:
22 for zeke, 27 for pollard. Not time to worry yet. Pollard is still out there returning kicks. If they wanted him to take over for Zeke he wouldn't be doing that. I will start to worry once they pull him from special teams. 
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No one is worried about Pollard taking over. We are worried that he keep eating away at Zeke’s bellcow status

 
Does anyone know what's going on with Zeke? Pollard had a better stat line and seriously looked better. More explosive? I remember Pollard appearing to have less power than Zeke tho. I don't own Zeke but Pollard is almost certainly going to be wanted on the waiver.

 
Quilman83 said:
Does anyone know what's going on with Zeke? Pollard had a better stat line and seriously looked better. More explosive? I remember Pollard appearing to have less power than Zeke tho. I don't own Zeke but Pollard is almost certainly going to be wanted on the waiver.
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Surprised he’s not owned tbh 

pollard just has the juice and is probably hungrier than zeke. He wants it more. Zeke got paid and sometimes this is enough before you beat your brains in 

the timeshare is going in the wrong direction 

 
To be fair, zeke tends to get the carries in more obvious running situations and has the focus of the opposing D more. I think he looks quicker than last year but the results speak for themselves so far. Pollard seems like the type that wouldn't do as well in a featured role. He looks great though 

 
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jbz said:
To be fair, zeke tends to get the carries in more obvious running situations and has the focus of the opposing D more. I think he looks quicker than last year but the results speak for themselves so far. Pollard seems like the type that wouldn't do as well in a featured role. He looks great though 
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I agree with all of this 

 
This may be a situation similar to the Browns RB (Chubb and Hunt) in 2020.  Both are viable starters.  I drafted Zeke at 7 and Pollard later to protect investment.  I may have to start thinking along these lines....

 
There is no doubt in my mind that Zeke looks better than last year, faster and stronger. However Pollard looks quicker and more explosive than Zeke in the first 2 games. It is going to hard to keep both off the field moving forward but Zeke isnt quite the bellcow that people were expecting from a first round pick...unless Pollard gets injured. 

 
As mentioned, draft capital and financial capital will keep Elliott as the main guy as long as he’s healthy. Even if he cedes more work to Pollard, it’s probably the reality for at least another couple of years.

 
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zamboni said:
As mentioned, draft capital and financial capital will keep Elliott as the main guy as long as he’s healthy. Even if he cedes more work to Pollard, it’s probably the reality for at least another couple of years.
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Thought he played well. Not extraordinary but better than last year (I actually disagreed with most on the board and thought his week 1 game was fine, game plan on how to beat TB was a big factor.)

But Pollard is on another level.

Keep ‘em both fresh and the utilization high. Lot of weapons on that team.

 
The smart people were fading Zeke this year. I’m stupid so I drafted him on two teams. He’ll be a third round pick next year. He’s clearly a first round bust unless pollard gets hurt. It’s gonna be a struggle.

 
I'd prefer the more explosive player in this situation, which is Pollard. He's still so cheap I'm sure you can snag him in redraft.

But yeah, Zeke looking like Chubb ceiling right now, which is...not terrible, but it's not league or week winning like people thought they were getting. 

Could be worse as the top-24 in ADP have had a pretty rough start so far. 

 
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Mongidig said:
It feels like a ceiling game. 
 

If Zeke scores 17 a game for the rest of the year I will be thrilled. 
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I disagree. Zeke will easily have multiple td games. You aren't going to get Henry games but that was obvious coming into the draft. Pollard looked a bit more spry and will get work but Zeke is going to get his as well.

 
Weebs210 said:
I disagree. Zeke will easily have multiple td games. You aren't going to get Henry games but that was obvious coming into the draft. Pollard looked a bit more spry and will get work but Zeke is going to get his as well.
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Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think most saw that Pollard would get this much work. Particularly in the passing game when, in the past, Zeke would also rack up those key PPR points. 

 
zamboni said:
Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think most saw that Pollard would get this much work. Particularly in the passing game when, in the past, Zeke would also rack up those key PPR points. 
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I meant 40 point games. Whens the last time zeke has had a king Henry game?

 
TampaMike19 said:
I'd prefer the more explosive player in this situation, which is Pollard. He's still so cheap I'm sure you can snag him in redraft.

But yeah, Zeke looking like Chubb ceiling right now, which is...not terrible, but it's not league or week winning like people thought they were getting. 

Could be worse as the top-24 in ADP have had a pretty rough start so far. 
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Zeke wishes he had Chubb's ceiling.  Chubb is far better than Zeke at this point and I would be ecstatic if Zeke had that production ROY.

 
I think people are overreacting or had pipe dreams of what Zeke was going to do this year. Yes Pollard looked good, but it isnt like Zeke was a dud. 97 total yards on 18 touches for a 5.38 yards per play rate and a TD. 

 
zamboni said:
Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think most saw that Pollard would get this much work. Particularly in the passing game when, in the past, Zeke would also rack up those key PPR points. 
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I saw it. 👋   

I said it repeatedly in here and pretty early in the preseason, too. 

I pointed to Zeke’s chronic drops in 2020,  that Pollard had earned a bigger role last year & that this was reason for concern. It was….not well received in here by many. Ah well. 

After watching highlights from yesterday, I do believe Zeke looks a little better than last year & that will have a couple games where he goes off. Looking at DAL schedule, he should have boom games against the Giants twice, Falcons, chiefs a maybe the Eagles, but they look stout (hard to tell when it’s Elijah Mitchell running against them) 

This year Elliott was elevated to the 1st round in the preseason on the narrative that he was a matchup proof feature back for a potent offense, and that COVID & the loss of Dak tanked his 2020 value. That with Dak back, lanes would be wide open with Dak’s air attack to all those receiving weapons & they’d have a ton of RZ looks for him. 

But as I, and many here opined, Zeke never looked explosive last year. He never broke any long runs. He frequently dropped passes & fumbled the ball a lot. And worse, when DAL increased Pollard’s snaps, Pollard often looked better,. Zeke’s drops also forced the Cowboys to use Pollard in the receiving game, where he excelled.

All of that is what we’re seeing so far this year.  While the excuses for why Zeke hasn’t been great over 2 games are both accurate and reasonable, a RB with a 6th overall ADP should be matchup-proof. Tough run D? 1.06 RB should get the receptions to help his floor.

Game 1, the Bucs were an elite run D. Chargers are tough, too. And against softer run defenses Elliott should fare well, and as others have said, he’ll have those 2-TD games to keep those who invested in him happy at times.

But it’s less than ideal that even in those games, Pollard is likely to eat into his carries, yardage, and reception totals. It both caps his ceiling & hurts his floor. Zeke is more of a matchup-dependent  RB2 than a dude you take 1.06.

maybe he’ll snap out of it & maybe the Cowboys will move away from  the RBBC. IMO, the former is possible, but the only way the latter happens is with a Pollard injury. Pollard showed what he could contribute to the team last year & clearly the Cowboys paid attention.

 
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Timmay said:
I think people are overreacting or had pipe dreams of what Zeke was going to do this year. Yes Pollard looked good, but it isnt like Zeke was a dud. 97 total yards on 18 touches for a 5.38 yards per play rate and a TD. 
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Zeke was fine. If he had those totals without Pollard playing I’d feel ok. The problem is Pollard looks great and will be earning more playing time at the expense of Zeke. Coming into the season I was expecting 17 to be a floor game with 25 being a ceiling game. I expected Zeke to get TD’s and 4 or 5 catches per game. Basically I gambled that volume would make Zeke a fine pick. He is simply not effecient enough to be sharing the load.

 
Mongidig said:
Zeke was fine. If he had those totals without Pollard playing I’d feel ok. The problem is Pollard looks great and will be earning more playing time at the expense of Zeke. Coming into the season I was expecting 17 to be a floor game with 25 being a ceiling game. I expected Zeke to get TD’s and 4 or 5 catches per game. Basically I gambled that volume would make Zeke a fine pick. He is simply not effecient enough to be sharing the load.
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Perfectly stated. 

 
Selected Zeke in a few leagues this year, not ready to pout and think it might be good to have 2 fresh backs and Zeke will have the 2nd half of the season with fresher legs than in years pasts when many of us are trying to make playoff pushes in our FF leagues. 

Excited for Pollard and think he might be Flex worthy very soon. With Gallup down and nobody in the Top10 at TE really grabbing targets, there seems to be room for the backs to be featured more and gobble up a few catches. Pollard is a better receiver at present, Zeke will still have his moments along the way too. 

Zeke had around 15-18 in PPR yesterday, doubt he lost games for folks. Week 1 though complete Dud. 

1 Dud, 1 Solid so far. Pollard getting so many touches though is worrisome. 

 
Ministry of Pain said:
With Gallup down and nobody in the Top10 at TE really grabbing targets, there seems to be room for the backs to be featured more and gobble up a few catches
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Gallup 3-5 weeks, right? 

So next weekend, or 1-2 more - it didn't sound like his calf strain was too bad, and I don't think Ced Wilson did anything worthy of unseating him while he's been out. Gallup looked great as a reliable possession type chain mover in week 1, and Dak clearly sees him as a security blanket when the big play isn't there. 

Agree with your post, but Gallup should be back soon, so any added receptions could be short lived, is all. 

 
Hot Sauce Guy said:
Gallup 3-5 weeks, right? 

So next weekend, or 1-2 more - it didn't sound like his calf strain was too bad, and I don't think Ced Wilson did anything worthy of unseating him while he's been out. Gallup looked great as a reliable possession type chain mover in week 1, and Dak clearly sees him as a security blanket when the big play isn't there. 

Agree with your post, but Gallup should be back soon, so any added receptions could be short lived, is all. 
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I thought Gallup was put on injured reserve but these days that doesn't mean as much as it used to. 

Gallup-IR

 
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Ministry of Pain said:
I thought Gallup was put on injured reserve but these days that doesn't mean as much as it used to. 

Gallup-IR
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Yes - short term IR, not season ending. 3-weeks DFR. 

But on Monday, they put him on injured reserve, which will at least sideline him for three weeks.

Gallup is dealing with a calf injury he suffered in the second half of the Bucs game last Thursday. Earlier in the game, he caught four passes for 36 yards.

Under the NFL's rules, Gallup likely wouldn't be eligible for return until the Oct. 10 game against the Giants in Week 5.
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So it sounds like he's out for the long-end of what they expected (I didn't realize they IR'd him a week after the injury) so week 5.  Still a fairly short window of opportunity, but this is just picking nits, really. 

I only meant Gallup wasn't done for the year. 

 
Hot Sauce Guy said:
Yes - short term IR, not season ending. 3-weeks DFR. 

So it sounds like he's out for the long-end of what they expected (I didn't realize they IR'd him a week after the injury) so week 5.  Still a fairly short window of opportunity, but this is just picking nits, really. 

I only meant Gallup wasn't done for the year. 
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Just making sure you had even seen it. I had to double check because I simply don't have the time to keep up all week. Things happen fast on M/T, guys are shuffled on and off IR, hard to keep track when you include all the IDP, etc...

 
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Ministry of Pain said:
Just making sure you had even seen it. I had to double check because I simply don't have the time to keep up all week. Things happen fast on M/T, guys are shuffled on and off IR, hard to keep track when you include all the IDP, etc...
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Yeah, I've got my favorite sleeper LB Walker IR'd until lord knows when. It's a lot to follow with the new short-term IR designation. 

So back on topic, Gallup will miss weeks 3-4 but could be back week 5. Basically 2 weeks of opportunity for DAL RBs to get a larger load of receptions, potentially. 

 
Zeke is passing the torch .... Pollard looks better in every situation minus goal line ... Looking like Willie Parker and the Bus 

 
The bottom line is that Zeke cost likely between pick 1.04 and 1.11 in redraft and cost a pretty penny in auctions. There is simply no way to pay that ROI off if this usage pattern continues. If we all could redraft/reauction right now- Zeke is a turn of the second/early third round pick and a 15% auction budget player.

There is no real ceiling right now and last year's floor performance is still within the range of outcomes.

 
Seems like they're going to try and keep fresh legs for Zeke... moreso for end of games or end of season. 

- An owner who hopes he hasn't hit a wall

*atleast I locked up Pollard his rookie year

 
Another way to look at this situation is to ask who are the better fantasy RBs to have instead of Zeke? I count prolly 2-3 RBs can be said to have move ahead of him, but a bust? I think you can be over worried atm instead.

1. Christian McCaffrey 

2. Dalvin Cook 

3. Alvin Kamara 

4. Derrick Henry 

5. -------Zeke at Draft--------

6. Aaron Jones 

7. Nick Chubb

-------Move Zeke here now after week 2 where he had 17ish points------

The Pollard TD was also a trick play w/ Zeke at goal line. -So you're telling me he gets that TD and we aren't here talking right now? The sky is not falling if you are a Zeke owner. If anything buy low.

 
Ezekiel Elliott rushed 17 times for 95 yards and two touchdowns in the Cowboys' Week 3 win over the Eagles.

Zeke caught all three of his pass-game targets for 21 yards. Elliott got the scoring started with a one-yard touchdown plunge just over three minutes into the game after CeeDee Lamb was downed at the one-yard line following a 44-yard deep shot down the middle. Zeke then added a three-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Overall, he out-carried Tony Pollard 17-11 and out-targeted him 3-1. Elliott now has 213 total yards and three touchdowns on 39 touches over the last two weeks. He'll be an RB1 next week at home against the Panthers.

Sep 27, 2021, 11:26 PM ET
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I can live with the usage last night. I actually like the way Dallas is handling this from a true, NFL season. While Cook, Henry, etc may wear down over a longer schedule, Zeke may be still strong. It's smart playcalling. 

 
Payne said:
I can live with the usage last night. I actually like the way Dallas is handling this from a true, NFL season. While Cook, Henry, etc may wear down over a longer schedule, Zeke may be still strong. It's smart playcalling. 
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Agreed - and on a short week, his usage may be no more - perhaps less - than last night.

 
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Quick notes...

-Lamb came up short on the 1/2 yd line so lucky for Zeke they just plowed in with him, they should have called his number on the 4th down play right after they called back his receiving TD, Zeke should have had 3 last night. 

-The game plan worked for Zeke but it won't always be like this and I would say he will be TD dependent, luckily with Dak he is going to be getting a lot of red zone looks and he does seem to do well at getting the ball across the goal line when given the right carries and downs and red zone opps but I woudn't be afraid to trade him on a week when folks might not have watched the game and just look at the box score, it's not a bad idea to kick a few tires but overall he looked strong. 

They did say in the booth he isn't the RB he was 3-4 years ago, that doesn't instill confidence for the ROS. 

Cheers! 

 
Deamon said:
Pollard is just really impressive.  Seems faster and shiftier than Zeke.  Not by much, but I think they are pretty much equal.
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I didn't watch the entire game, but saw most of the first half.  Zeke is 5x the talent of Pollard.  What Pollard does do well is break to the outside and get around the corner.  Zeke doesn't have that zip to his game anymore (did he ever?)

 
People say it doesn't look like a Chubb Hunt comp but I think that's close to what it really is at this moment.

Pollard looks more explosive than Hunt however, and Zeke can score more fantasy pts in Chubb when the right things happen. 

So, IDK, if you don't like owning Zeke just trade him and get value for him 

 
TampaMike19 said:
People say it doesn't look like a Chubb Hunt comp but I think that's close to what it really is at this moment.

Pollard looks more explosive than Hunt however, and Zeke can score more fantasy pts in Chubb when the right things happen. 

So, IDK, if you don't like owning Zeke just trade him and get value for him 
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great comparison IMO

 
TampaMike19 said:
People say it doesn't look like a Chubb Hunt comp but I think that's close to what it really is at this moment.

Pollard looks more explosive than Hunt however, and Zeke can score more fantasy pts in Chubb when the right things happen. 

So, IDK, if you don't like owning Zeke just trade him and get value for him 
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Not sure what value you get though. 

In redraft, he's most likely your stud RB with some lesser guys. So you need a RB coming back in the deal. But you also probably want a WR1 which will mean you get no RB coming back. He's more valuable to me as a hold right now. 

 
I'll be the first to admit week 1 sucked (somewhat expectedly) but i've been content with the return since on my late first round pick. I could have picked Chubb but in seasonal redraft, i'm not seeing a big difference since he cedes quite a bit of touches to Hunt. I actually think Pollard's increased involvement is not necessarily a bad thing. Zeke still tends to get more work, generally around 65/35 split or so and I would assume that would translate to mid and late season freshness. I also thought Zeke looked pretty dang good last night (as did Pollard) and could easily have had 3 tds. Then again, I might be a glass half full guy.

 
FWIW...

I received an offer of their Kelce, Aaron Jones & Scary Terry for my Zeke, Sutton, AJ Brown & Goedert in dynasty PPR. I rejected it as I thought adding Sutton was too much. We start 2 RB, 3 WR & 2 flex so I can start Sutton & AJB at same time.

Should I have taken it? I'm in win now mode.

For me it breaks down to:

Jones > Zeke (Although there is an argument for a wash here or Zeke > Jones as well IMO)
AJB AND Sutton > Terry
Kelce > Goedert

 
Payne said:
I can live with the usage last night. I actually like the way Dallas is handling this from a true, NFL season. While Cook, Henry, etc may wear down over a longer schedule, Zeke may be still strong. It's smart playcalling. 
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I agree with this analysis.

However, I am viewing this as a ceiling game.  I see his floor as a good bit lower than I did 3 weeks ago.  And I am less confident of how many "ceiling" games he will get than I was three weeks ago.  He would not be my 1.10 pick today.

 
Regardless of the solid game this past week, I'm thinking about benching him for Swift and Carson this week with a tough matchup against Carolina. I keep going back to "never sit your studs", but is he really a stud? and the matchup is scaring me. 

 
Timmay said:
Regardless of the solid game this past week, I'm thinking about benching him for Swift and Carson this week with a tough matchup against Carolina. I keep going back to "never sit your studs", but is he really a stud? and the matchup is scaring me. 
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Losing Jaycee Horn is a big blow for this defense. There is nothing to fear about this matchup- CAR has gone against a Jets team, a NO team that had zero coaches (look what NO did to NE at Foxboro last week.), and then the Texans.

Dallas has a high implied point total- start everyone in Dallas. Darnold at Cowboys Stadium without CMC is going to be tough for him, but Panthers should still score some points. Diggs is going to be on DJ Moore like glue. 

 
Not sitting Zeke and not because I have no options. If I had Swift and Carson, I'm still starting Zeke. He's one of the few guys that you can count on to get 15 carries (that first game was about gameplan) and all the goaline work. Sprinkle in 2-4 catches a game and his floor should be 13-14 points. 

 
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