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Dallas Cowboys: The 5 most important players for 2018

By Matt Holleran

ARLINGTON, TX - DECEMBER 24: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys walks off the field after the Seattle Seahawks beat the Dallas Cowboys 21-12 at AT&T Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - DECEMBER 24: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys walks off the field after the Seattle Seahawks beat the Dallas Cowboys 21-12 at AT&T Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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ARLINGTON, TX – DECEMBER 24: Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys kneels before taking on the Seattle Seahawks at AT&T Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images /

1. Ezekiel Elliott

At number one on the list is the Dallas Cowboys best player, star running back Ezekiel Elliott. In the 2017 season Elliott obviously fought his legal battle all season long, and eventually was forced to serve his six game suspension in the middle of the Cowboys season. In the 10 games that Zeke did play in, he ran the ball for 983 yards, averaging 4.1 yards per carry, and scoring nine total touchdowns.

Although Elliott missed six games, he still placed tenth in the NFL in rushing yards, a very impressive feat.

Elliott’s suspension came right on the heels of him playing at an MVP caliber level, looking well on his way to leading the NFL in rushing yards for the second straight season.

In the games that Zeke was out, the Cowboys offense didn’t look remotely the same. They were able to post a 3-3 record without Elliott, but they scored just 110 points in those games, averaging just 18 a game.

In their three losses, the drop off was clearly shown in the running game, as they failed to post close to 150 total yards rushing once, and did not have a 100 yard rusher in those three games. Elliott is clearly the driving force behind the Dallas offense, and with the losses of Dez Bryant and Jason Witten in the offseason, look for the Cowboys to feed Zeke even more in 2018.

People love to use the term “Dak-Friendly”, but the Cowboys have really made their offense Zeke Friendly. With the addition of guard Connor Williams in the draft, the Cowboys offensive line is clearly in my opinion if healthy, the best in the NFL. Ezekiel Elliott is the center of this offense, not Dak Prescott. I said before that Dallas does not need Dak Prescott to be superman, well they do need Ezekiel Elliott to be.

Next: Top 10 Undrafted Free Agents in Cowboys History

If the Cowboy want to have great success in 2018 and ultimately reach their goal of winning a championship, they are going to need an outstanding season from Zeke. The Cowboy are a run heavy team, and are going to give Zeke the ball about 30 times a game behind their outstanding offensive line. Ezekiel Elliott will be the Cowboys main source of offense in 2018, and if I’m making a bet on it, I’m gonna say that Zeke is going to shred some records.

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