Is Ezekiel Elliott set to be the best RB in Cowboys history?

DeMarco Murray

The most recent big-name running back in Dallas was DeMarco Murray. He was a Cowboys since being drafted in 2011 up until 2014.

Despite only spending four seasons in Dallas, he was sure to make his mark. In his rookie season, he shared snaps with Felix Jones. Within those four seasons, he was a two-time Pro Bowler and a one-time first-team All-Pro.

Murray was a workhorse running back, running the ball a league-leading 392 times for a league-leading 1,845 yards in ’14. Why not add in leading the NFL in rushing yards per game, rushing touchdowns, total touches, and total yards that same season.

That helped him accumulate 4,526 rushing yards, 28 rushing touchdowns, 1,200 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown as a Cowboy. In his 53 games, he averaged 4.8 yards per rushing attempt and 85.4 rushing yards per game.

While Murray was a tank, especially his last two seasons in Dallas, he had a problem fumbling the ball. He had a combined 23 fumbles in 30 games, but he also had 719 touches in those seasons combined.

Emmitt Smith

The biggest name amongst Cowboys running backs is Hall of Famer and rushing yards leader, Emmitt Smith. He was drafted by Dallas back in 1990 and remained with the team until he left for Arizona in 2003.

In his first six seasons, he made six Pro Bowls, was a first-team All-Pro four times, and won three Super Bowls. Not to mention he led the league in rushing four times, led the league in rushing touchdowns three times, and eclipsed 1,500 yards three times.

You can claim that Smith would be a Hall of Famer if he played only his first six seasons. He decided to strengthen his case with two more Pro Bowls, six more 1,000+ rushing yard seasons, and three more 10+ rushing touchdown seasons.

While many people give the offensive line Smith ran behind a lot of credit, you can’t dispute that he was one of the best running backs to ever play the game of football.

While he isn’t known for being a receiver, he did have four seasons of 300+ receiving yards. Not to mention catching at least 80 percent of passes thrown his way at least seven times (not recorded before 1992).

If Zeke even holds his own when being compared to Smith, then that is very high praise in itself. So, let’s take a look at exactly how Zeke matches up with everyone.