The 3 easiest ways the Dallas Cowboys can improve in 2022

3. It’s Time for Zeke to Share the Carries

It may be hard for some to admit, but in terms of the career efficiency in a running backs career, Ezekiel Elliott is on the downturn. This is partially due to his high volume of carries over his career, which currently sits at 1,650 through six seasons.

The next closest in carries to Elliott are Derrick Henry (1,401), Melvin Gordon (1,293), and Todd Gurley (1,231). That wear and tear has started to show its effects with Elliott dealing with more injuries as of late. While many of those lingering injuries haven’t kept him from missing games, he clearly struggled due to knee issues. Plus, it was later revealed that he was dealing with a partially torn PCL for most of last season.

If the Cowboys do plan on keeping Elliott around for the foreseeable future, they will need to start cutting his workload. They have another effective running back in Tony Pollard who has shown he can be just as effective in the running game as Elliott is thanks to his elusiveness and speed out of the backfield. At some points in the season, Pollard was actually more effective than Elliott was in terms of yards per attempt and total yards in games.

Elliott’s 2021 Stats: 237 rushes, 13.9 attempts per game, 1,002 rushing yards, 4.2 yards per attempt, 72% reception percentage

Pollard’s 2021 Stats: 130 rushes, 8.7 attempts per game, 719 rushing yards, 5.5 yards per attempt, 85% reception percentage

Last season, after the loss in Week 1, Dallas started giving an equal share of touches to both Elliott and Pollard, and the results were very impressive. So impressive that it made franchise history.

During that time, the Cowboys running game was the most effective we had seen in some time. Then, all of a sudden, things changed. What made things more confusing was that the Cowboys continued to use Elliott, who was dealing with a knee injury, instead of giving him a lighter workload and allowing Pollard to split the carries.

It shouldn’t matter if one player is making more than another. If Jerry Jones wants to win games, he needs to do what’s in the best interest of the team, and that wasn’t done in 2021. Hopefully, in 2022, this team will make the right choice and split the workload to protect Elliott for the playoffs when the running game is really needed and give the offense a more explosive option in Pollard. Dallas needs to get Pollard on the field more for the greater good of the team and Elliott’s health down the road.

Making these three changes to the game plan could bring a much-needed boost to the 2022 Cowboys.