Emmitt Smith agrees with Jerry Jones’s bold Ezekiel Elliott usage stance

There have been several hot-button storylines surrounding the Dallas Cowboys this offseason. Will the offensive line be good enough this year? What’s going to happen with the WR corps? Etc.

One topic that has trickled over into this offseason from 2021 is the idea of the usage of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. Anyone who watched Elliott last season could see that he wasn’t the back he used to be. He looked like he was struggling and wasn’t the powerhouse he was in years past. Meanwhile, fourth-rounder and RB2 Tony Pollard was using his speed and underappreciated skill to put up impressive numbers despite fewer snaps given.

Since then, the debates about who should have more snaps and who should be the true RB1 have ensued. Some believe Pollard has earned the right for more carries. Others believe Elliott is still the main guy and can be much better this year after recovering from his PCL tear.

No matter what you believe, the reality is that the Cowboys’ front office has far more financially invested in Elliott. At the end of the day, sports is a business. That was clear when the team continued to push for Elliott’s usage despite knowing about his knee issues and seeing how well his counterpart was doing last season.

Has any of that changed? Not at all.

In a recent appearance on NFL Network’s “Training Camp: Back Together Saturday,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that “it’s critical that we make Zeke the focus of what we’re doing.”

Let’s all remember that Jones doesn’t like to be wrong, especially when it comes to his financial decisions. So, is it frustrating that he wants Zeke prioritized after he had just 2.7 yards after contact per carry in 2021? Yes. But is it surprising considering how much of the salary cap is going to Elliott’s bank account? Sadly, no. Jones did say that there “is room” for Pollard, whose 3.6 yards after contact per carry ranked him fifth in the NFL.

How generous.

Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith agrees with Jerry Jones’s opinion that Ezekiel Elliott needs to be the focal point of the offense

If Elliott can be better than he was last year, it’s unlikely anyone will have an issue with this plan. The problem is, we don’t know if that’s true yet. The other problem is that with big questions and absences in the WR room, the running game is going to need to help Dak Prescott out a lot this year.

While some fans believe Pollard will be a crucial piece of that, a guy who knows a thing or two about what it takes to be a great running back actually agrees with Jones. Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith spoke to Blogging the Boys the same day Jones made the above comments. Even though Smith knows the league has changed a lot since he broke the NFL’s all-time rushing record almost 20 years ago, he still feels Elliott needs to be the main character.

While many former Cowboys are quick to criticize the team and disagree with the way things are being done, Smith had no issues with what the GM had to say. Not only did he think Elliott was the guy over Pollard, but he also felt the RB1 should be the focal point of the entire offense, passing up names like CeeDee Lamb or Prescott.

It’s also interesting to see the Hall of Famer say that the league’s tendency to have “running back by committee” is only by design. Smith believes that Elliott can handle all the carries on his own as he did back in the day. The 8x Pro Bowler thinks that the Cowboys simply need to put the ball in Elliott’s hands and “give him a chance to prove that he can.”

Do you agree with Smith and Jones?