National Football League

Healthy Ezekiel Elliott 'a keystone player' for Cowboys

Updated Jul. 28, 2022 3:27 p.m. ET

By David Helman
FOX Sports Dallas Cowboys Writer

OXNARD, Calif. — Ezekiel Elliott was at least briefly worried about his knee.

For a month or more during the lengthy offseason, the Dallas Cowboys' workhorse running back was concerned that his PCL, injured back near the midpoint of the 2021 season, wasn't bouncing back the way he'd hoped.

"I was a little worried at the beginning of the offseason, like, ‘Dang, this thing still kind of feels a little iffy,'" Elliott told reporters at training camp Wednesday. "But I'd say probably a month or two into the offseason, a month or two getting back into work. I'd say by the time OTAs hit, I was back 100."

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A clean bill of health is big news, both for the Cowboys and for Elliott.

Let's start with the obvious. Elliott suffered the injury in Week 4 against Carolina and was never again the same caliber runner with any consistency. Through the first five weeks of last season, he rushed for 452 yards and an average of 5.1 yards per carry.

The rest of the way, across 12 more games, he managed just 550 yards and a brutal average of just 3.6 yards per carry.

"It definitely limited my burst," Elliott said.

It goes without saying that the Cowboys would benefit from a healthier, more explosive Elliott on the field. But the quiet part of this story is that off the field, Elliott's six-year, $90 million contract starts to look more and more cumbersome when he's not producing at his best level.

Elliott is aware of that. Guys who don't live up to large contracts have a way of becoming cap casualties, and that will be a talking point in 2023 if he struggles. For his part, he said his best bet is to focus on the present rather than worry about the future.

"I think it is a big season, but you can't look too far down the road. Every day, if I focus on having a good day at camp, if I focus on taking it week by week, I think everything will handle itself," he said.

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Make no mistake: the Cowboys are going to give him the opportunity to do that. Running the ball well is going to be a crucial part of any success they enjoy this fall, and their decision-makers know it.

"Zeke Elliott is one of our rocks on this team. He's a keystone player," Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. "The communication, his ability to do all the extra little stuff, and those are things I obviously get to look at and be a part of."

Organizationally, there's undoubtedly plenty of faith in Elliott's ability. He says he appreciates that, as well as the value the Cowboys place on the running back position. The story to watch now is how well Elliott repays that faith in 2022.

The Cowboys went through their first practice of training camp Wednesday. Here are a few additional notes from the practice fields.

Slim and trim

We know the routine. Everyone's in the best shape of his life at the outset of camp.

But in the case of rookie Tyler Smith, the difference is immediately noticeable. Speaking to reporters after his first career training camp practice, Smith mentioned his slimmer figure after a busy month of work.

"I leaned out a lot since minicamp and OTAs," he said. "I can just feel that extra work, just staying in shape and building upon stuff, doing a lot of O-line-specific work and staying in the playbook."

Smith spent June and July working with Duke Manyweather, an independent offensive line coach based in the Dallas area. During that time, he got the chance to work with veteran NFL linemen such as Terron Armstead and Trey Smith.

From the looks of it, the extra work should serve him well. Smith spent Wednesday rotating with Connor McGovern in the starting left guard spot. It'll be fun to see how much the coaching staff puts on him and how quickly.

Running start

It was strange to see the defense's best play of the day come from No. 3 — a number typically associated with backup quarterbacks and kickers. That was about the time everyone remembered that Anthony Brown switched to No. 3 during the offseason, just in time to watch him score a touchdown.

Dak Prescott looked for rookie receiver Jalen Tolbert on a comeback route during the offense's two-minute drill. Brown deftly stepped in front of it and was off to the races.

"We're trying to make a statement across the league," cornerback Trevon Diggs said afterward.

Fun with matchups

Dan Quinn has made life difficult for anyone trying to track his defensive depth chart. The Cowboys' defensive coordinator does plenty of mixing and matching during the course of practice, to the point that notions of "first-team" and "second-team" feel silly.

That said, it was fun to see some of the combinations Quinn threw out there during a spirited team session.

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As might be expected, Micah Parsons lined up all over the field, splitting time in the middle of the defense, as well as rushing off both sides of the line. With Parsons spending time on the edge, DeMarcus Lawrence kicked inside on at least a couple of occasions.

Along with Lawrence, there was plenty of rotation at defensive tackle between Neville Gallimore, Osa Odighizuwa and Trysten Hill.

Much like last season, Quinn also used his safeties plenty. Jayron Kearse, Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson all got a lot of snaps, including at the same time.

In good health

McCarthy wants to be smart with some of his injury concerns, but the vast majority of the Cowboys' roster mixed into Wednesday's work.

Michael Gallup was the team's only starter not to participate. Jabril Cox got into the mix in full-team work, and James Washington just narrowly missed hauling in a deep completion on a long ball from Prescott.

David Helman covers the Dallas Cowboys for FOX Sports, providing daily insight and analysis on the NFL’s most visible franchise. Prior to joining FOX, David spent nine seasons covering the Cowboys for the team’s official website, DallasCowboys.com. In 2018, he won a regional Emmy for his role in producing "Dak Prescott: A Family Reunion" about the quarterback’s time at Mississippi State.