There’s a lot of statements one can make about the NFL season this year. You can say the Green Bay Packers had a great stretch at the end of the season. You can say Matt Ryan was a beast all year long. You can say Tom Brady had an epic journey of revenge. But all of these statements can be argued. However, one statement you cannot argue, one even Eagles’ fans wouldn’t try to deny: Rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott did something the NFL had never witnessed before.
With their season ending earlier than we all hoped, Cowboys Nation is excited about the NFL Honors. It is a fact that the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award is going to one of these two kids. The question is… Dak or Zeke?
There are many outcomes to this. Heck, maybe Zeke wins Offensive Player of the Year and Dak gets the Rookie award. Jess Haynie wrote about how they should be Co-Offensive Rookies of the Year and that is by far my favorite theory.
So… who should win it?
Ezekiel Elliott, the expected one?
Being the fourth overall pick for the most valuable franchise in sports is kind of huge. Everyone expecting you to be the best rookie from the draft adds a little bit of pressure to it. Being compared to Emmitt Smith before even playing a down in the NFL makes it an even bigger deal. But hey, Ezekiel Elliott couldn’t care less.
He led the NFL in rushing yards with 1,631. After being doubted by a lot of people because of his average performance in the first two games, he rushed for more than 130 yards in each of his next four.
Ezekiel Elliott had very high expectations and still… he exceeded them. He ran consistently well, he blocked like a veteran and he made the awesome look usual.
He had 15 touchdowns through the ground and he led the NFL in first downs with 91 (David Johnson was second with 72).
Zeke was the MVP for the Cowboys this season. Thanks to the threat he was to defenses, Dallas controlled the clock most of the time, the defense worked better, and he just destroyed defenses to win games for his team.
Dak Prescott, the surprise?
Dak, on the other hand, was a fourth round pick who was nothing but a “project” back in April. After Kellen Moore was injured in the offseason, he had to step up as the backup QB to Tony Romo.
After killing it during preseason, Dak came in after Tony’s injury and surprised the whole world. Playing like a seasoned veteran, he became the starting quarterback of America’s Team.
His numbers are not that great; he threw for 23 touchdowns, ran for six. He threw only four interceptions though, which is one of the main reasons he was so great. Dak Prescott became the leader and the new face for Dallas when they needed it most.
Quarterback is perhaps the most difficult job in sports. Arguably, Dak became the best rookie QB in the history of the NFL, or at least one of the best. This may be the biggest argument in Prescott’s case for the Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Who should win it?
I’m going to pick Ezekiel Elliott to win the award.
I think Dak certainly deserves a lot of credit because of the position he plays, and I would be very happy if he gets it. Quarterback is the most important player for any team and to adapt the way he did to the NFL as a rookie was impressive.
But Ezekiel Elliott did so much for this team. He led the NFL in a lot of categories and was the best rusher in the NFL this season.
Whoever gets it, they deserve it. They brought a spark back to the Dallas Cowboys and they gave us all hope for the future.
Who do you think should walk away with the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award?
Let us know in the comments below, or tweet me @PepoR99 and let’s talk football! If you like football and are looking for an NFL show in Spanish, don’t miss my weekly 4 Downs Podcast!
I wouldn’t be upset with either but, in my opinion, Zeke did exactly what we thought he should do behind that offensive line. While Dak also had the benefit of the same line, his expectations were much lower. Look what seasoned vets did last year when trying to fill in for Tony. What Dak was able to do was nothing short of spectacular. We the fans are winners either way.
You’re right! We all win either way. What these two kids accomplished was unbelievable. Whoever gets the award, I think they deserve it so much. This is just the beginning of something amazing!
If it was up to me — and it’s not — I would go Dak. He tied the rookie record for wins by a QB, despite his numbers being “not that great” he set the rookie records for completion percentage (67.8), touchdown-to-interception ratio (which you touched upon) and quarterback rating. That’s NFL HISTORY rookie records, by the way. Not to mention, we were looking at back-to-back disaster seasons when Romo went down — and we already knew what we had in Zeke. If it had just been Zeke and say, Mark Sanchez for part of the season, I think we end up with 9 wins. Despite popular opinion, I think Dak made that difference.
Having said all that, I’m totally good with Zeke getting the award. He was brilliant. I expected him to start off rough before he found his footing. But once he did, he was everything we wanted him to be and more. One of the more disappointing aspects of the one-and-done playoffs is that you were keeping Zeke healthy for a Super Bowl run. Now, I wish he’d gotten a full shot at that rookie record. As much as I love Dak, and I do, I hope next season this coaching staff recognizes that the one thing we do that other people can’t stop is run the football. It’s not always going to be this way. We have one season, two at the most, before defenses start reconfiguring themselves to stop Zeke. Until then, we should make him the hammer and hammer us home.
There’s really no wrong answer here. They both deserve it so much. Dak certainly has been a great player too. I agree with you, the Cowboys have to make this team count, and I honestly think they will win. A great future is upon us.