Stating that the Dallas Cowboys have the best offensive line in the entire NFL may sound a bit redundant, but I honestly believe that they will look even more dominant in 2016 now that they have a running back that truly fits the zone blocking scheme.
The Cowboys gave their offensive line an early Christmas present when they decided to draft Ezekiel Elliott #4 overall in this years draft. They could have chosen to go with a dominant defensive player with that selection, but they chose to add a player that can make the strongest position on the team (OL) even stronger.
If you add all of that up, it equals a deadly combination. Right?
To me, it’s kind like having a beautiful classic car, but the engine doesn’t work properly. Everything still looks nice and works, but if you want that car to perform at its best you have to get that engine purring.
I can’t tell you how excited I am to see Elliott taking handoffs from quarterback Tony Romo and making it to the second level of opposing defenses before he is even touched.
That’s right, that’s how dominant I think the Cowboys offensive line will be in 2016.
I honestly haven’t been this excited about a Cowboys running back since Emmitt Smith was still wearing a star. We kind of got a glimpse in 2014 with DeMarco Murray, but Elliott is an even better scheme fit then Murray was and a more talented player.
Even Darren McFadden was able to have arguably the best season of his NFL career in 2015 running behind the Cowboys offensive lineman, despite not being a great scheme fit.
Here’s a look at the lead RBs statistics over the last two seasons for the Cowboys.
DeMarco Murray (2014)
| Att/Rec | Yards | TDs | |
| Rushing | 392 | 1845 | 13 |
| Receiving | 57 | 416 | 5 |
Darren McFadden (2015)
| Att/Rec | Yards | TDs | |
| Rushing | 239 | 1089 | 3 |
| Receiving | 40 | 328 | 0 |
Those are pretty impressive numbers if you ask me, but Elliott is more talented than both Murray and McFadden and again a better scheme fit then either one of them.
I honestly can’t decide who should be more excited? Is it Ezekiel Elliott or the Cowboys talented offensive line: Travis Frederick, Zack Martin, Tyron Smith, Doug Free, and La’el Collins?
I think it probably is equally exciting for everyone. Elliott gets to run behind an offensive line that features three Pro Bowl players (Frederick, Smith, Martin) and the offensive line gets to block for a RB that should make their job a lot easier.
If things work out the way I think they will for La’el Collins, we may even see another offensive lineman added to the Pro Bowl roster.
Let me try to put things in perspective a little bit more.
I’ve already mentioned the impressive seasons that Murray and McFadden were able to have, but over the last two seasons combined the Cowboys offensive line has allowed the variety of running backs to run for 4242 rushing yards on 916 attempts. The RBs were able to average 4.6 yards per carry over that time span.
Are you convinced yet?
Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys offensive line are a match made in heaven and combined together make a deadly combination that should make the entire team become a dominant force in not only the NFC East division, but the entire NFL.
Of course, that’s just my opinion backed by a few facts.
It is still unknown what type of player Ezekiel Elliott actually is, but the excitement he has created is real.
Who knows? He could end up being the next Adrian Peterson or the next Trent Richardson, but I for one believe big things are ahead of Elliott and the Cowboys offensive line.
What do you think?
Please for free to use the comment section below or hit me up on Twitter @bmart0204 to discuss this topic further.
