Dallas Cowboys

Will Ezekiel Elliott bounce back with the Dallas Cowboys this season?

Published Sep. 2, 2021 5:01 p.m. ET

It's comeback season for America's Team in more ways than one.

The hype surrounding Ezekiel Elliott continues to build as the 2021 NFL season draws near, and Dallas Cowboys fans are no doubt eager to see what the former Pro Bowl running back brings to the field this year.

For three of the first four seasons of his career, the 26-year-old Elliott was among the best running backs in the NFL, leading the league in rushing twice (2016 and 2018) and topping 1,300 rushing yards three times.

However, 2020 was a much different story. Despite starting 15 games, Elliott failed to hit the 1,000-yard mark. Instead, he hit career lows in total rushing yards (979), yards per carry (4.0) and yards per game (65.3). He also tied career-worsts in rushing touchdowns and fumbles, with six each.

A big part of Elliott's drop in production came after Dak Prescott's devastating ankle injury in Week 5, but now that the Cowboys quarterback appears to have successfully recovered, all signs point to Elliott rebounding as well. Right?

If you ask Shannon Sharpe, that's far from guaranteed.

On Thursday's "Undisputed," Sharpe explained why he isn't confident in Elliott's ability to bounce back as the Cowboys' offense transitions this season.

"A lot of things are in play here," Sharpe said. "The offense is different now. They don’t rely on him like they did the first three years of his career. So now, you’ve got three wide receivers that you believe can all go over 1,000 yards receiving. You just gave Dak [Prescott] top five money … to turn around and hand the ball off to Ezekiel Elliott? … I don’t believe you do."

"When we think of Zeke Elliott, we think of a premier running back. We’re thinking 1,300, 1,400, 1,500 yards. I don’t see [that] outta that body."

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Prescott has strong options in the passing game this year in wide receivers Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup, as well as tight ends Dalton Schultz and Blake Jarwin. This could lead to fewer opportunities for Elliott, despite him being in the "best shape of his life."

On the other side, Sharpe's co-host Skip Bayless has faith that Elliott will be able to regain all the momentum and edge that he lost last season.

"I can’t put a number on bounceback," Bayless said. "I’m not suggesting he’s going to lead the league in rushing the way he did in average yards per game the first three years. The first year was the monster year. It was like a carry-over from Ohio State. He just kept Ohio State-ing right on into Dallas. He ran away with the rushing title, and I haven’t seen quite that guy ever since because his yards per game have declined every year down to 65 yards, down from 109 as a rookie.

"I’d say that’s a precipitous drop, but I’m seeing a different Zeke every way shape and form in training camp. … He looks 100% better than he looked last year."

Fans will get their first chance to – hopefully – see a new and improved Elliott when the Cowboys take on the defending Super Bowl LV champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first game of the NFL season on Sept. 9.

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