Other than his rookie season, there always seems to be a dark cloud hanging over the head of Dallas Cowboys Running Back Ezekiel Elliott. Heading into the 2019 season is no exception due to Zeke’s altercation with a security guard at a music festival, which is why I believe Tony Pollard and Mike Weber could be more important this year then a lot of Cowboys Nation was expecting.
Tony Pollard and Mike Weber were supposed to be nothing more than a backup RBs behind Zeke this year. That was the hope anyway after the completion of the 2019 NFL Draft, but the unfortunate incident No. 21 was involved in not long ago gives the NFL the ammunition they need to make an example out of the Cowboys star RB once again.
We’ve already seen Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL slap Ezekiel Elliott with a six-game suspension before without much evidence to support their case, which is why it’s not out of the realm of possibility they could do so once again. This time though they actually have some video evidence at their disposal to backup what could end up being yet another suspension. OUCH!
If worse comes to worse, Ezekiel Elliott could be looking at yet another lengthy suspension from the NFL. That moves rookies Tony Pollard and Mike Weber up the depth chart as potential starters this year. Unless you still believe Darius Jackson can somehow prove something he has yet to do in his three years in the league. I personally have my doubts, but I also have my doubts about Pollard and Weber as well.
Unfortunately, despite how much the Dallas Cowboys have already praised Tony Pollard and the skill set he will bring to the offense this year, he has never been “the guy” in his collegiate career. He was actually more of a receiver during his time at Memphis, which makes it difficult to believe he can handle the workload if called upon as Zeke’s replacement.
Mike Weber on the other hand is more of a traditional RB and replaced Ezekiel Elliott once already as a member of the Buckeyesjust. Weber took over as the starting RB at Ohio State after Zeke moved on to the NFL. He has a 1,000 yard rushing season under his belt as a starter, but also has a rather lengthy injury history as well. It’s one of the reasons why he ended up splitting time with J. K. Dobbins the last couple of seasons.
No, I don’t think Tony Pollard or Mike Weber are capable of stepping in on their own and replacing Ezekiel Elliott if need be. But, together they may be able to do just enough for the Dallas Cowboys to bide their time until Zeke is able to return to the starting lineup (crosses fingers).
Hopefully though, all of this talk amounts to nothing. Let’s just hope, and pray, nothing happens to Ezekiel Elliott and he is able to play a full season in 2019. If that happens, he should be up to claim his third rushing title in four years.
