Ezekiel Elijah Elliott (born July 22, 1995), nicknamed "Zeke", is an American former professional football running back. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, earning second-team All-American honors in 2015. Elliott was selected by the Dallas Cowboys fourth overall in the 2016 NFL draft. In his first seven NFL seasons, all with the Cowboys, he was a three-time Pro Bowl, two-time All-Pro selection, and led the league in rushing yards in 2016 and 2018. After being released by the Cowboys after the 2022 season, Elliott played the 2023 season for the New England Patriots. Elliott then re-signed and played for the Cowboys in the following 2024 season, before being released by the team before the final game of the season.
Early life Elliott was born in Alton, Illinois, to a mother and father who were both athletes in college. His mother, the former Dawn Huff, was a high school state champion in three sports before attending the University of Missouri and running track there. His father, Stacy, was a linebacker for the Missouri football team and CEO of Fifth Down Enterprises. Elliott's maternal grandfather played basketball for Drake University. His uncle is Finnish professional basketball player Shawn Huff.
Despite his athletic pedigree, Elliott attended more academically driven John Burroughs School in Ladue, Missouri, where he was a three-sport star in football, basketball, and track and field. Elliott also played baseball. He played as a running back for the John Burroughs Bombers football team. As a junior in 2012, Elliott was named the St. Louis Post-Dispatch offensive player of the year after rushing for 1,802 yards and 34 touchdowns and recording 23 receptions for 401 yards and six scores. In his senior year, Elliott had 3,061 all-purpose yards and 50 total touchdowns, including 2,155 rushing yards and 40 rushing touchdowns. He led the football team to three straight championship games, but lost all three.
Also a standout track and field athlete, Elliott was a state qualifier in sprinting and hurdling events. He capped his high school career by winning four state championships at the Missouri Class 3 state championships in hours (100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 110-meter high hurdles and 300-meter hurdles). Elliott recorded career-best times of 10.95 seconds in the 100-meter dash, 22.05 seconds in the 200-meter dash, 13.77 seconds in the 110m hurdles and 37.52 seconds in the 300m hurdles. He was named the Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year in the state of Missouri.
Considered a four-star recruit by Scout.com, Elliott was listed as the No. 9 running back in the nation in 2013. He played in the 2013 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Despite overwhelming support and pressure for Elliott to sign with his parents' alma mater, the University of Missouri, he decided to sign with Ohio State University.
College career As a true freshman at Ohio State University in 2013, Elliott rushed for 262 yards on 30 carries with two touchdowns as a backup to starter Carlos Hyde, mostly playing as a gunner on special teams.
In 2014, with the departure of Hyde to the NFL, Elliott took over as the starter for the Buckeyes. During the season, Elliott was named to the Academic All-Big Ten Conference team. He rushed for over 100 yards six times during the scheduled season. In the 2014 Big Ten Championship Game against the Wisconsin Badgers, Elliott rushed for 220 yards on 20 carries for two touchdowns. The victory qualified Ohio State for the first-ever College Football Playoff. In the 2015 Sugar Bowl against #1 Alabama, Elliott ran for 230 yards on 20 carries in a hard-fought 42–35 victory where he was named the Offensive Player of the Game, including an 85-yard touchdown run to seal the win. Elliott then capped the Buckeyes' championship season by rushing for 246 yards on 36 carries and scoring four touchdowns against the Oregon Ducks. He was named the Offensive MVP of that game as well; it was the third most rushing yards ever by an Ohio State player.
In 2015, Elliott began the season by rushing for over 100 yards in 10 straight wins, including 274 against Indiana on October 3 (the second most all-time by an Ohio State player). However, the team suffered a 17–14 loss to Michigan State on November 21, 2015, and Elliott announced that he would enter the 2016 NFL draft. The following week, Elliott ran for 214 yards on 30 carries in a 42–13 Ohio State victory over rival Michigan in Ann Arbor, his fifth 200+ yard game. He ended his collegiate career with 149 yards and four touchdowns in a Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame.
Elliott finished his career at Ohio State on several leaderboards. He was second in career rushing yards with 3,961 and yards per game with 101.6 (both behind only Archie Griffin), had the second and third most rushing yards in a season, and five of the top 20 rushing yards in a game. Elliott's 43 rushing touchdowns was fourth most all time, and his 23 in 2015 was third most in a season. His 12 100-yard rushing games in the 2015 season also tied Elliott with Eddie George for a school record, and the 22 such games Elliott amassed over his career was again second only to Griffin (as was his streak of 15 consecutive 100-yard games from 2014 to 2015). Elliott and George are the only Ohio State players with five 200-yard rushing games.
Individual awards Elliott received numerous honors during his tenure at Ohio State. In 2014, Elliott was named the Offensive MVP of both the 2015 Sugar Bowl and the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
Elliott's success at the end of the 2014 season made him a front-runner for the 2015 Heisman Trophy, though Elliott in fact finished eighth in the voting. After a successful regular season in which he gained 1,672 yards and 19 touchdowns, Elliott was named the 2015 Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year, 2015 Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year and was selected as Unanimous First Team All-Big Ten. In addition to the yearly awards, he was also named Big Ten Player of the Week twice during the 2015 season for his performances in Week 5 against Indiana, and in Week 13 against Michigan.
Professional career Pre-draft Before the draft, Elliott was labeled the most complete back to enter the NFL since Adrian Peterson in 2007 and was predicted to be a top 10 selection. On a draft breakdown by NFL.com, Elliott drew comparisons to Edgerrin James and was listed as a three-down back that had "rare combination of size, athleticism, pass-catching and blocking skills", and that he "should still come out of the gates as one of the most productive young running backs in the league".
Dallas Cowboys (first stint)
2016 season
Elliott was selected in the first round with the fourth overall pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2016 NFL draft on April 28, 2016. He was the first running back selected. Elliott was widely regarded as an early favorite for the 2016 Offensive Rookie of the Year while playing behind what many agreed upon as the NFL's most dominant offensive line leading up to the 2016 season. On May 18, Elliott signed his four-year rookie contract reportedly worth $24.9 million with a $16.3 million signing bonus.
Elliott was named the Cowboys' starting running back to begin the regular season, ahead of veterans Alfred Morris and Darren McFadden. During the narrow season-opening 20–19 loss to the Giants, he had 20 carries for 51 yards and his first NFL touchdown on an eight-yard run. In the next game against the Washington Redskins, Elliott had 21 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown, but also fumbled twice, losing one of them, yet the Cowboys prevailed on the road 27–23. The following week against the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football, he posted his first 100-yard game, rushing 30 times for 140 yards in the 31–17 victory.
During a Week 4 24–17 road victory over the San Francisco 49ers, Elliott had 23 carries for 138 yards and a touchdown. In the next game against the Cincinnati Bengals, he rushed 15 times for 134 yards and two touchdowns, including a 60-yard touchdown, during the 28–14 victory. The following week against the Green Bay Packers, Elliott continued his four-game streak with over 100 yards after recording 28 carries for 157 yards in the 30–16 road victory.
After the ninth game of the season against the Cleveland Browns, Elliott became the second Cowboys rookie to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season, after Tony Dorsett achieved the mark in 1977. Elliott also became the third running back to rush for 1,000 yards after just the ninth game of his career, joining Adrian Peterson and Eric Dickerson.
During a Week 10 35–30 road victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Elliott recorded 209 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns, including his first NFL receiving touchdown on an 83-yard pass from fellow rookie Dak Prescott, and a 32-yard run for the game-winning touchdown with nine seconds left. In the next game against the Baltimore Ravens, Elliott rushed 25 times for 97 yards and passed Tony Dorsett's Cowboys rookie rushing record on his second carry during the 27–17 victory. The following week against the Redskins on Thanksgiving, Elliott had 20 carries for 97 yards and two touchdowns in the 31–26 victory.
During a narrow Week 13 17–15 road victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday Night Football, Elliott had 20 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown. Two weeks later the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he recorded 23 carries for 159 yards and a touchdown in the 26–20 victory. After scoring the touchdown, Elliott jumped into an oversized Salvation Army Red Kettle, an unusual touchdown celebration. Since 1997, the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day football game halftime show has traditionally kicked off the Red Kettle campaign. With that rushing touchdown, Elliott surpassed Tony Dorsett and Herschel Walker for the Cowboys rookie record. Because the Cowboys clinched the #1-seed in the NFC and home field advantage throughout the playoffs, Elliott rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns during the Week 16 42–21 victory over the Detroit Lions and did not play in the regular-season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Elliott finished his rookie year as the NFL's top rusher with 1,631 yards, which was the 47th best season all-time and the third most by a rookie (behind Eric Dickerson's 1,808 in 1983 and George Rogers' 1,674 in 1981) while also becoming the youngest player to reach 1,600 yards. Elliott finished third with 15 touchdowns behind LeGarrette Blount and David Johnson. He tied Mike Anderson, Clinton Portis, and Ickey Woods for the second most all-time by a rookie behind Eric Dickerson's 18. Elliott's 464 yards after contact ranked fourth among NFL running backs. Due to his successful season, Elliott was selected as a First-team All-Pro, and earned his first Pro Bowl, joining Dak Prescott as the first rookie running back and quarterback duo in NFL history to be selected. He was also selected to the PFWA All-Rookie Team and named PFWA NFL Rookie of the Year. Elliott was ranked seventh by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017 and was the highest ranked running back.
In his first NFL playoff game, Elliott had 22 carries for 125 yards during a 34–31 loss to the Packers in the Divisional Round, joining Duane Thomas as the only Cowboy rookie to rush for over 100 yards in a playoff game.
2017 season