In his rookie season, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott led the NFL in rushing and looked like the best running back in the NFL. However, one NFL Hall of Fame running back does not see it that way. Eric Dickerson said that he didn't consider Elliott the best in the NFL and instead believes that Le'Veon Bell is the best running back in the NFL today.
Ezekiel Elliott and the Dallas Cowboys
There is one thing that Ezekiel Elliott has that not many other running backs in the NFL have at their disposal. Elliott ran for 1,631 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2016 behind a Dallas Cowboys offensive line that included first round draft picks in Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, and Zack Martin.
In 2017, he will also have a healthy La'el Collins, a player who could have become a first round draft pick if not for off-field problems in college. He is also a bruising running back, standing at 6-0 and 225 pounds, and showed in college at Ohio State how powerful he really is.
While Ezekiel Elliott proved in 2016 that he will be a force for the Dallas Cowboys for the next few years, is he that much better than Le'Veon Bell? In 2015, Darren McFadden ran for over 1,000 yards after struggling to stay healthy for the last few years. In 2014, DeMarco Murray led the NFL with 1,845 yards and 13 touchdowns. With those three running backs playing so well behind the offensive line, Elliott talent will always be questioned.
Is Le'Veon Bell the top RB in the NFL?
When asked who the best running back in the NFL is, Eric Dickerson didn't mention the Dallas Cowboys offensive line. What he mentioned was nothing that Ezekiel Elliot or Le'Veon Bell can control. Dickerson just looked at the size of the two running backs. Dickerson pointed out that he is 6-3 and believes that bigger running backs are better.
That makes little sense because Elliott is 6-0 and 225 pounds and Bell is 6-1 and 225 pounds.
Eric Dickerson also said that Le'Veon Bell does more out of the backfield and lining up outside, making him more valuable as an all-purpose running back in the NFL. In 2016, Bell caught 75 passes for 616 yards and two more touchdowns.
Elliott caught 32 passes for 363 yards in 2016. Both the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers have dominant receivers in Dez Bryant and Antonio Brown but the Cowboys have more targets in the receiving game, meaning that Elliott is not as necessary in the receiving game. At the end of the day, both Elliott and Bell should dominate the NFL in rushing over the next few years and the debate will rage on.
