There is no NFL player on a bigger roll right now than Ezekiel Elliott. Zeke leads the NFL with 703 rushing yards through six weeks, and he's 116 yards ahead of No. 2 (LeSean McCoy).
With his massive 157-yard day against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Elliott did the following:
- Became the first rookie in NFL history to rush for at least 130 yards in four straight games.
- Extended his record streak of consecutive 100-plus yard games by a Cowboys rookie from three to four.
- Nearly equaled the total rushing yards accumulated against the Packers by the Jaguars, Vikings, Lions and Giants during Green Bay's first four games of the season (171).
- Averaged 5.6 yards per carry against a defense that had set a post-merger record by allowing 2.0 per carry through its first four games of the season.
He has been so good over these past four weeks that he is now on pace for 1,875 rushing yards, which would break Eric Dickerson's rookie record of 1,808 set in 1983. The closest anyone has come to breaking Dickerson's record is when Alfred Morris (then with Washington, and now Elliott's backup in Dallas) ran for 1,613 yards in 2012.
Elliott's teammate Dez Bryant apprently thinks Elliott can do us all one better than setting the rookie record. He predicted Zeke will not only beat Dickerson, but also cross the 2,000-yard mark.
"Yeah, I believe it. Two thousand or more. That's my prediction," Bryant said, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
With the way Elliott's offensive line has been blocking these past few weeks, it's not entirely out of the question. Dallas once again has the best line in football, with All-Pros Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin leading the way.
Having those guys clearing lanes is a pretty big advantage for any back (just look at Darren McFadden's 4.6 yards per carry last season), but Elliott is also doing great work creating yards after contact, especially zooming through the second level when he breaks free beyond the line of scrimmage.
The Cowboys take their bye in Week 7 before coming back to play the division rival Eagles, who had been excellent stopping the run until letting Washington's Matt Jones run wild Sunday. They'll then face the Browns, who have allowed defenses to run over them all season.
