Ezekiel Elliott has been named Rookie of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America. Elliott rushed for a league high 1631 rushing yards this season. He was the 5th rookie running back since the NFL merger to lead the league in rushing yards. On top of that, he rushed for 15 touchdowns which is a Dallas Cowboys rookie record for touchdowns.
Another accomplishment that Zeke captured this season was advancing Tony Dorsett’s rookie rushing record of 1007 yards. He also got the record with a very comfortable cushion. To give Dorsett credit, he did rush for 1007 in only 14 games with a mere 4 games as a starter. He also did this in a different era (year: 1977) where statistics were not being piled up to the mass they are now. However, Elliott was phenomenal this season and earned the title of best Cowboys rookie running back. In 2004, Julius Jones also had 819 rushing yards in less than half of a season.
2016 PFWA ALL-ROOKIE TEAM Offense QB – Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys RB – Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys
Ezekiel Elliott and Emmitt Smith developed a relationship this season immediately from the start.
Emmitt was a fan of Elliott all season, and Zeke paid the legend homage in this late season warmup session.
Another interesting note about Ezekiel Elliott’s mentorships is that him and Marshall Faulk have been very close since Zeke’s days at The Opening, a nationwide Nike football training camp. Now, Elliott signed with the same agency that once represented Faulk, Alliance Sports. He has also developed a relationship in his quest of Eric Dickerson’s rookie rushing record this season, which was not accomplished in order to do what was best for the team sitting out the last 6+ quarters of the season.
Published by: Nicco Vocaturo
Dallas Cowboys Football Daily 
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