Ezekiel Elliott doesn't turn 22 years old until next week, something that should be factored into what appear to be some recent missteps in judgment at a minimum. But with a few different off-field incidents getting him in the news lately, it's quite reasonable to wonder if the Cowboys will be without him for a game or multiple games this season.
Jerry Jones said recently he "didn't want to speculate" on whether Elliott might face a suspension. There's enough smoke that it at least won't be surprising if Elliott gets some sort of punishment by the NFL. Dallas has other running backs, but those players (Darren McFadden is expected to be the No. 2) will have some big shoes to fill.
A year ago, only three players accounted for a higher percentage of their team's rushing attempts than Elliott did. Only five accounted for a higher percentage of their team's rushing yards. If Elliott should be sidelined for a couple of games, the team loses quite a bit of its offense.
In the table, all backs with at least 20% of their team's rushing attempts in 2016 are shown.
| RUNNING BACK RUSHING PERCENTAGES, 2016 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IAtt | IYds | TmAtt | TmYds | %Att | %Yds |
| Todd Gurley, L.A. | 278 | 885 | 375 | 1252 | 74% | 71% |
| David Johnson, Ariz. | 293 | 1239 | 399 | 1732 | 73% | 72% |
| Jordan Howard, Chi. | 252 | 1313 | 380 | 1735 | 66% | 76% |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 322 | 1631 | 499 | 2396 | 65% | 68% |
| Jay Ajayi, Mia. | 261 | 1272 | 405 | 1824 | 64% | 70% |
| Frank Gore, Ind. | 263 | 1025 | 409 | 1628 | 64% | 63% |
| Melvin Gordon, S.D. | 254 | 997 | 398 | 1510 | 64% | 66% |
| LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 261 | 1268 | 409 | 1760 | 64% | 72% |
| LeGarrette Blount, N.E. | 299 | 1161 | 482 | 1872 | 62% | 62% |
| DeMarco Murray, Tenn. | 293 | 1287 | 476 | 2187 | 62% | 59% |
| Lamar Miller, Hou. | 268 | 1073 | 456 | 1859 | 59% | 58% |
| Isaiah Crowell, Clev. | 198 | 952 | 350 | 1712 | 57% | 56% |
| Devonta Freeman, Atl. | 227 | 1079 | 421 | 1928 | 54% | 56% |
| Terrance West, Balt. | 193 | 774 | 367 | 1463 | 53% | 53% |
| Matt Forte, NYJ | 218 | 813 | 418 | 1802 | 52% | 45% |
| Spencer Ware, K.C. | 214 | 921 | 412 | 1748 | 52% | 53% |
| Mark Ingram, N.O. | 205 | 1043 | 404 | 1742 | 51% | 60% |
| Jeremy Hill, Cin. | 222 | 839 | 446 | 1769 | 50% | 47% |
| Jonathan Stewart, Car. | 218 | 824 | 453 | 1814 | 48% | 45% |
| LeSean McCoy, Buff. | 234 | 1267 | 492 | 2630 | 48% | 48% |
| Carlos Hyde, S.F. | 217 | 988 | 458 | 2019 | 47% | 49% |
| Rashad Jennings, NYG | 181 | 593 | 398 | 1412 | 45% | 42% |
| Latavius Murray, Oak. | 195 | 788 | 434 | 1922 | 45% | 41% |
| Robert Kelley, Wash. | 168 | 704 | 379 | 1696 | 44% | 42% |
| Devontae Booker, Den. | 174 | 612 | 410 | 1484 | 42% | 41% |
| Jerick McKinnon, Minn. | 159 | 539 | 380 | 1205 | 42% | 45% |
| Ryan Mathews, Phil. | 155 | 661 | 438 | 1813 | 35% | 36% |
| T.J. Yeldon, Jac. | 130 | 465 | 392 | 1631 | 33% | 29% |
| Tim Hightower, N.O. | 133 | 548 | 404 | 1742 | 33% | 31% |
| Matt Asiata, Minn. | 121 | 402 | 380 | 1205 | 32% | 33% |
| Doug Martin, T.B. | 144 | 421 | 453 | 1616 | 32% | 26% |
| Bilal Powell, NYJ | 131 | 722 | 418 | 1802 | 31% | 40% |
| Chris Ivory, Jac. | 117 | 439 | 392 | 1631 | 30% | 27% |
| Christine Michael, Sea. | 117 | 469 | 403 | 1591 | 29% | 29% |
| Jacquizz Rodgers, T.B. | 129 | 560 | 453 | 1616 | 28% | 35% |
| Paul Perkins, NYG | 112 | 456 | 398 | 1412 | 28% | 32% |
| Tevin Coleman, Atl. | 118 | 520 | 421 | 1928 | 28% | 27% |
| Thomas Rawls, Sea. | 109 | 349 | 403 | 1591 | 27% | 22% |
| C.J. Anderson, Den. | 110 | 437 | 410 | 1484 | 27% | 29% |
| Theo Riddick, Det. | 92 | 357 | 350 | 1310 | 26% | 27% |
| Matt Jones, Wash. | 99 | 460 | 379 | 1696 | 26% | 27% |
| Dwayne Washington, Det. | 90 | 265 | 350 | 1310 | 26% | 20% |
| Zach Zenner, Det. | 88 | 334 | 350 | 1310 | 25% | 25% |
| Kenneth Dixon, Balt. | 88 | 382 | 367 | 1463 | 24% | 26% |
| DeAngelo Williams, Pitt. | 98 | 343 | 409 | 1760 | 24% | 19% |
| Derrick Henry, Tenn. | 110 | 490 | 476 | 2187 | 23% | 22% |
| Alfred Blue, Hou. | 100 | 420 | 456 | 1859 | 22% | 23% |
| Darren Sproles, Phil. | 94 | 438 | 438 | 1813 | 21% | 24% |
| Charcandrick West, K.C. | 88 | 293 | 412 | 1748 | 21% | 17% |
| Duke Johnson, Clev. | 73 | 358 | 350 | 1712 | 21% | 21% |
| Ty Montgomery, G.B. | 77 | 457 | 374 | 1701 | 21% | 27% |
| Mike Gillislee, Buff. | 101 | 577 | 492 | 2630 | 21% | 22% |
| Giovani Bernard, Cin. | 91 | 337 | 446 | 1769 | 20% | 19% |
| DeAndre Washington, Oak. | 87 | 467 | 434 | 1922 | 20% | 24% |
Personally, I look at the possibility of Elliott missing a couple of games as a good thing. A year ago, LeVeon Bell's suspension to start the season had him available to me at pick 2.10 (after I took Odell Beckham Jr. at 1.03). I lost my first three games, but behind Beckham and Bell went on to win the league. There's a lot of opportunity in the possibility of Elliott sliding too far should he be down for a game or two.
--Andy Richardson