Tony Pollard has been pretty impressive in Dallas' first two preseason games. If Ezekiel Elliott thought staying away from the team would help his push for a new contract, it's possible he miscalculated. Pollard put up 51 total yards and a touchdown on 6 touches against the Rams last night.
Should Elliott remain a holdout, Pollard would be the starter behind one of the league's best offensive lines. That would give him a chance to finish with top-20 fantasy production as a rookie -- not easy to do for a fourth-round pick.
Since 2000, there's been one fourth-round running back who finished with top-2o production in his rookie season -- Houston's Domanick Davis. Sixteen other players snuck into the top 50, so about one per year. One such player a year ago (Indianapolis' Nyheim Hines).
| 4TH-ROUND RUNNING BACKS, ROOKIE NUMBERS (2000-) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Pick | Player | Run | Rec | Tot | TD | FFRk |
| 2003 | 101 | Domanick Davis, Hou. | 1031 | 351 | 1382 | 8 | 15 |
| 2014 | 113 | Andre Williams, NYG | 721 | 130 | 851 | 7 | 21 |
| 2015 | 106 | Jeremy Langford, Chi. | 537 | 279 | 816 | 7 | 24 |
| 2016 | 136 | Devontae Booker, Den. | 612 | 265 | 877 | 5 | 27 |
| 2017 | 134 | Jamaal Williams, G.B. | 556 | 262 | 818 | 6 | 29 |
| 2011 | 105 | Roy Helu, Wash. | 640 | 379 | 1019 | 3 | 31 |
| 2006 | 117 | Leon Washington, NYJ | 650 | 270 | 920 | 4 | 35 |
| 2005 | 109 | Marion Barber, Dall. | 538 | 115 | 653 | 5 | 35 |
| 2015 | 125 | Javorius Allen, Balt. | 514 | 353 | 867 | 3 | 36 |
| 2003 | 105 | Onterrio Smith, Minn. | 579 | 129 | 708 | 5 | 36 |
| 2018 | 104 | Nyheim Hines, Ind. | 314 | 425 | 739 | 4 | 39 |
| 2017 | 114 | Samaje Perine, Wash. | 603 | 182 | 785 | 2 | 41 |
| 2001 | 121 | Correll Buckhalter, Phil. | 586 | 130 | 716 | 2 | 41 |
| 2017 | 119 | Tarik Cohen, Chi. | 370 | 353 | 723 | 3 | 42 |
| 2017 | 143 | Marlon Mack, Ind. | 358 | 225 | 583 | 4 | 47 |
| 2011 | 115 | Kendall Hunter, S.F. | 473 | 195 | 668 | 2 | 47 |
| 2017 | 140 | Wayne Gallman, NYG | 476 | 193 | 669 | 1 | 50 |
| 2008 | 122 | Tashard Choice, Dall. | 472 | 185 | 657 | 2 | -- |
| 2004 | 119 | Mewelde Moore, Minn. | 379 | 238 | 617 | 0 | -- |
| 2002 | 99 | Jonathan Wells, Hou. | 529 | 48 | 577 | 3 | -- |
| 2016 | 134 | Kenneth Dixon, Balt. | 382 | 162 | 544 | 3 | -- |
| 2014 | 103 | Devonta Freeman, Atl. | 248 | 225 | 473 | 2 | -- |
| 2018 | 126 | Ito Smith, Atl. | 315 | 152 | 467 | 4 | -- |
| 2012 | 106 | Robert Turbin, Sea. | 354 | 181 | 435 | 0 | -- |
| 2014 | 138 | Lorenzo Taliaferro, Balt. | 292 | 114 | 406 | 4 | -- |
| 2003 | 108 | Quentin Griffin, Den. | 345 | 61 | 406 | 0 | -- |
| 2003 | 132 | LaBrandon Toefield, Jac. | 212 | 105 | 317 | 3 | -- |
| 2018 | 134 | Chase Edmonds, Ariz. | 208 | 103 | 311 | 2 | -- |
| 2012 | 97 | Lamar Miller, Mia. | 250 | 45 | 295 | 1 | -- |
| 2003 | 121 | Justin Griffith, Atl. | 168 | 122 | 290 | 2 | -- |
| 2003 | 115 | Lee Suggs, Clev. | 289 | 0 | 289 | 2 | -- |
| 2014 | 124 | DeAnthony Thomas, K.C. | 113 | 156 | 269 | 2 | -- |
| 2018 | 131 | Kalen Ballage, Mia. | 191 | 56 | 247 | 1 | -- |
| 2002 | 135 | Najeh Davenport, G.B. | 184 | 33 | 217 | 1 | -- |
| 2014 | 117 | KaDeem Carey, Chi. | 158 | 57 | 215 | 0 | -- |
| 2010 | 112 | Joe McKnight, NYJ | 189 | 20 | 209 | 0 | -- |
| 2013 | 125 | Johnathan Franklin, G.B. | 107 | 30 | 137 | 1 | -- |
| 2005 | 110 | Brandon Jacobs, NYG | 99 | 0 | 99 | 7 | -- |
| 2015 | 126 | Mike Davis, S.F. | 58 | 38 | 96 | 0 | -- |
| 2018 | 112 | Mark Walton, Cin. | 34 | 41 | 75 | 0 | -- |
| 2009 | 111 | Mike Goodson, Car. | 49 | 15 | 64 | 0 | -- |
| 2014 | 130 | James White, N.E. | 38 | 23 | 61 | 0 | -- |
| 2005 | 130 | Darren Sproles, S.D. | 50 | 10 | 60 | 0 | -- |
| 2011 | 126 | Bilal Powell, NYJ | 21 | 7 | 28 | 0 | -- |
| 2016 | 119 | Tyler Ervin, Hou. | 3 | 18 | 21 | 0 | -- |
| 2017 | 132 | Donnel Pumphrey, Phil. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- |
| 2017 | 121 | Joe Williams, S.F. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- |
| 2007 | 100 | Michael Bush, Oak. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- |
| 2001 | 100 | Rudi Johnson, Cin. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- |
| 2019 | 112 | Bryce Love, Wash. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2019 | 113 | Justice Hill, Balt. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2019 | 122 | Benny Snell, Pitt. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| 2019 | 128 | Tony Pollard, Dall. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
As the table shows, though, a rookie year impact might not mean much. Andre Williams, Jeremy Langford, Devontae Booker? Lamar Miller, Rudi Johnson, James White and Darren Sproles did less as rookies, but had much better careers. So even if Elliott returns and Pollard doesn't do much this season, plenty of chance for him to emerge down the road.
With Pollard, Hill and Snell there's some potential for a rookie-year impact, although Snell might need an injury to be a factor. Love, coming off a torn ACL, is more likely to be a factor in year two.
--Andy Richardson