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Ezekiel Elijah Elliott (born July 22, 1995), nicknamed " Zeke", is an American professional football running back. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, earning second-team All-American honors in 2015. Elliott was selected by the Dallas Cowboys fourth overall in the 2016 NFL draft. In his first seven NFL seasons, all with the Cowboys, he was a three-time Pro Bowl, two-time All-Pro selection, and led the league in rushing yards in 2016 and 2018. After being released by the Cowboys after the 2022 season, Elliott played the 2023 season for the New England Patriots before re-signing with the Cowboys in 2024.
Despite his athletic pedigree, Elliott attended more academically driven John Burroughs School in Ladue, Missouri, where he was a three-sport star in football, basketball, and track and field. Elliott also played baseball. He played as a running back for the John Burroughs Bombers football team. As a junior in 2012, Elliott was named the St. Louis Post-Dispatch offensive player of the year after rushing for 1,802 yards and 34 touchdowns and recording 23 receptions for 401 yards and six scores. In his senior year, Elliott had 3,061 all-purpose yards and 50 total touchdowns, including 2,155 rushing yards and 40 rushing touchdowns. He led the football team to three straight championship games, but lost all three.
Also a standout track and field athlete, Elliott was a state qualifier in sprinting and hurdling events. He capped his high school career by winning four state championships at the Missouri Class 3 state championships in hours (100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 110-meter high hurdles and 300-meter hurdles). Elliott recorded career-best times of 10.95 seconds in the 100-meter dash, 22.05 seconds in the 200-meter dash, 13.77 seconds in the 110m hurdles and 37.52 seconds in the hurdling. He was named the Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year in the state of Missouri.
Considered a four-star recruit by Scout.com, Elliott was listed as the No. 9 running back in the nation in 2013. He played in the 2013 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Despite overwhelming support and pressure for Elliott to sign with his parents' alma mater, the University of Missouri, he decided to sign with Ohio State University.
In 2014, with the departure of Hyde to the NFL, Elliott took over as the starter for the Buckeyes. During the season, Elliott was named to the Academic All-Big Ten Conference team. He rushed for over 100 yards six times during the scheduled season. In the 2014 Big Ten Championship Game against the Wisconsin Badgers, Elliott rushed for 220 yards on 20 carries for two touchdowns. The victory qualified Ohio State for the first-ever College Football Playoff. In the 2015 Sugar Bowl against #1 Alabama, Elliott ran for 230 yards on 20 carries in a hard-fought 42–35 victory where he was named the Offensive Player of the Game, including an 85-yard touchdown run to seal the win. Elliott then capped the Buckeyes' championship season by rushing for 246 yards on 36 carries and scoring four touchdowns against the Oregon Ducks. He was named the Offensive MVP of that game as well; it was the third most rushing yards ever by an Ohio State player.
In 2015, Elliott began the season by rushing for over 100 yards in 10 straight wins, including 274 against Indiana on October 3 (the second most all-time by an Ohio State player). However, the team suffered a 17–14 loss to Michigan State on November 21, 2015, and Elliott announced that he would enter the 2016 NFL draft. The following week, Elliott ran for 214 yards on 30 carries in a 42–13 Ohio State victory over rival Michigan in Ann Arbor, his fifth 200+ yard game. He ended his collegiate career with 149 yards and four touchdowns in a Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame.
Elliott finished his career at Ohio State on several leaderboards. He was second in career rushing yards with 3,961 and yards per game with 101.6 (both behind only Archie Griffin), had the second and third most rushing yards in a season, and five of the top 20 rushing yards in a game. Elliott's 43 rushing touchdowns was fourth most all time, and his 23 in 2015 was third most in a season. His 12 100-yard rushing games in the 2015 season also tied Elliott with Eddie George for a school record, and the 22 such games Elliott amassed over his career was again second only to Griffin (as was his streak of 15 consecutive 100-yard games from 2014 to 2015). Elliott and George are the only Ohio State players with five 200-yard rushing games.
Elliott's success at the end of the 2014 season made him a front-runner for the 2015 Heisman Trophy, though Elliott in fact finished eighth in the voting. After a successful regular season in which he gained 1,672 yards and 19 touchdowns, Elliott was named the 2015 Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year, 2015 Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year and was selected as Unanimous First Team All-Big Ten. In addition to the yearly awards, he was also named Big Ten Player of the Week twice during the 2015 season for his performances in Week 5 against Indiana, and in Week 13 against Michigan.
On May 18, 2016, Elliott signed his four-year rookie contract reportedly worth $24.9 million with a $16.3 million signing bonus.
Elliott was named the Cowboys' starting running back to begin the regular season, ahead of veterans Alfred Morris and Darren McFadden. During the narrow season-opening 20–19 loss to the Giants, he had 20 carries for 51 yards and scored his first NFL touchdown on an eight-yard run. In the next game against the Washington Redskins, Elliott had 21 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown but also fumbled twice, losing one of them, yet the Cowboys prevailed on the road 27–23. The following week against the Chicago Bears, he posted his first 100-yard game, rushing 30 times for 140 yards in the 31–17 victory.
During a Week 4 24–17 road victory over the San Francisco 49ers, Elliott had 23 carries for 138 yards and a touchdown. In the next game against the Cincinnati Bengals, he rushed 15 times for 134 yards and two rushing touchdowns, including a 60-yard touchdown, during the 28–14 victory. The following week against the Green Bay Packers, Elliott continued his four-game streak with over 100 yards after recording 28 carries for 157 yards in the 30–16 road victory.
After the ninth game of the 2016 season, he became the second Cowboys rookie to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season, after Tony Dorsett achieved the mark in 1977. Elliott also became the third running back to rush for 1,000 yards after just the ninth game of his career, joining Adrian Peterson and Eric Dickerson.
During a Week 10 35–30 road victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Elliott recorded 209 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns, including his first NFL receiving touchdown on an 83-yard pass from fellow rookie Dak Prescott, and a 32-yard run for the game-winning touchdown with nine seconds left. In the next game against the Baltimore Ravens, Elliott rushed for 97 yards and passed Tony Dorsett's Cowboys rookie rushing record on his second carry during the 27–17 victory.
During a Week 15 26–20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Elliott had 23 carries for 159 rushing yards and a touchdown. After scoring the touchdown, he jumped into an oversized Salvation Army Christmas kettle, an unusual touchdown celebration. Since 1997 the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day football game halftime show has traditionally kicked off the Red Kettle campaign. With that rushing touchdown, Elliott surpassed Tony Dorsett and Herschel Walker for the Cowboys rookie record. Because the Cowboys clinched the #1-seed in the NFC and home field advantage throughout the playoffs, Elliott rushed for 80 yards during the Week 16 42–21 victory over the Detroit Lions and did not play in the regular-season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Elliott finished his rookie year as the NFL's top rusher with 1,631 yards, which was the 47th best season all-time, the third most by a rookie (behind Eric Dickerson's 1,808 in 1983 and George Rogers' 1,674 in 1981), and the youngest player to reach 1,600 yards. Elliott finished third with 15 touchdowns behind LeGarrette Blount and David Johnson. He tied Mike Anderson, Clinton Portis, and Ickey Woods for the second most all-time by a rookie behind Eric Dickerson's 18. Elliott's 464 yards after contact ranked fourth among NFL running backs. Due to his successful season, Elliott was selected as a First-team All-Pro, and earned his first Pro Bowl, joining Dak Prescott as the first rookie running back and quarterback duo in NFL history to be selected. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. Elliott was ranked seventh by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017 and was the highest ranked running back.
In his first NFL playoff game, Elliott had 22 carries for 125 yards during a 34–31 loss to the Packers in the , joining Duane Thomas as the only Cowboy rookie to rush for over 100 yards in a playoff game.
During the season-opening 19–3 victory over the Giants on NBC Sunday Night Football, Elliott had 24 carries for 104 yards. In the next game against the Denver Broncos, he had the worst game of his career statistically, being held to eight yards on nine carries during the 42–17 road loss.
On October 12, 2017, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals announced that Elliot's suspension had been reinstated, meaning that he would have to serve the six-game suspension up from that point. Six days later, Elliott was granted a temporary restraining order, meaning that he would not have to serve his suspension from that point, allowing him to play in Week 7 against the 49ers. In that game, Elliott rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns and had a 72-yard touchdown reception from Dak Prescott during a 40–10 road victory.
On October 30, Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the New York Southern District Court, denied Elliott's request for a preliminary injunction, which reinstated the six-game suspension. The following day, the NFLPA filed an emergency motion for the injunction. On November 3, Elliott was once again granted a stay by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which delayed the suspension.
On November 9, the suspension was once again reinstated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Three days afterward, Elliott decided to accept the suspension and leave the country to train for a little while. On November 15, he officially announced that he had withdrawn from another appeal attempt. During his suspension, Elliott had been training and rehabbing his hamstrings in Mexico before his reinstatement. Elliott returned in Week 16 during a must-win situation against the Seattle Seahawks, where he rushed for 97 yards on 24 carries. The Cowboys lost, 21–12, and were eliminated from playoff contention. In the regular season finale against the Eagles, Elliott had 27 carries for 103 yards in the 6–0 shutout road victory.
Elliott finished his second professional season with 242 carries for 983 yards and seven touchdowns to go along with 26 receptions for 269 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games and starts. He was ranked 54th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.
Elliott finished the 2018 season with 304 carries for 1,434 yards and six touchdowns to go along with 77 receptions for 567 yards and three touchdowns in 15 games and starts. He won the rushing title for the second time in three seasons. Elliott earned a second Pro Bowl nomination for his 2018 season.
The Cowboys finished atop the NFC East with a 10–6 and made the playoffs as the #4-seed for the NFC Playoffs. In the against the Seattle Seahawks, Elliott rushed 26 times for 137 yards and a touchdown during the narrow 24–22 victory. In the against the Los Angeles Rams, he had 20 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown during the 30–22 road loss. Elliott was ranked 18th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2019.
In Elliott's first game back, he rushed 13 times for 53 yards and a touchdown in the 35–17 opening game victory over the Giants. In the next game against the Redskins, Elliott rushed 23 times for 111 yards and a touchdown during the 31–21 road victory. The following week against the Miami Dolphins, he rushed 19 times for 125 yards in the 31–6 victory. During a narrow Week 6 24–22 road loss to the New York Jets, Elliott rushed 28 times for 105 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 48 yards. In the next game against the Eagles, he rushed 22 times for 111 yards and a touchdown and caught six passes for 36 yards during the 37–10 victory. After a Week 8 bye, the Cowboys faced the Giants on Monday Night Football. In that game, Elliott rushed 23 times for 139 yards during the 37–18 road victory. During a Week 14 31–24 road loss to the Bears on Thursday Night Football, he rushed 19 times for 84 yards and two touchdowns while also reaching 1,000 rushing yards on the season. During a Week 15 44–21 victory over the Rams, Elliott rushed 24 times for 117 yards and two touchdowns and caught three passes for 43 yards In the regular-season finale against the Redskins, he had 18 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for two yards and a touchdown during the 47–16 victory. Elliott earned his third Pro Bowl nomination for 2019.
Elliott finished the 2019 season with 301 carries for 1,357 yards and 12 touchdowns to go along with 54 receptions for 420 yards and two touchdowns in 15 games and starts. He was ranked 24th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020.
During a Week 11 31–28 road victory over the Minnesota Vikings, Elliott had his first 100-yard game of the season, rushing for 103 yards and recorded two receptions for 11 yards and a touchdown. Elliott missed his first career game due to injury in Week 15 against the 49ers, whom the Cowboys went on to beat 41–33. During a Week 16 37–17 victory over the Eagles, Elliott had 19 carries for 105 yards.
Elliott finished the 2020 season with 244 carries for 979 yards and six touchdowns to go along with 52 receptions for 338 yards and two touchdowns in 15 games and starts.
In the against the 49ers, Elliott rushed for 31 yards during the 23–17 loss. After the game, it was revealed that Elliott was playing with a partially torn PCL, which he suffered in Week 4 against the Panthers.
In the against the 49ers, Elliott rushed for 26 yards and played center for one play during the 19–12 road loss.
The Cowboys released Elliott on March 15, 2023.
Elliott finished the 2023 season with 184 carries for 642 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 51 receptions for 313 yards and two touchdowns in 17 games and five starts.
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In August 2020, Elliott became a shareholder of OnCore Golf, a manufacturer of based in Buffalo, New York.
In May 2021, Elliott was cited by police after one of his dogs bit and injured two people in his Frisco, Texas, neighborhood.
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