Ezekiel Elliott Week 1 Outlook - Dolphins at Patriots

By Mike Tagliere (FantasyPros), Fri, Sep 11th 2020, 1:20pm EDT

Will the Cowboys start to divvy up the workload between Elliott and Pollard now that Mike McCarthy is in town? We watched him use Aaron Jones/Jamaal Williams, Eddie Lacy/James Starks, and Ryan Grant/James Starks in timeshares over the last decade, so why not Elliott/Pollard? I just it to be known that it's possible this is more of a timeshare than it's been in years past. This duo crushed the Rams defense in Week 15 last year when they combined for over 300 total yards and three touchdowns (Elliott 160/2, Pollard 143/1). It's odd they demolished them the way they did, as the Rams allowed just 0.79 PPR points per opportunity to running backs in 2019, which ranked as the 11th-lowest number in the league. I went back and looked, and there were no major injuries that caused anyone to miss that game on the Rams defense, either. Given all the talent the Cowboys have at wide receiver, it's difficult to say the Rams can put any emphasis on shutting down the run, and it's clear their run game under Kellen Moore worked against the Rams talent. However, there are some unknowns in this game, as the Rams are under a new defensive coordinator (Brandon Staley), and one we know nothing about. We'll get information as we see the games played on both the Rams defense and the Cowboys potential timeshare, but for now, Elliott is the only one you can play with confidence as an RB1 while Pollard is more of an emergency RB4/5 option.