NFL Rumors: Dallas Cowboys Want Ezekiel Elliott At No. 4 Despite Troubling Reports?


NFL rumors have suggested that the Dallas Cowboys may select Ezekiel Elliott with the No. 4 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, but is the team ignoring the troubling reports coming out about the former Ohio State running back in the process? Those are questions that will be answered on Thursday when the Dallas Cowboys will first go on the clock for their first-round selection.

Bleacher Report first discussed the real possibility that the Dallas Cowboys will select Ezekiel Elliott with the No. 4 selection. Jason Cole details the range for Ezekiel to be taken in the NFL draft, describing the player’s draft stock as “volatile” and placing him as far down as going No. 13 to the Miami Dolphins.

“There are still some people that believe that Elliott could go as high as No. 4 to the Dallas Cowboys if Jerry Jones gets his wish to recreate the triplets that they classically had in the 90’s with Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin and Troy Aikman. Jones might want to join Elliott with Dez Bryant and Tony Romo to try and recreate that to win another championship.”

The reports about him are glowing, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel scouting report. His Ohio State coaches raved about Ezekiel Elliott and several – including Urban Meyer – had no bad things to say about the offensive stand-out. “They rave about him,” an unnamed scout said about how the coaches at Ohio State speak of Ezekiel. “Not many college backs are really good in protection. He really is (special).”

With all the glowing comments, why should the Dallas Cowboys be cautious before taking Ezekiel Elliott? His love of the night life, according to the article.

“Elliott likes to party and the college life. ‘You worry about him missing meetings and staying out all night,’ an AFC scout said. ‘He’s an alpha male.'”

In addition to the partying, Fansided also cautioned that the position has been devalued over the past decade, leaving many analysts to consider taking a running back with one of the top 10 picks as too high.

“While Elliott may indeed be the best running back in this class, it’s way too much of a risk to take someone at that position that high in the order,” Fansided’s Jack Jorgensen wrote about Ezekiel. “It can be done, yes, but surely someone in that draft room will talk Jones out of it much like they talked him out of taking Johnny Manziel two years ago.”

Jason Cole agreed with that sentiment, placing Ezekiel Elliott as a bottom-10 pick.

“[T]he value of the running back at this point and time in the draft is not considered high enough to put at the No. 4 spot, meaning most people believe that Elliott will land somewhere between eight and 10. That’s where the Cleveland Browns take at eight, and where the New York Giants are at 10. Elliott would fit with both teams if they are try and find an explosive running back and somebody vital to push their offense.”

The stage for the Dallas Cowboys to select Ezekiel Elliott should be set, at least according to rumors leading up to the 2016 NFL Draft. Trades made by the Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles allowed the NFL franchises to move up to No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the upcoming draft to take Jared Goff and Carson Wentz as the top two quarterbacks. The Inquisitr reported San Diego is planning to take a defensive player with the third pick, and only the monkey wrench of a trading with the Charger and to jump ahead of the Dallas Cowboys would take Ezekiel off the board before the No. 4 selection.

Do you think that the Dallas Cowboys will take Ezekiel Elliott with the No. 4 selection in the 2016 NFL Draft as multiple rumors have suggested? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

[Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images]

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