Zeke Elliott Appears To Take Ironic Shot To Nether Regions In Ball Protection Drill At Cowboys Camp

Rarely is taking a hit to the groin the best-case scenario in any situation, but if we’re being honest, that was the case for Dallas Cowboys running back Zeke Elliott in training camp footage that’s making the rounds on social media.

Zeke was running the gauntlet drill with two footballs tucked beneath his arms. Unfortunately, the barriers the burly ball-carrier had to burst through left his crotch area exposed. Once he came out the other side, poor guy could hardly move.

So why was a nut shot the best possible outcome? Because if Zeke was really that tired or looked that slow, he’d never hear the end of it. The Cowboys offense would also be kind of screwed, because they’re counting on the 29-year-old vet to recapture the form he once had as Dallas’ bell cow back.

Below you can see video of Zeke in action from several days ago. To me, his lateral quickness looks pretty good, but as far as explosive acceleration and straight-line speed? To quote ex-Cowboys quarterback/CBS broadcaster Tony Romo, “Eeeeeehhhhh I don’t know, Jim!”

Zeke isn’t going to convert any non-believers with these couple clips. At the same time, us NFL fans are starved for the game and can easily blow anything that happens in camp out of proportion. It’s just that Zeke has a lot of tread on his tires. Between 620 touches in his final two years at Ohio State to over 2,400 in his 120 NFL regular-season games, it’s a lot to ask someone with that kind of mileage to be a legit RB1.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is a pretty loyal guy to the players he drafts or acquires in splashy moves. That’s a big reason why Zeke is back in Dallas when almost nobody else would’ve taken him. It’s easy to see why a lot of folks think Zeke is washed, and when you look a little closer at the numbers over the past couple seasons, that narrative seems to check out.

During his last year with the Cowboys in 2022, Zeke had 12 rushing TDs, yet averaged only 3.8 yards per carry and a career-low 5.4 yards per catch. As a member of the Patriots this pat season, he managed only 3.5 yards per carry. Here are the real kickers: Pro Football Focus rated Dallas’ 2022 run blocking as 11th-best in the league; ESPN had the unit ranked seventh in run block win rate. For all that’s gone wrong in New England of late, the Patriots just ranked 12th and 10th in those respective advanced stat categories.

All this to say, the data doesn’t bode very well for Zeke in 2024. Between those o-line numbers, the raw box score stats, and the fact that most 29-year-old tailbacks tend not to fare well as is, wearing a cup next time in the gauntlet drill is the tip of the iceberg as far as the potential problems that lie ahead for Zeke and America’s Team.