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Ezekiel Elliott is looking to bounce back strong after a quiet campaign, to his standards, where he finished seventh in the NFL in rushing yards (1,002) and rushing touchdowns (10). After putting together a solid training camp, here’s a look at Elliott’s player totals for the season courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook, and how we think you should approach them for the 2022 season.
Ezekiel Elliott’s rushing yards: Over 875.5 (-115) or Under (-115)
Our pick: Over
To be fair, Elliott missed some snaps because he didn’t appear to be 100 percent — the cost of the Dallas Cowboys running him into the ground for 20-plus carries per game in his first few NFL seasons. Obviously those numbers have not been immutable each year, plunging to 13.9 per game in 2021-22. Still, this could be a blessing in disguise for Elliott. We may see him at his most explosive with backfield mate Tony Pollard sharing a portion of the snaps. Zeke has yet to have a season with less than 979 rushing yards, so his projected total seems very enticing.
Ezekiel Elliott’s rushing TDs: Over 8.5 (-115) or Under (-115)
Our pick: Over
Assuming Elliott plays a full season, and avoids any setbacks, he should have every opportunity to hit nine touchdowns. While Pollard has become a favorite of many Dallas fans, the organization still has immense faith in Elliott’s star power. Head coach Mike McCarthy recently made the comment during training camp that he believes that the best is yet to come for the 27-year-old ball carrier. All of Elliott’s scores last year came in the red zone, and he still managed to surpass the over that the experts have set for him ahead of the upcoming season. If he can break off a few runs in the open field during the 2022-23 season, there’s a lot of value to be had with his current TD total.
Fantasy football insight
Many fantasy managers view Elliott and Pollard as one of the best RB handcuffs in fantasy football because of their intuitive ability to be effectively coexistent in the offense. But it’s still Elliott’s backfield at the moment. Zeke may no longer be pegged as a Round 1 selection, but it’s mostly due to how deep the RB talent pool has become in 2022. He’s a fringe RB2, but he still has the talent and volume to help you win fantasy matchups on a weekly basis.
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