The Case For Ezekiel Elliott as MVP

With the regular season over, it’s all about the playoffs and reflecting on this season’s best stars. Easily the biggest honor in the NFL is being named  MVP and some greats have won it including Johnny Unitas, Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton and most recently, Cam Newton. Even though Newton won’t even been in the conversation this year, Cowboys rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott is and has been making his own case for an MVP award.

Usually, when rookies come into the league, there’s always some hesitancy or some added-on statement. For example, Joey Bosa is a good defensive end for a rookie or Sterling Shepard would be a star without Odell Beckham Jr, stealing all of his targets. However, with Ezekiel Elliott, there has been no hesitation or added-on statement. As a rookie, Zeke has done what the best running backs do and that’s absolutely dominate defenses.

Zeke broke the Cowboys rookie record for rushing touchdowns. He was less than 200 yards away from breaking Eric Dickerson’s rookie record. He was the rushing leader in the entire NFL, only being trailed by Jordan Howard by 300 yards. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards behind an unstoppable offensive line and proved he isn’t just a running back.

He was able to play receiver on many occasions, most of which resulted in a long catch and run. He caught 32 of his 40 targets for 363 yards and averaged 11 yards per receptions. Even though he only caught one touchdown pass, he showed that he isn’t just a one-note back. When he wasn’t playing receiver or running back, he was a member of the Cowboys special teams and occasionally, when needed, would block to protect fellow rookie Dak Prescott. He even recorded a tackle but that’s still pretty impressive for a running back who is never supposed to do that.

Making the case for Ezekiel Elliott is easy because he was one of the most valuable players in the NFL. He helped take a 4-12 team to a 13-3 record and he didn’t even play in the last game. He changed the stigma about never taking running backs high in the draft and showed how having a great running game is key to having one of the best offenses in football.

The biggest reason why Elliott deserves to be MVP is easy because he changed so much about the game. He jumped in the Salvation Army kettle and raised over $32,000 dollars for the organization. He got matching necklaces for him and teammate, Dak Prescott. He started the “feed me” gesture and gave hope back to America’s Team. Hell, they became America’s Team again with Zeke.

As great as quarterback Dak Prescott was this season, the Cowboys wouldn’t have been the same without Ezekiel Elliott. He put the fun back into the NFL in a season where almost every celebration was fined or flagged.  Ezekiel Elliott deserves to be the NFL MVP, no matter how you look at it.