How does Ezekiel Elliott stack up against other great Dallas Cowboys running backs?

Brayden Garcia
·3 min read
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Ezekiel Elliot’s time as a Dallas Cowboy might be over, so how does he stack up against the franchise’s other running backs?

The Cowboys could part ways with the 27-year-old as early as Wednesday afternoon to help stay under the salary cap. Cutting Elliott saves the Cowboys $4.86 million and if f they designate him as a post-June 1 cut, they would save $10.9 million.

Elliot is the latest in a long history of Cowboys running backs. Here are the top 5 running backs in Cowboys history:

Dallas Cowboys Calvin Hill before the game as the Cowboys and Rams practice at a 2015 Cowboys Training Camp in Oxnard, CA.
Dallas Cowboys Calvin Hill before the game as the Cowboys and Rams practice at a 2015 Cowboys Training Camp in Oxnard, CA.

5. Calvin Hill

Hill might have the shortest tenure on the Cowboys out of everyone on the list, but he made the most of it.

Ranked fifth all-time in Cowboys rushing yards at 5,009, Hill is also fifth in touchdowns with 39. Hill played for the silver and blue from 1969 to 1974.

Hill was also instrumental in the Cowboys bringing home their first super bowl trophy in 1972.

Dallas Cowboys running back Don Perkins is chased for a touchdown against the New York Giants Dick Lynch during an NFL game Dec. 1, 1963. The New York press that came to Dallas for the game weighed on a city where President Kennedy was assassinated.
Dallas Cowboys running back Don Perkins is chased for a touchdown against the New York Giants Dick Lynch during an NFL game Dec. 1, 1963. The New York press that came to Dallas for the game weighed on a city where President Kennedy was assassinated.

4. Don Perkins

Perkins spent his entire career with America’s Team from 1961 to 1968.

Recording 6,217 rushing yards in his tenure, Perkins is fourth all time in rushing for the Cowboys. Perkins again ranked fourth all-time in rushing touchdowns with 42.

Perkins was named NFL Rookie of the Year in 1961 and made the Pro Bowl six times.

Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (21) warms up before an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King)
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (21) warms up before an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King)

3. Ezekiel Elliott

Elliott has accomplished much in his seven seasons with the team after being drafted by the Cowboys in the first round back in 2016.

The 27-year-old is third all-time in both Cowboys rushing at 8,262 yards and in touchdowns with 68. Elliot joined Tony Dorsett as the only pair of Cowboys players to rush for a 1,000 yards during their rooking season.

Elliott was elected to three Pro Bowls in his time with the Cowboys. If this is it for Elliott and the Cowboys, the running back leaves quite the legacy for the silver and blue.

Tony Dorsett of Dallas Cowboys holds up the ball after scoring in the third period against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game in Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 1979.
Tony Dorsett of Dallas Cowboys holds up the ball after scoring in the third period against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship game in Los Angeles, Jan. 7, 1979.

2. Tony Dorsett

Dorsett donned the blue and silver for 11 seasons from 1977 to 1987.

The Cowboys running back is second all-time in both rushing with the team at 12,036 at rushing touchdowns at 72. In his rookie season, Dorsett and the Roger Staubach-led Cowboys defeated the Denver Broncos to win Super Bowl 12.

Dorsett was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1994.

FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 14, 1996 file photo, Dallas Cowboys’ Emmitt Smith (22) and Michael Irvin, right, hold up the NFC Championship trophy after the Cowboys defeated the Green Bay Packers 38-27 in Irving, Texas. The Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers go way back _ as in the 1967 NFL Championship game played in such frigid conditions at Lambeau Field that it is known in league annals as the “Ice Bowl.” Cowboys. Packers. Fifty years of postseason history. While they may not be traditional rivals, their playoff meetings often leave an impression.(AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

1. Emmitt Smith

Smith played with the Cowboys from 1990 to 2002, winning three super bowls and one NFL MVP.

Along with being the Cowboys all-time rushing leader at 17,162 yards, Smith also holds the most rushing touchdowns with 153. The Pensacola, Florida born Smith won offensive rookie of the year in 1990 and was named to all eight of his Pro Bowls while donning the silver and blue.

Smith, who was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, may have finished out his career with the Arizona Cardinals, but he will always be known as a Cowboys great by many fans.