The NFC East contains two running back’s that have top-five potential in 2020. New York Giants‘ Saquon Barkley and Dallas Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott are the two players that will compete side-by-side for their establishment as the best back in the NFC East.
The question: Who will have a better year and why?
1.) Ezekiel Elliott
Elliott is going through some major changes on offense in 2020. The Cowboys replaced head coach Jason Garrett with Mike McCarthy. Elliott had performed extremely well under Garrett in previous years, but the team did keep Kellen Moore as their offensive coordinator. Their offense was focused primarily around the passing game in 2019, which took away from Elliott’s production as it was the first season in his career he didn’t lead the NFL in rushing yards per game.
The change in scheme and now the drafting of wide receiver CeeDee Lamb should not assist in Elliott’s efficiency moving forward. He will be more valued as a blocker and receiver than as a running back. They have a similar style to the Kansas City Chiefs, who rely on passes and intermediate throws to move the chains. To give you a good example of how the Dallas’ offense could change with McCarthy as their head coach when Ezekiel Elliott joined the team in 2016, their offense ranked 1st, 5th, 10th, and 8th and rush attempts per game.
Comparably, Mike McCarthy’s offenses ranked 29th, 27th, and 30nd during that same time span.
We can project that Elliott will have a far superior year than he has enjoyed in the past, which should give Saquon Barkley a heavy advantage.