3 Major Milestones Ezekiel Elliott Could Hit in Cowboys Return

Ezekiel Elliott’s return to the Dallas Cowboys gives him the chance to continue to move up in the franchise’s record books.

Dec 4, 2022; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (21) celebrates a / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Ezekiel Elliott is officially back with the Dallas Cowboys after signing his deal on Tuesday. Elliott’s return obviously has big short-term effects on the Cowboys, who are desperate for one of their running backs to lead the ground in 2024 following Tony Pollard’s exit.

However, Elliott being back in Dallas also means he has the chance to rack up more stats and climb even higher on the franchise’s all-time stats leaderboard.

In fact, there are few major numbers Elliott could hit in 2024 alone to further cement himself as one of the best-producing Cowboys ever.

1. 9,000 Rushing Yards

Elliott has already proven himself as one of the top RBs in Dallas’ history, and his 8,262 rushing yards (No. 3 all-time for the Cowboys) to date are one major stat that proves it.

Yet, another go-around in Big D means Elliott can push that number even higher.

With just 738 rushing yards in 2024, Zeke would officially hit 9K in a Cowboy uniform, becoming just the third player to ever do so after Emmitt Smith (17,162) and Tony Dorsett (12,036).

Elliott doesn’t necessarily need to worry about anyone anytime soon challenging him for the No. 3 spot in franchise history when it comes to rushing yardage, and he’s already separated himself from No. 4 Don Perkins (6,217), but that shouldn’t stop him from wanting to keep chugging on the ground.

He has a golden opportunity to return to a healthy workload given Dallas’ lack of proven RB talent, which sets him up to bounce back nicely following a lackluster 642-yard effort for the New England Patriots last year.

2. 73 Rushing Touchdowns

Now, one place Elliott could move up the franchise leaderboards is in the rushing touchdown department.

Currently, Elliott sits third in Cowboys history with 68 TDs, which puts him within spitting distance of Dorsett, who notched 72 for Dallas from 1977-1987.

Considering Zeke hit 12 touchdowns for the Cowboys as recently as 2021, he’s more than capable of taking over sole possession of second place. If he reaches 73 TDs, he’d then only trail Smith’s 153 for the franchise record.

3. 340 Receptions

While Elliott’s been one of the NFL’s best running talents over the past decade, his receiving abilities were slept on.

The former Ohio State standout did some serious damage through the air at the height of his powers in Dallas, but Pollard’s arrival suddenly cut into his pass-catching work.

In New England last year, Elliott suddenly emerged as a receiving threat again. He racked up a whopping 51 receptions for the Pats, his most in a campaign since 2020.

Now back in Dallas, Elliott could crack the team’s top 10 for career receptions. He currently checks in at No. 12 with 305, but another 35 grabs would put him at 340, surpassing both Cole Beasley (No. 11, 319) and Jay Novacek (No. 10, 339).

Not bad for one of the modern NFL’s most dominant rushers.