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Entering his seventh NFL season, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is coming off a less than stellar 2021 campaign.
While Elliott has eyes on a turnaround in 2022, speaking with reporters at training camp this week, the three-time Pro Bowler revealed some lofty career goals.
On top of bringing a Lombardi Trophy back to Dallas, Elliott hopes to reach 10,000 career rushing yards, targeting that number as the sweet spot to have a gold jacket waiting for him in Canton.
Only 31 running backs in NFL history have surpassed 10,000 rushing yards; 16 are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Currently, 15 backs with 10,000 or more yards are not in the hall, and only one player, four-time All-Pro Adrian Peterson, is active.
Elliott is third among active running backs in career rushing yards (7,386), behind only Mark Ingram (7,878) and Peterson (14,918).
Elliott played through a PCL tear in 2021. While he didn’t miss any games, Elliott’s numbers suffered.
Despite rushing for more than 1,000 yards for the fourth time in his career, Elliott averaged just 4.2 yards per carry and 58.9 yards per game, the lowest of his carrier.
Elliott’s yards-per-game averages have declined significantly since his rookie year, as have his touches. They took a nosedive in 2020, when Elliott averaged 4.0 yards per carry and 65.3 yards per game, finishing the season with 979 rushing yards through 15 games.
The 10,000-yard milestone isn’t unreachable for Elliott, but recent trends lower his odds.
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