Zeke splits first team reps with Rico Dowdle in Cowboys OTAs this week.
We have another RB committee on our hands. Ezekiel Elliott was spotted at Cowboys OTAs splitting first team reps with Rico Dowdle. While head coach Mike McCarthy previously stated that the Cowboys will use a committee approach this season, giving Dowdle early reps during the 1st week of OTAs is something to note.
The years of Zeke being a 1st round workhorse back are long gone at this point. For fantasy owners this season, Zeke’s outlook will probably be RB depth and a bye week fill-in. Splitting the backfield with Dowdle, Vaughn and Freeman will cap his upside, but this also means he will be fresher for his opportunities as Dallas’ “lead” back. The more interesting part of this story may be Dowdle’s upside as a later round pick, given Zeke’s injury history.
Dallas Cowboys running backs Ezekiel Elliott (dehydration) ...
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was limited to ...
Dallas Cowboys running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Rico ...
The Dallas Cowboys welcome back RB Ezekiel Elliott with a 1-year deal, $2 million guaranteed and worth up to $3 million.
Zeke is back home! After not drafting a RB in this year’s draft, Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys brought back one of their all-time best rushers. After a brief hiatus with the New England Patriots last season, Elliott returns to the team that drafted him 4th overall in 2016.
Over Zeke’s career with Dallas, he has totaled 8,262 yards and 70 TDs, solidifying his legacy as their workhorse back over 7 seasons. Throughout his career, Elliott has been known for his exceptional combination of speed, power, and agility, making him a key player for the Cowboys’ offense. With the Patriots last season, he totaled 955 yards and 5 TDs as his heavy workload has started to catch up with him.
It’s been a while since Zeke has been a perennial 1st round fantasy pick, plus the Dallas RB room is now “crowded” with middling talents Rico Dowdle, Deuce Vaughn, and newly signed Royce Freeman. Elliott has also recently dealt with a number of nagging injuries. Even with all these concerns, the departure of Tony Pollard and Zeke’s extensive experience in the offense means it’s likely he will still be very much involved this year.
The New England Patriots have placed running back Rhamondre Stevenson on injured reserve.
The Patriots have decided to shut down Rhamondre Stevenson for the rest of the season. Since suffering a high-ankle sprain a few weeks ago Stevenson has been slow to heal and hasn’t practiced. With New England out of playoff contention there is no need to rush Stevenson back this season and have decided to save their stud running back for next year.
With this news, Ezekiel Elliot will continue to be the RB1 for the Patriots but also a solid RB2 for fantasy managers heading into the fantasy finals. Since taking over as lead back Elliot has treated fantasy managers to two 20-plus PPR fantasy performances in three weeks. In Elliot’s previous appearance versus Buffalo, he rushed 11 times for 31 yards and a touchdown while splitting time with Stevenson. Now with Stevenson out of the picture, Elliot and fantasy managers should enjoy the outcome come Sunday, with the veteran getting all the touches.
The New England Patriots have ruled out Rhamondre Stevenson for Week 16.
Fantasy managers will continue to be without their RB2 in the Semi-Finals. Rhamondre Stevenson is still healing up from his high-ankle sprain and has yet to practice following his Week 13 injury. Monitor his status heading into the Finals, but he will be a player not to trust inserting into your lineups unless he returns to full practice.
In the meantime, Ezekiel Elliot will remain as the RB1 workhorse for the Patriots and fantasy managers. Although Elliot was stuffed last week, look for the veteran running back to rebound this week. He has a juicy match up versus the Broncos, who allow the most fantasy points to running backs this season.
The New England Patriots have ruled out Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle) for Week 15.
With the arrival of first week of the fantasy playoffs here, fantasy managers will once again be without their stud running back Rhamondre Stevenson. He is still dealing with the high ankle sprain that he suffered a couple of weeks ago. Stevenson has yet to return to the practice field and it is unclear whether or not he will even be able to return this season.
For those fantasy that inserted Ezekiel Elliot into your fantasy lineups last week, you were not disappointed. Elliot turned back the clock last week and provided a performance that surely assisted in sending fantasy teams to the playoffs. The running back was eating all game long to the tune of 22 carries for 68 yards and seven receptions for 72 yards and a touchdown.
As long as Stevenson is out, Elliot must be inserted into your fantasy lineups . Not only is Elliot the workhorse running the ball, but he is an asset in the passing game. The veteran will be needed in the receiving game this week so that the Patriots can try to keep up with the Chiefs and also try to control the clock with Elliot’s rushing abilities. Elliot could be in line for another Top 10 performance this week and has the shady Broncos run defense coming up next week.
The New England Patriots have ruled out Rhamondre Stevenson and Demario Douglas for Week 14.
After suffering a high ankle sprain last week and with it being a short week, it was inevitable that Rhamondre Stevenson would be ruled out for Week 14. Depending on the severity of the injury, there is a possibility that we may have seen the last of Stevenson for this season. Although the Patriots’ offense has been anemic this season, Stevenson was still producing. As for Demario Douglas, he is still in the concussion protocol process and is eyeing to return next week.
For those fantasy managers who were able to pick up Ezekiel Elliot off waivers this week, you may want to contemplate inserting him into your line-up this week. The Steelers have allowed running backs to score 19.6 fantasy points per contest this season. Now with Elliot in line to be the lead back, he’s going to be able to eat all the touches he can handle not only this week but going forward as well.
