Comparing Alfred Morris and Ezekiel Elliot's rookie seasons
After an incredible 2016 rookie season that saw Ezekiel Elliot eat, both literally and figuratively.
All while racking up over 1,000-yards, jumping into salvation army pots, and being over shadowed by his rookie sensation QB counter part in Dak Prescott. Oh, and did I mention he was the fourth overall pick? Sound familiar? Because minus the fancy catch phrases and immaculate celebrations, it is almost identical to what happened to Alfred Morris--Elliott's now teammate--in 2012.
Alfred Morris, the 6th-round (173rd-overall) pick out of Florida Atlantic University, also took the league by storm his rookie year--well, those who paid attention--and was overshadowed by his rookie QB counterpart in Robert Griffin III.
The differences:
1) Ezekiel Elliott went to the Ohio State University while Alfred Morris flew under the radar at FAU.
2) Ezekiel Elliott was the number 4 overall pick while Morris was 173rd.
3) The play styles. Elliot will break off long runs, and haul in big plays through the air. Morris, will grind you down and get the same production just in a different way.
4) Age. Alfred Morris entered the NFL at 24--already behind the 8-ball in terms of running backs--while Ezekiel Elliott is 21-years old.
5) A surprising difference, Size. Morris is 5'9 while Elliot stands 6'0. Morris comes in at 219-pounds and Elliot weighs 225-pounds.
The similarities:
1) Despite both backs having a rookie of the year like campaign both Morris and Elliot lost out to their own teammates. Their quarterbacks. RGIII and Dak Prescot respectively.
2) Both were lead backs and ran their teams into division titles their rookie seasons.
3) They both ran for over 1,600-yards (Elliot 1,631; Morris 1,613)
4) Their rushing stats--we will get into that in a second.
5) Their work load.
By the numbers:
Alfred Morris' rookie season: 1,613-yards, 13-touchdowns, 4-fumbles, longest rush 39-yards, 4.8-yards-per-attempt, 100-yards-per-game, 20.9-attempts-per-game, 16-games, 335-rushing-attempts.
Ezekiel Elliott's rookie year: 1,636-yards, 15-rushing-touchdowns, 5-fumbles, longest rush 60-yards, 5.1-yards-per-attempt, 108-yards-per-game, 21.5-attempts-per-game, 322-rushing-attempts, 15-games.
The qualifiers:
1) First and for most, the biggest difference is in the offensive line. The 2016 Dallas Cowboys had the second best offensive line in football--only behind the Tennessee Titans--per football focus. In 2012, the Washington Redskins offensive line ranked 27th in the NFL, per football focus.
2) The styles are different as mentioned earlier. Put down your pitch forks, Cowboys fans. Ezekiel Elliott was amazing in the passing game catching 32-passes for 363-yards while reaching the endzone one time through the air. Alfred Morris lacked that ability in Washington catching just 11-passes his rookie year for 77-yards. His longest reception was 20-yards, where Elliott reeled in an 83-yarder. Morris averaged 7-yards-per-reception compared to Elliott's 11-yards. One more note: Morris saw just 16-targets while Elliott was targeted 39-times.
3) Death by 1,000-cuts or a shot to the head? Zeke--as he is affectionately known--has "big play ability". He gains his yards in chunks, while Alfred Morris is "A grinder", and will pick up yards play-by-play.
The hypothetical:
What if Alfred Morris as a rookie ran behind the 2016 offensive line, while Ezekiel Elliott would be rushing behind the 2012 Redskins offensive line?
The answer:
That is for you to decide.
For more news, notes, opinions, hypotheticals, follow: @Rylan_Stiles on twitter.
