NFL fantasy diamonds for 2022 - Running backs

Tony Pollard, Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard

Call me an Ezekiel Elliott hater, but this is the second straight year I heavily want to bet against him and go with Tony Pollard's talent. I understand at this point it's almost become this hipster opinion that Pollard should take more touches off Elliott, but I don't mind riding that wave. I believe Pollard is a much more dangerous and useful player, outside of pass-protection.

In the 2021 NFL campaign, Pollard beat Elliott by a significant margin in several metrics. This included yards per carry & yards per catch, PFF rushing and receiving grade, elusive rating and yards per route run.

And it's not just a direct comparison. Pollard also set career-highs in rush attempts and receptions, as well as yards per for both facets, with 6.2 yards per touch and well over 1,000 yards despite not playing in two games.

Since the Dallas Cowboys regretfully handed Elliott that $90million contract, his total per-game production and efficiency have declined in all three NFL seasons. But the Cowboys have insisted on keeping him as a focal point of their offense. We just heard Jerry Jones harper on that mindset once again, but at some point the coaching staff of Mike McCarthy (who already had to answer questions about job security at initial press conferences due to the Sean Payton reports) and Kellen Moore (one of the brightest offensive minds in the NFL) will have to put the ball in the hands of the players who will help them win.

Elliott should still maintain a role as an early-down and short-yardage runner with how well he can set up blocks and defenders, along with some with 6-man pass-pro reps. But his physical tools have diminished, leading to a career-low three rushes of 20+ yards and a broken tackle on worse than every 26 carries last season. Pollard makes this offense so much harder to deal with.

His explosiveness can rip off 10+ yard runs frequently, he can threaten the edges of any NFL defense and create flow that way to set up misdirection. His elusiveness in space exposes leverage advantages in the passing game, where we saw Elliott get tackled for no yardage on flat routes routinely. He can also be used as a check-down option when Dak Prescott comes down to him after reading out some deep route-combinations. Pollard opens things up so much for them and puts defenses into conflict.

Last NFL season, Pollard was RB28 in half-PPR format. He's even going slightly behind that. That's despite his ever-increasing involvement in the offense, his efficiency was screaming for more opportunities. The statistical anomaly of Pollard registering just two offensive TDs in the 2021 season remains, despite his productivity. That's bound to increase in an offense that has been top-two in situation-neutral & overall pace all three years under Kellen Moore. Getting him as a weekly flex option is a no-brainer.