FRISCO, Texas – It's not exactly groundbreaking news, but it is intriguing.
The star running back for a team that's expected to contend for the NFC East title thinks his team has a lot of talent. In fact, Ezekiel Elliott took it a step further on Monday night.
"This is probably the most talented team I've been on," Elliott said.
That's a hefty statement, no matter how you slice it. Elliott has played for two playoff teams during his NFL career, including a group that won 13 games and sent seven players to the Pro Bowl.
It's unclear if Elliott was including his college career in the tally, but his 2014 national championship team at Ohio State was nothing to scoff at, given that it included Elliott, as well as NFL stars like Michael Thomas, Joey Bosa and Marshon Lattimore.
Still, Elliott's choice is backed up by some pretty remarkable numbers, as he pointed out.
"Just look at the depth chart, look at the roster, look at how many Pro Bowlers, how many All-Pro guys we have out there," he said.
It's a valid point. As it stands right now, the Cowboys are preparing for their season opener with 15 players who have been to at least one Pro Bowl: Elliott, Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper, Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, DeMarcus Lawrence, Everson Griffen, Aldon Smith, Dontari Poe, Leighton Vander Esch, Jaylon Smith, Sean Lee, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, L.P. Ladouceur and Greg Zuerlein.
The number is still impressive if you boil it down to All-Pros. The Cowboys currently employ eight players who have been named either first or second-team All-Pro: Elliott, Martin, Tyron Smith, Aldon Smith, Lawrence, Lee, Vander Esch and Zuerlein.
Of course, the natural counter to this argument is that it feels a bit hollow. Some of these designations are in the distant past. More importantly than that, the Cowboys boasted a comparable amount of talent last season and turned in an 8-8 record.
Ultimately, no one cares about talent if it doesn't win games. But Elliott has been around some good football teams in his young career, so his word counts for something. And to hear it from him, it's worth being excited to see.
"I think we're looking great. I think we're in a good spot," he said. "Defensively, we're so deep on the defensive line, then we have the great linebacker trio and with the good DBs and the offense, we've got the veteran O-Line. Those guys, they're good every year and there's so many weapons on the outside with Dak leading us. I think we're in a good point right now. Excited and I'm ready to get this thing rolling."
