Ezekiel Elliott in the NFL
In the NFL. Photo: Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Running back, Ohio State, 2013–⁠15

Ezekiel Elliott

Number
No. 15
Height
6′0″
Hometown
St. Louis, MO
Born
Jul 22, 1995, in St. Louis, Missouri

Wikipedia readers: about 32,328 a month over the past year

Ezekiel Elliott played running back at Ohio State (2013–⁠15). He led the 2014 national champions in rushing. He finished eighth in the 2015 Heisman vote. The Dallas Cowboys took Elliott in the first round, No. 4 overall in the 2016 NFL Draft.

At a glance

Best season
1,878
Rushing yards, 2014 (Ohio State, 14–⁠1)
Best game
274 yards
At Indiana, week 5, 2015: No. 1 rushing game in FBS that week
National rank
No. 3
In FBS in rushing touchdowns, 2015
Drafted
No. 4
Overall, 2016 NFL Draft (Dallas Cowboys)

Career highs

274rushing yards, career highat Indiana, 20154rushing touchdowns, career hightwice; last vs. Notre Dame, 20157catches, career highvs. Indiana, 2014

Honors

Team titles: National champions, 2014; Big Ten champions, 2014

All-America: AP second team 2015

Players of the year, conference and regional honors: Wikipedia’s lists (CC BY-SA), each linked from its honor.

Rushing

Rushing yards, season by season, with his team’s record
SeasonTeamCarYdsAvgTDLong
2013Ohio State302628.7257
2014Ohio State2731,8786.91885
2015Ohio State2891,8216.32380
Career5923,9616.74385

Receiving

SeasonTeamRecYdsAvgTDLong
2013Ohio State3237.7111
2014Ohio State282207.9022
2015Ohio State272067.6030
Career584497.7130

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.

On the roster

SeasonTeamNo.PosHt
2013Ohio State15RB
2014Ohio State15RB
2015Ohio State15RB6′0″

As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.

Per play

SeasonTeamPlaysEPA/playPctileMedianTotalUsageAdj. rush
2013Ohio State300.39––11.87%–
2014Ohio State3040.3898th (n=253)0.12114.027%0.52
2015Ohio State3180.3597th (n=268)0.12111.136%0.41

Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). Adjusted pass and rush: EPA per play adjusted for the defenses faced (CollegeFootballData’s WEPA). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.

Game by game

2015 Ohio State 13 games, 1,821 rushing yards, 23 TD
DateOpponentResultCarYdsTDLongRecRec yds
Sep 7atVirginia TechW 42–⁠2411122180216
Sep 12vs.Hawai’iW 38–⁠02710131310
Sep 19vs.Northern IllinoisW 20–⁠132310801326
Sep 26vs.Western MichiganW 38–⁠1216124126329
Oct 3atIndianaW 34–⁠2723274375212
Oct 10vs.MarylandW 49–⁠2821106219647
Oct 17vs.Penn StateW 38–⁠1027153119421
Oct 24atRutgersW 49–⁠719142255329
Nov 7vs.MinnesotaW 28–⁠142611411519
Nov 14atIllinoisW 28–⁠327181217––
Nov 21vs.Michigan StateL 14–⁠17123317––
Nov 28atMichiganW 42–⁠133021426627
Jan 1 ✦vs.Notre DameW 44–⁠2827149447130
2014 Ohio State 15 games, 1,878 rushing yards, 18 TD
DateOpponentResultCarYdsTDLongRecRec yds
Aug 30vs.NavyW 34–⁠171244120––
Sep 6vs.Virginia TechL 21–⁠35832115––
Sep 13vs.Kent StateW 66–⁠0765016452
Sep 27vs.CincinnatiW 50–⁠2828182114551
Oct 4atMarylandW 52–⁠242413902816
Oct 18vs.RutgersW 56–⁠171269118428
Oct 25atPenn StateW 31–⁠242610911217
Nov 1vs.IllinoisW 55–⁠149690221−1
Nov 8atMichigan StateW 49–⁠3723154247––
Nov 15atMinnesotaW 31–⁠241891022219
Nov 22vs.IndianaW 42–⁠2713107165739
Nov 29vs.MichiganW 42–⁠281712124417
Dec 6vs.WisconsinW 59–⁠020220281––
Jan 1 ✦vs.AlabamaW 42–⁠3520230285113
Jan 12 ✦vs.OregonW 42–⁠20362464331−1
2013 Ohio State 7 games, 262 rushing yards, 2 TD
DateOpponentResultCarYdsTDLongRecRec yds
Aug 31vs.BuffaloW 40–⁠201202––
Sep 7vs.San Diego StateW 42–⁠7636011––
Sep 21vs.Florida A&MW 76–⁠014162257––
Oct 5atNorthwesternW 40–⁠301101––
Oct 26vs.Penn StateW 63–⁠14217010––
Nov 2atPurdueW 56–⁠0537019323
Nov 23vs.IndianaW 42–⁠141707––

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Before the draft

DrillCombine 2016
Height5′11¾″
Weight225 lb
Arm length31¼″
Hand size10¼″
Wingspan75⅜″W
40-yard dash4.47 s
10-yard split1.50 sW
Vertical jump32½″
Broad jump9′10″

Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

In the NFL

9 seasons, 135 games with a stat; latest team: Los Angeles Chargers.

Pro Bowls: 3 (2016, 2018–⁠19) · First-team All-Pro (AP): 2016 · Second-team All-Pro (AP): 2018

All-Pro teams: AP first team 2016; AP second team 2018; Pro Football Writers first team 2016, 2018; Sporting News first team 2016.

SeasonTeamGCarYdsTDRecRec yds
2016Dallas Cowboys153221,6311532363
2017Dallas Cowboys10242983726269
2018Dallas Cowboys153041,434677567
2019Dallas Cowboys163011,3571254420
2020Dallas Cowboys15244979652338
2021Dallas Cowboys172371,0021047287
2022Dallas Cowboys15231876121792
2023New England Patriots17184642351313
2024Dallas Cowboys157422631269
NFL career1352,1399,130743682,718

Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0), matched to him by his draft pick and college (Player ids: DynastyProcess (GPL-3.0)). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat. Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams by NFL season: rosters and honors, Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

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