2019 Cowboys Draft: 3 reasons why the Cowboys drafted Memphis RB Tony Pollard

With their only fourth-round draft pick in 2019 (they traded their second) the Dallas Cowboys drafted a running back to join the backfield led by Ezekiel Elliott. Memphis runner Tony Pollard is a lot of fun to watch.

It had been widely speculated that Dallas would add a running back to their group through the draft, Pollard is a really interesting one considering his set of skills.

This pick might say more about Kellen Moore than anything

Not to steal Tony Pollard’s thunder right away, but the fact that Dallas devoted their running back pick to someone who’s more versatile than anything might be an indication at what they think their new offensive coordinator can do.

Pollard is, as described by many, really good at a lot of things, but he’s not exactly great at one particular thing. His abilities as a route-runner are well-documented, but if the Cowboys aren’t willing to use him like that it’s kind of a waste to some degree.

Drafting Pollard is like when you buy a really specific accessory for your car, something to increase horsepower or stabilize the way it runs. If you aren’t a skilled enough driver you’re really just wasting it, it’s not something the average person would truly utilize.

Here’s hoping Kellen Moore isn’t average.

His skills as a return man can’t be questioned

Perhaps the most elite part about Pollard’s game is what he’s able to do as a kick returner. We don’t see kicks returned all that often in the NFL anymore, specifically in Dallas, and rules are even trending in the direction where they might be outlawed altogether soon.

That doesn’t matter at the moment. And Pollard is very good at them.

We’ve seen the Cowboys try to add a splash to this element by using Cole Beasley, Rod Smith, Ryan Switzer, Tavon Austin, and even Jourdan Lewis. Now that they have a specific and devoted resource perhaps it will become a more dependable part of their team.

Pollard is different than Zeke, and that’s a good thing

Tony Pollard is definitely a different type of running back than Ezekiel Elliott in that he doesn’t have one part of his game that is truly elite. It’s nice that there are finally going to be different options for Dallas in the backfield, something we’ve wanted to see for some time.

The Cowboys have tried to get cute with players like Lance Dunbar and the aforementioned Switzer and Austin in the backfield. Enough is enough with that. Getting a running back who they’re confident in to handle a different type of workload is something that can only benefit the offense.

Once again, Pollard puts a lot of expectations on Kellen Moore.