The Dallas Cowboys will open the regular season with a dual rookie combination in the backfield. No. 4 overall pick running back Ezekiel Elliott was already primed for a big role. Tony Romo's broken back thrust fourth-round quarterback Dak Prescott into duty.
The rookie duo could provide boom potential for the Cowboys' offense. While Elliott owns traits that made it clear he'd be the workhorse from Day 1, Prescott is a mid-round pick who has burst onto the scene only after going up against vanilla preseason defenses.
Elliott, for his part, is not concerned about his fellow rookie's ability to step into the spotlight, saying Prescott "will be just fine."
"I like how poised he is," Elliott said, via the Dallas Morning News. "He doesn't ever seem to get flustered no matter what's going on. He just seems so calm when he's in the game."
The Cowboys' coaching staff has done a splendid job with Prescott, giving the rookie easy reads, roll outs, keeping Dez Bryant on the field often and tailoring the offense to Prescott's skill set. But the regular season will be a bigger beast when defenses actually start scheming to take things away.
Elliott noted that both he and Prescott will have to "grow up fast" when the games start to count.
"We're going to have to rely on each other," Elliott said. "We're going to have a good bond and we got to do it together."
Elliott and Prescott represent the future of the Cowboys. For at least the next two months, they also represent the present. It's a scary thought to place a team in the hands of two rookies -- especially in a winnable division. Everything we've seen from Elliott says he will ball out from his first NFL snap. If he drags Dak along, Dallas' offense will be just fine to open the season.
