Eight stats that prove Ezekiel Elliott is the NFL MVP

Stats are not everything when looking to conclude who the NFL MVP might be. Sure they play a major role, but there are other factors. Team-wide success definitely plays a role here.

But in reality, stats give us a concrete understanding of where certain players stand. For example, if two quarterbacks lead their teams to 13-3 records, but one has thrown 10 more touchdowns than the other, were pretty sure that signal caller will win the award.

The same can be said for running back, a position that has always taken a back seat to quarterback when it comes to NFL MVP honors.

Though, we’re pretty sure one specific running back might break that trend in 2016. His name is Ezekiel Elliott. He is a rookie. He plays for the 10-1 Dallas Cowboys. And he’s absolutely dominating the landscape of the NFL heading into December.

Here are eight numbers that suggest Elliott is the NFL MVP at this point in the season.

37.1

Elliott is touching the ball 37.1 percent of the time the Cowboys snap the ball. Of running backs that have played in every game this season, only Melvin Gordon is touching the ball at a higher percentage.

Unfortunately for Gordon, his San Diego Chargers are in last place in the AFC West. Elliott is doing this while leading the league’s third-best scoring offense and starring on a squad that’s won 10 consecutive games.

1,199

Not only is Elliott leading the NFL in rushing heading into Week 13, he’s on pace to come close to Eric Dickerson’s single-season rookie rushing record. In fact, Elliott’s performance thus far this season compares favorably to what we saw from Adrian Peterson during his initial season with the Minnesota Vikings.

Again, that he’s doing this on a 10-1 team is absolutely amazing. If you’re the most valuable player on the league’s best regular season team, shouldn’t you be considered the NFL MVP?

85.7

Yes, Elliott can do pretty much anything he wants on the football field. This is evidenced by the 85.7 catch rate the Ohio State product has put up as a rookie. While this only accounts for 24 catches on 28 targets, it definitely proves Elliott is a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield.

It’s also important to note that Elliott is averaging nearly 13 yards per catch. That’s rare for a running back in today’s. NFL.

33.5

That’s the percentage of the Cowboys’ yardage that Elliott has accounted for this season. Considering he’s touching the ball 37.1 percent of the time and isn’t a quarterback, this is an absolutely astonishing stat.

The last non-quarterback to win the MVP award was the aforementioned Adrian Peterson back in 2012. That season saw him touch the ball 38.7 percent of the time while accounting for 42 percent of Minnesota’s yardage. Elliott isn’t on pace to match these numbers, but the fact that he’s in the ballpark is amazing.

10

This is the number of times Elliott has tallied 20-plus yards on a single play this season. Needless to say, he ranks No. 1 among NFL running backs in this category. In fact, five percent of his touches have gone for 20-plus yards, including this absurd 83-yard catch and run (watch here).

If the number 10 doesn’t seem too high, that’s because it isn’t. Back in 2012, Peterson went for 20-plus yards a whopping 27 times. What makes this stat specifically awesome for Elliott’s MVP chances is that it proves he’s been a more consistent runner than even Peterson was in his prime. Dude has seen a limited amount of long runs and is still averaging five yards per tote. Think about that for a second.

12

That’s the amount of touchdowns Elliott has scored in 11 games. In fact, the rookie has put up seven touchdowns over the past four games. To put this into perspective, that’s more touchdowns than the Los Angeles Rams have scored over their past five outings.

When you score more than an entire team over more than a quarter of a season, you’re definitely doing something right. Elliott is now on pace to tally 18 touchdowns this season. Devonta Freeman of the Atlanta Falcons led all running backs with 14 touchdowns last season.

If Elliott were to continue at this current pace, it would be the most touchdowns a running back has scored in a single season since Peterson back in 2009. In fact, only two running backs have crossed the 17-touchdown plateau in the past decade.

5.6

Elliott is averaging 5.6 yards per touch this season. That’s simply something you don’t see in today’s NFL, especially when it comes to a player that totes the ball as much as he does.

Sure we have seen players like Reggie Bush, Darren Sproles and Danny Woodhead average a ton of yards per touch in the past. But they were nothing more than scat backs. To have a primary ball carrier average nearly six yards per touch is insane.

To put this into perspective, Peterson led NFL running backs in total yards last season with 1,707. He averaged nearly a yard less per touch than what we’ve seen from Elliott thus far in 2016.

267

That’s the amount of times Elliott has touched the ball through 11 games. This represents an average of nearly 25 touches per outing. In a NFL that’s considered pass first, this is a rare stat. It’s more in tune with what we saw around the league in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Again to compare to Peterson for a second, the future Hall of Fame running back’s career high in touches was 388 back in 2012. Elliott is currently on pace to match that number this season.