The then and now photos of Ezekiel Elliott‘s stomach tell the story. He is in the best shape of his life, reporting to training camp weighing 218 pounds.
That’s 10 pounds down from what the Cowboys listed him weighing last season, and the lightest he has weighed since his freshman season at Ohio State.
“Feed Zeke” took on a different meaning this offseason.
“I’ve heard as you get older in this league you want to start losing weight, and nutrition has played a big part of that,” Elliott said, via Todd Archer of ESPN. “Shoutout to my [personal] chef, Chef Hoppie, for getting me right and getting me lean and ready for the season. I feel good where I am.”
Elliott ran for a career-low 979 yards in 2020, while averaging a career-low 4.0 yards per carry. He had only three runs of 20 or more yards last season and fumbled six times.
That prompted Elliott to put in overtime with his personal running backs coach, Josh Hicks, this offseason.
“Just having the year I had last year, you don’t need more motivation than that,” Elliott said. “I just know the type of player I am. I don’t think I showed that last year. I got a lot to prove. I just made sure I didn’t leave any doubt out there that I didn’t do as much as I needed to do.”
Elliott celebrated his 26th birthday Thursday, with quarterback Dak Prescott giving the three-time Pro Bowler a diamond bracelet as a present. Both remain on the hunt for their first Super Bowl ring.
“It goes by fast,” Elliott said. “You hear it all the time (but) until you get to year six you don’t realize it. It goes in a flash of an eye. I have had a great time. Doing it with great people. I look forward to being here a lotta more years.”