Bill O’Brien Sees A Quick Study In Patriots Addition Ezekiel Elliott

Ezekiel Elliott stands 10,598 scrimmage yards into his NFL career. The Ohio State product has arrived there over the course of 2,186 touches and 102 starts.

Those totals lead all running backs dating back to his rookie regular season with the Dallas Cowboys. And while totals tend to work against the position over time, they can still work for it in the form of experience.

The New England Patriots will see where that experience goes on a one-year deal.

Elliott, who turned 28 in July, visited Gillette Stadium as training camp got underway before agreeing to terms on Monday. He traveled for joint practices with the Green Bay Packers shortly thereafter. The acclimation is in its initial stage, having begun on the team plane, but Bill O’Brien has been acclimated since his Big Ten time at Penn State.

“I’m familiar with Zeke,” New England’s offensive coordinator told reporters during a video conference on Friday. “When he was at Ohio State, I coached against him, was familiar with him in the draft when he came out. So, I’ve known Zeke for a while. Zeke just got here.”

The No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft did so after being released at the opening of the league year in March. During his final campaign with Dallas, Elliott handled 231 carries for 876 yards and 17 catches for 92 yards. Both averages marked the lowest of his tenure. Yet he continued to leave a mark in pass protection and in short yardage, rushing for 12 touchdowns to bring his combined career tally to 80.

“One thing you see right away is he’s smart,” O’Brien said. “He’s been in different systems. He understands football. I mean, maybe they called it apples, we call it oranges. It’s still football. He gets it. He picks up on it really quick. We’ve seen him out on the field a little bit, not enough to really give you a breakdown of his skillset and all that.”

The Patriots sought a veteran complement to starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson, who led the offense in yardage, tied for the lead in scores and racked up 279 touches in 2022. Elliott, at 6 feet and 228 pounds, projects lighten workload between the tackles while lending a hand outside of them in the passing game.

He joins a depth chart that also includes Pierre Strong Jr., Kevin Harris, J.J. Taylor, C.J. Marable and Ty Montgomery II on the current 90-man roster.

“I do think he’s a three-down back, and he’s been a really good addition the last two days to our football team,” added O’Brien. “We’re really happy to have him.”

Elliott’s contract with New England is worth a maximum value of $6 million with incentives tied to scrimmage yards and snap percentages. His cap hit, however, checks in just under $3 million. As detailed by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the pact includes a signing bonus of $600,000, a base salary of $1.55 million and up to $850,000 in cumulative per-game roster bonuses.

A preseason game at Lambeau Field is ahead Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, but the ramp-up period between Elliott and his new offense is underway.

“It’s not rocket science, you know? We’re not splitting atoms,” said O’Brien. “He’s been in different systems. He understands football. Even going back to Ohio State, the guy understands football. That’s why he’s been so successful. So, we just chip away at what we’re doing each day and we’ll see how it goes.”