Ezekiel Elliott is Not Here For the Disrespect

Derrick Henry did what few other running backs have managed to do on Wednesday: secure a long-term deal. The 2019 NFL rushing leader locked down a four-year deal with the Tennessee Titans that will pay him $25.5 million guaranteed after months of negotiation under the franchise tag. This naturally led to the usual onslaught of discourse about the value of tailbacks in today's NFL.

Ezekiel Elliott watched and observed that discourse last night, then voiced his thoughts this morning. He started off by tweeting that there's no reason to disparage one running back against another. He followed that up by explaining why he, in fact, should be considered the best anyway.

Elliott is the second-highest-paid back in the NFL and has the biggest overall contract out of any of his positional brethren in the league, worth $90 million total and a $15 million per year salary. As Elliott points out, though, he has been one of the best backs in the game, bar none, since he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 2016. He's about as good as you're going to get at the position, and if anyone should be paid big money, Elliott makes as good a case as any.

On the other hand...