With the first of two fourth-round picks, the Cowboys have made the call to RB Tony Pollard. The Memphis junior is the 128th pick overall and will join new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s unit. Pollard stands six feet tall and weighs in at 210 pounds. But Pollard also brings special teams prowess, too, having tied the FBS record with seven kickoff return touchdowns. That skill may be key to his early role with the team on a depth chart behind the league’s rushing champ. Originally projected by NFL’s Lance Zierlein as a sixth- or seventh-round selection, Pollard is said to have good size and speed, but may need some development as a runner and in ball skills.<doc-sep>The Dallas Cowboys have selected Running Back Tony Pollard from Memphis with one of their fourth-round picks, 128th overall, in the 2019 NFL Draft. Pollard is listed 6’0″, 210 lbs. and was a record-setting kick returner for the Tigers. He set the school record with seven KR touchdowns during his time in Memphis. No Title No Description The Cowboys were expected to take a RB today, having only Darius Jackson and Jordan Chunn on the depth chart behind Ezekiel Elliott. Last year’s backup, Rod Smith, remains unsigned as a free agent. Scouts love Pollard’s big play ability but question some of his fundamentals as a RB getting regular carries. As long as Zeke stays healthy, that could make Tony an ideal compliment to take advantage of a tired defense. Welcome to Dallas, Tony Pollard!<doc-sep>The Dallas Cowboys selected former Memphis Tigers wide receiver/running back/kick returner Tony Pollard in the fourth round of the 2019 National Football League Draft. Pollard announced he was entering the NFL Draft following the Tigers Birmingham Bowl game against Wake Forest. The versatile gadget player finished his career at Memphis tied for the NCAA record for kickoff return touchdowns with seven in only three seasons. In his career at Memphis, Pollard had 1,292 receiving yards, 941 rushing yards and 25 all-purpose touchdowns. Pollard entered the NFL Draft as a running back, and he had 552 of his 941 rushing yards during the 2018-2019 season. During his redshirt junior season, Pollard was given multiple opportunities to get a heavy workload out of the backfield against Missouri – due to an injury to Darrell Henderson – and against Wake Forest in the bowl game following Henderson's departure. In those two games, Pollard had 25 carries for 186 yards and one touchdown, and he showed that he certainly has capable running back skills. Although he is still somewhat raw as a running back, Pollard has the athletic ability and potential to become a capable NFL running back. Due to his experience at receiver, Pollard will certainly be ahead of the curve catching the ball out of the backfield as soon as he arrives in (city).<doc-sep>With two picks close together at the end of the fourth round, the Dallas Cowboys had both offensive and defensive coaching staffs in the war room on Saturday of the 2019 NFL draft. It was decided they couldn’t wait to get their backup to Ezekiel Elliott over a defensive player, and when the dust settled, 30 visitor RB Tony Pollard was selected. The Memphis Tigers do-it-all running back will bring a diverse skillset to the offense run by new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Here’s our scouting report. A member of the 2015-16 American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team, Pollard made Dean’s List and the Tiger 3.0 Club for the 2017 fall semester. A 2017 All-America first team by Walter Camp, Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Phil Steele and an All-America second team by Sports Illustrated, his special teams prowess will make him a name in the NFL. Pollard was a two-time American Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Year (2016, 2017) and those skills made him a All-American Athletic Conference first team in both seasons. Games Studied UCF, Houston, Georgia State, UCF (AAC Final) UCF Tape | Houston Tape | Georgia State Tape Pass Game Review Pollard lined up all over the field for the Tigers offense, in the backfield, the slot, and to the boundary as a wide receiver. As a receiver, the majority of his routes were screens and underneath routes, but occasionally he would be asked to take a true vertical stem and run a seam, dig, or corner route. He exhibited the ability to run these types of routes and track the ball down the field. He wasn’t asked to line up in the back field and act as a true pass protector often, but showed an understanding of how to diagnose where the pressure was coming from and a willingness to step into the line of fire and take on the blitzer. He has work to do from a technique and power standpoint in this area. After the catch he is slippery and rarely goes down on first contact, gets the extra few yards that often make the difference between a first down and a punt. Run Game Review In the run game, Pollard was often used on jet sweeps and showed the ability to get to the perimeter, and to make the first man miss. He was also used regularly as a runner from the backfield, as an off-set back in the shotgun, a true tail back from under center, and as a wildcat quarterback. Most of his runs in these scenarios came on zone concepts that allowed him to showcase his patience, balance, and acceleration. These traits allow him to quickly get through to the second level of the defense, and once he is there he is tough to bring down. As a blocker in the run game he again exhibited the same willingness and intelligence as a lead blocker as well as wile stalk blocking on the outside as a receiver. That he showed as a pass protector, but his issues in terms of power and technique show up in this area as well. He is the type of runner who rarely goes down on first contact because defenders are rarely able to square him up for solid contact in space. Measurables & Stats pSparq Score: 118.8 Z-Score: -0.2 NFL Percentile: 42.0 Pollard ran a 4.52 at the Combine, which was surprising. Played faster on tape. Turns out he had food poisoning in Indy and he improved all of his numbers at the Memphis pro day, including a 4.38 40-yard dash. — Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) April 27, 2019 Conclusion/Cowboys Projection For a Cowboys team searching for a complete back to compliment Ezekiel Elliott, Pollard brings a great deal of value. His prowess as a kick returner (7 return TDs in 3 seasons) as well as his ability to play as a true wide receiver would provide additional opportunities beyond the reps behind Elliott as a true running back, and could be something that the organization looks favorably on especially as day three selection. He doesn’t have much wear and tear on his body with only 139 total carries in his career, but he possesses ideal size and speed for a running back and has shown the ability to do everything you’d ask a reserve runner to do.<doc-sep>
With their only fourth-round draft pick in 2019 (they traded their second) the Dallas Cowboys drafted a running back to join the backfield led by Ezekiel Elliott. Memphis runner Tony Pollard is a lot of fun to watch. It had been widely speculated that Dallas would add a running back to their group through the draft, Pollard is a really interesting one considering his set of skills. This pick might say more about Kellen Moore than anything Not to steal Tony Pollard’s thunder right away, but the fact that Dallas devoted their running back pick to someone who’s more versatile than anything might be an indication at what they think their new offensive coordinator can do. Pollard is, as described by many, really good at a lot of things, but he’s not exactly great at one particular thing. His abilities as a route-runner are well-documented, but if the Cowboys aren’t willing to use him like that it’s kind of a waste to some degree. Drafting Pollard is like when you buy a really specific accessory for your car, something to increase horsepower or stabilize the way it runs. If you aren’t a skilled enough driver you’re really just wasting it, it’s not something the average person would truly utilize. Here’s hoping Kellen Moore isn’t average. His skills as a return man can’t be questioned Perhaps the most elite part about Pollard’s game is what he’s able to do as a kick returner. We don’t see kicks returned all that often in the NFL anymore, specifically in Dallas, and rules are even trending in the direction where they might be outlawed altogether soon. That doesn’t matter at the moment. And Pollard is very good at them. The kick return king is headed to Dallas! Memphis RB Tony Pollard was selected by the Cowboys with the 128th pick. pic.twitter.com/Ui0Dtfz3Mv — Jessica Benson (@Local24Jessica) April 27, 2019 We’ve seen the Cowboys try to add a splash to this element by using Cole Beasley, Rod Smith, Ryan Switzer, Tavon Austin, and even Jourdan Lewis. Now that they have a specific and devoted resource perhaps it will become a more dependable part of their team. Pollard is different than Zeke, and that’s a good thing Tony Pollard is definitely a different type of running back than Ezekiel Elliott in that he doesn’t have one part of his game that is truly elite. It’s nice that there are finally going to be different options for Dallas in the backfield, something we’ve wanted to see for some time. The Cowboys have tried to get cute with players like Lance Dunbar and the aforementioned Switzer and Austin in the backfield. Enough is enough with that. Getting a running back who they’re confident in to handle a different type of workload is something that can only benefit the offense. Once again, Pollard puts a lot of expectations on Kellen Moore.