Jerry Jones thinks Ezekiel Elliott is the next Emmitt Smith

Jerry Jones believes Amari Cooper and Ezekiel Elliott are the next Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith. Possibly, Zeke and Smith, but is Jones right about Cooper and Irvin?

Jerry Jones has been on a roll as of late.

First, he has stated his belief that Dak Prescott isn’t worth the trade of two first-round draft picks. Dak Prescott struggled the first part of the season and many media members and fans alike wondered whether Dak was the answer of the future. Jones more than doubled down on his confidence in the third-year quarterback.

Now, he’s comparing Ezekiel Elliott and Amari Cooper to Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin.

Speaking with Star-Telegram, a Fort-Worth newspaper. Jones believed the two young stars were the next great duo for the Cowboys. The comparison to Smith makes sense for Elliott. But what he said about Cooper and his comparison to Irvin was interesting.

"“Well, I think I’m going to go back to Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin. Emmitt had a lot of his runs where he wasn’t touched for the first three or four yards,” Jones said Wednesday morning on the NFL Network. “It’s because [Quarterback Troy] Aikman and Irvin had them backed off, and they knew if they didn’t stay back then Aikman, Irvin and [Tight end Jay] Novacek would take them right down the field. Well, Cooper has done that for us. We got to keep them back off. When we do, then Zeke can basically have the kind of days we want him to have as a running back. So it’s a balance thing. It always has been.”"

It’ possible that Jones is in the trolling business to keep the Cowboys brand relevant and a talking point. While Amari Cooper is a dynamic talent, he doesn’t come close to the pedigree established by Irvin. Elliott and Smith, though, is a more understandable comparison. But as aforementioned, Jones knows that the Cowboys are a brand and any publicity on them is good publicity.

It also has to be said that while Elliott has enjoyed great start to his career, becoming anything close to Smith is a huge reach. Smith is the NFL’s all-time leading rusher with 18,355 yards, including eight Pro Bowls, four First-Team All-Pro honors and an MVP award.

Hopefully, the Cooper can at least give Jones some sort of validation with his statement with a big game against the Redskins on this Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Washington Redskins