Is Ezekiel Elliott too happy to survive life as a superstar in the NFL?

MAKING it as a superstar running back in the NFL requires speed, power and athleticism — this kid has all that, but his dad worries his mind might hold him back.

THE Dallas Cowboys have a budding star on their hands. Their No. 1 pick from this year’s draft, Ezekiel Elliott, has gotten off to a slow start to begin his NFL career, but the talent is there.

He’s fast, powerful and elusive in and out of his cuts, all of which have been put on full display through two weeks. His meteoric rise to stardom hasn’t come without some bumps in the road, though.

He’s like a little boy who wants to play football and have fun and enjoy people

He was involved in a domestic violence case raised against him by a former girlfriend, for which the charges were never pursued. He was also seen walking around a cannabis store in Seattle before the Cowboys’ preseason game. Elliott didn’t break any laws or get himself into any trouble with either incident, but neither of them were particularly good looks for the young running back.

Running back Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys.

Laurie Horesh, Melanie Dinjaski and special guest co-host Jason Marsh break down the juicy NFL headlines and off-field shenanigans from Week 2, and are joined by special guest Australia’s New York Jets punter Lachlan Edwards.

They brought up questions about his maturity and readiness to handle the spotlight of not only playing in the NFL, but playing for the league’s most iconic franchise. His father, Stacy Elliott, even worries about the man they call Zeke.

“My biggest worry is ... I don’t believe my son knows how to navigate in life being a superstar,” Stacy told Elizabeth Merrill of ESPN. “He’s like a little boy who wants to play football and have fun and enjoy people. We’ve always said this about Ezekiel, ever since he came into the world. He’s just happy to be alive. He’s a happy guy. But this world is not.”

It’s not necessarily Elliott’s fault that he’s so fun-loving and charismatic. But when it comes to playing in the most-watched sports league in the country, even the smallest slip-ups are magnified and brought into the light.

He’s learned from his past mistakes and has quickly realised that he has to be on his best behaviour going forward.

Ezekiel Elliott #21 of the Dallas Cowboys has all the physical attributes required to be a star in the NFL.

“That’s what I’ve realised from all of this,” he said. “And I have to conduct myself that way, so I cannot have any distractions so I can just focus on ball.”

Legendary running back Marshall Faulk isn’t so sure Elliott has changed his ways and bettered himself through all of this. However, he does believe we’ll find out in the near future.

“The question is, has he learned from [his mistakes]?” Faulk said. “I would like to say yes, but we’re going to find out. Because we really don’t know.”

In two games, Elliott has rushed for 134 yards on 41 carries, finding the end zone twice and fumbling the ball two times. It hasn’t been the back-to-back 100-yard start fans were hoping for, but Elliott has shown why the Cowboys took him with the fourth overall pick.

This article originally appeared on Fox Sports US

Originally published as Is Ezekiel Elliott too happy to survive life as a superstar in the NFL?