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The woman who accused Dallas Cowboys running back and former Ohio State star Ezekiel Elliott of assaulting her is taking the case to the prosecutor's office and an investigation into the incident is underway.

Columbus police referred the case to the Columbus City Attorney's office due to "conflicting statements" given by Elliott, the woman and witnesses after he was accused of assaulting her in a parked car early Friday morning.

According to the director of the prosecution resources unit, Robert Tobias, the city attorney's office is now gathering evidence as the woman, identified as Tiffany Thompson, is pursuing criminal charges.

The Cowboys want to get back to the formula that worked so well in 2014 when DeMarco Murray led the NFL in rushing with 1,845 yards.

They drafted Ezekiel Elliott fourth overall to be the lead back but have two other backs who can handle big workloads. In order to maximize -- or justify -- the selection of a running back that high, Elliott has to get a lot of work.

Can they keep McFadden and Morris happy? In his two years as offensive coordinator, Scott Linehan has relied mostly on one back to carry the load. First it was Murray, and last year, after Joseph Randle fell apart, it was McFadden.

The story quoted Linehan as saying he already trusts Elliott to be on the field in any situation and he thinks he's a full-package back, which means Morris and McFadden are insurance and/or role players. McFadden will not be ready for camp and Lance Dunbar is likely headed for the PUP list despite recovering quicker than expected from a torn ACL, but is more of a third down back. These are all reasons Elliott is one of the top backs to draft this year.

Dallas Cowboys rookie Ezekiel Elliott has been accused of domestic violence but has denied the allegation.

A woman who says she's Elliott's former live-in girlfriend has accused the former Ohio State star of assaulting her multiple times over the past week, according to police reports filed Friday morning in Columbus, Ohio, and obtained by ESPN.

Elliott, who turned 21 on Friday, denied assaulting the woman and told police that he never lived with her. He has not been arrested or charged with a crime.

The Cowboys are aware of the police reports but have not officially commented. The NFL will review the case under its personal conduct policy, a league representative told ESPN.

The woman, identified as Tiffany Thompson, told police that Elliott assaulted her while they sat in a parked car early Friday morning, according to one police report. She told police that she had pain in her right wrist and a red mark but declined medical treatment, according to the report.

Four witnesses, including one who was sitting in the car at the time of the alleged incident, told police that they did not observe an assault.

We're just passing this along until all the facts come in. It will be important to find out who the four witnesses are and what exactly they saw.

Nick Underhill on WR Brandin Cooks:

I would set the floor at 1,200 yards. I think he could even flirt with 1,500 if he has a couple big games. I think that having other weapons like Michael Thomas and Coby Fleener should help open things up for him. Fleener is a guy that can draw safety help, and Cooks was almost unguardable last season against single-high coverage. If that remains true, Cooks should be freed up for a few more shot plays.

1,200 yards would push Cooks into WR1 territory in both formats. The Saints spread the ball around, and the last receiver to crack the 1,200-yard mark was Marques Colston in 2007. Jimmy Graham cracked it twice in five seasons.

Fortunately, the Cowboys added their best "defender" on offense: Ezekiel Elliott.

That may sound like a confusing statement, but it's not. Elliott is going to help Dallas' defense greatly with his ability to keep it off the field. Much like DeMarco Murray did in 2014, Elliott is going to carry the load, take pressure off of quarterback Tony Romo, and allow the defense to get plenty of rest throughout games.

"He's definitely a three-tool player that can just play on every single down," safety Barry Church said on Sirius XM NFL Radio. "And it helps out the defense a lot. It takes up our play downs by a lot. That also happened in 2014 when we had DeMarco Murray. He was punishing defenses and we were three-and-out here, three-and-out there, and we were fresh in the fourth quarter. That's how we won all of our games, by getting takeaways in the fourth quarter, but that was because we were fresh."

Church added in the piece the Cowboys could return to their 2014 form of grounding and pounding, and with an aging Romo at QB, the strategy makes sense. Couple that with a very good O-line, and it's easy to see why Elliot ranks fourth on our RB list coming into this season. With Darren McFadden's injury, he's on pace to get RB1 touches.

David Helman of DallasCowboys.com:

I don’t think it’s even a question that Ezekiel Elliott will be first string, and I’d say that even if Darren McFadden was 100 percent healthy. To your second point, I don’t think “concerned” is the word I’d use, but it’s definitely something I’d be mindful of. DeMarco Murray got 83 percent of the carries for this team in 2014, and he finished with more than 400 total touches. That’s a tad much for anyone, let alone a rookie. Fortunately, the Cowboys have vastly superior depth at the position this year. I think Zeke will finish with roughly 280-300 carries, which would put him right around 18-20 per game. That should leave plenty of carries for Alfred Morris and McFadden to get involved.

It's doubtful that the Cowboys drafted Elliott #4 overall to let him sit behind McFadden and/or Morris as a rookie. As long as he doesn't fall on his face, he should be the workhorse, with McFadden and Morris sprinkling in as change-of-pace backs. McFadden’s offseason injury only serves to help Elliott’s chances of RB1 touches.

Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott figures to have a prominent role right away, but he’s also entering a veteran running back room that includes free-agent signing Alfred Morris and returning starter Darren McFadden. If he’s going to be a featured back as a rookie, “Zeke has to earn it,” running backs coach Gary Brown said.

In other words, expect a healthy competition.

“I think that’s the best thing for our team and for those guys going forward,” Brown said.

That’s just fine with Elliott, who says competition “keeps you on your toes and make sure you’re getting that work done.”

It's doubtful that the Cowboys drafted Elliott #4 overall to let him sit behind Darren McFadden and/or Alfred Morris as a rookie. As long as he doesn't fall on his face, he should be the workhorse, with McFadden and Morris sprinkling in as change-of-pace backs.