Andre Ellington - RB - Cardinals
GM Steve Keim reiterated that the Cardinals will use multiple backs going forward.
In a bit of encouraging news, Keim said Andre Ellington will get more work. But in the same breath, he said the explosive second-year man won't be "featured." In other words, Stepfan Taylor is going to be in the mix for carries and perhaps free agent Rashard Mendenhall will be re-signed if the price is right. For now, we can't project anything more than 190-220 total touches for Ellington in 2014.
Related: Rashard Mendenhall, Stepfan Taylor
Source: Darren Urban on Twitter
Size doesn't matter if you can make them miss..,just ask the 5'9" 187lb ex rb Warrick DunnThey are nowhere close in size. Bernard is much thicker and projects better to eventually become a lead back.Looking for opinions:
What are the main reasons behind the difference in the dynasty ranking of Bernard and Ellington? They had essentially the same workout at the combine at roughly the same size and very similar rookie year numbers.
Is it as simple as Arians speaking against Ellington's ability to carry the load while the Bengals have Hue Jackson as their new OC and have shown a willingness to let Bernard get GL carries?
Rotoworld take:Sounds like Arians has changed his tune quite a bit:
@Fantasy_Guru: Just asked Bruce Arians about Andre Ellington, said he's already gained 10 lbs, wants to build offense around his versatility more in '14.
Speaking at the Combine on Friday, coach Bruce Arians said the Cardinals "want to build our offense around" Andre Ellington.
Arians also said Ellington has already added 10 pounds to his frame since the season ended. Considering Arians has always been a pass-first offensive mind, don't expect Ellington to suddenly become a 20-carry-per-game back. But with Rashard Mendenhall a free agent and not likely to be a priority for the Cardinals, Ellington is going to have an opportunity to become the feature back in Arizona. He's an asset in the passing game and could flirt with 50-plus catches and 1,500-plus total yards in 2014. Ellington has serious breakout potential as a sophomore.
Source: Darren Urban on Twitter
Like I said up thread, if you just google images of both players you can actually see that they are nearly identical in size. This guy has tremendous value in start ups right now. DLF has his Dynasty ADP in the early 6th while similar players like Gio are going in the late 1st, early 2nd and Vereen going early 4th.Bernard is thicker in the thighs, torso and arms. Not sure how anyone can oversee this?
Height, sure. Body size and muscularity....NO.Like I said up thread, if you just google images of both players you can actually see that they are nearly identical in size. This guy has tremendous value in start ups right now. DLF has his Dynasty ADP in the early 6th while similar players like Gio are going in the late 1st, early 2nd and Vereen going early 4th.Bernard is thicker in the thighs, torso and arms. Not sure how anyone can oversee this?
that's funny because I feel the exact opposite about him. He's incredibly frustrating but he seemed to do what he said he was going to do. I'd rather have a guy like him than a BB who you don't know what's going to happen game to game. Basically, last year he said Mendy was the starter and Ellington was going to get touches and as the year went on he ramped those touches but always said he wanted to limit them (and he did).I don't trust Arians. This is just Combine-speak for "I'm not looking at RB in the draft."
They'll probably draft a new back.
I agree. Arians has a record of saying "we will do this with X player" and then doing it. It is not always what we want as fantasy owners, like last year with Mendy, but he is pretty transparent about things. He said Wayne would be used exactly the way he was and it showed big. Used Fitz more. Said he would do things with Floyd. I like the disclosure.Banger said:that's funny because I feel the exact opposite about him. He's incredibly frustrating but he seemed to do what he said he was going to do. I'd rather have a guy like him than a BB who you don't know what's going to happen game to game. Basically, last year he said Mendy was the starter and Ellington was going to get touches and as the year went on he ramped those touches but always said he wanted to limit them (and he did).Topes said:I don't trust Arians. This is just Combine-speak for "I'm not looking at RB in the draft."
They'll probably draft a new back.
agreed but if I had to choose between he being the guy they're building the offense around after putting on 10 pounds and possibly being slightly less effective vs. not given the chance to be the guy because the coach doesn't think that you can withstand the pounding (last year).....I'll take my chances with the weight gain and being the man.....i would be very worried about this guy gaining weight. could destroy his explosiveness and lateral quickness. really hate when guys do this.
agreed but if I had to choose between he being the guy they're building the offense around after putting on 10 pounds and possibly being slightly less effective vs. not given the chance to be the guy because the coach doesn't think that you can withstand the pounding (last year).....I'll take my chances with the weight gain and being the man.....i would be very worried about this guy gaining weight. could destroy his explosiveness and lateral quickness. really hate when guys do this.
I'll go with Banger on this one because while it's true we hear stories of guys that say they felt like they played at the wrong weight and suffered, it is usually not the weight, but the bulk and loss of flexibility. Sometimes these guys get mass but not power where its needed. But then there are players that kind of get on track and then, looking back, people ask the question and you hear something like "the key was I strengthened my body and I can avoid injuries better". This is pretty much the same statement except that they did it correctly.agreed but if I had to choose between he being the guy they're building the offense around after putting on 10 pounds and possibly being slightly less effective vs. not given the chance to be the guy because the coach doesn't think that you can withstand the pounding (last year).....I'll take my chances with the weight gain and being the man.....i would be very worried about this guy gaining weight. could destroy his explosiveness and lateral quickness. really hate when guys do this.
They are close in size based on height and weight, but Bernard is clearly thicker because he has shorter limbs. He has 28" arms while Ellington has 31" arms. Ellington has the same arm length has Eddie Lacy.Like I said up thread, if you just google images of both players you can actually see that they are nearly identical in size. This guy has tremendous value in start ups right now. DLF has his Dynasty ADP in the early 6th while similar players like Gio are going in the late 1st, early 2nd and Vereen going early 4th.Bernard is thicker in the thighs, torso and arms. Not sure how anyone can oversee this?
Teams told Cardinals UFA RB Rashard Mendenhall is, in fact, retiring, per sources. Mendenhall hinted at in a Feb. 25 Huffington Post column.
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians told reporters last month at the NFL Scouting Combine that Arizona planned to "build our offense" around explosive running back Andre Ellington.
Arians has dropped another breadcrumb, suggesting this week that the second-year ball-carrier will see up to 10 touches per game as a pass-catcher out of the backfield.
"He is still not a guy who you will pound up the middle 30 times a game and survive," Arians said Wednesday at the NFL Annual Meeting, per the team's official site. "He can run the football 30 times a game if you do it correctly, but you'd rather have him have 10 catches and 20 carries and let Stepfan Taylor or (Jonathan) Dwyer have the rest of the carries."
Ten catches a game would equal what Panthers coach Ron Rivera has projected from his entire receiving corps in Carolina.
The 5-foot-9 Ellington has tacked on 10 pounds during offseason work -- tugging him closer to 210 -- but his slight build puts him closer to the mold of Chris Johnson or Jamaal Charles than a bruiser. Tied to that, Arians expressed caution over designing too much of the playbook around one man.
"You've got to watch that you don't create too much stuff and then he sprains an ankle and you don't have any offense because you put too much in one basket," said the coach.
Ellington's basket a season ago was filled with 118 rushes and 39 catches. With Rashard Mendenhall retiring and Ryan Williams on the roster bubble, everything we're hearing from the Cardinals paints Ellington as a legitimate breakout candidate in fantasy circles.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" offers a full recap of the NFL Annual Meeting in Orlando, then proposes player moves that won't happen (but probably should).
NAME POS YR AGE EXP G RSH RSHYD YD/RSH RSHTD REC RECYD YD/REC RECTD FANT PT1 Chris Johnson rb 2008 23 1 15 251 1228 4.89 9 43 260 6.05 1 208.82 Clinton Portis rb 2002 21 1 16 273 1508 5.52 15 33 364 11.03 2 289.23 Corey Dillon rb 1997 23 1 16 233 1129 4.85 10 27 259 9.59 0 198.84 Jerome Bettis rb 1993 21 1 16 294 1429 4.86 7 26 244 9.38 0 209.35 Ricky Watters rb 1992 23 1 14 206 1013 4.92 9 43 405 9.42 2 207.8
One of my favorite players coming into this season is Cardinals running back Andre Ellington, and I plan to target him in all drafts. His Average Draft Position will likely be Round 4 or 5, but I'll look at him in Round 3.
He has that much potential.
Ellington goes from playing behind Rashard Mendenhall as a rookie in 2013 to being featured this year ahead of Stepfan Taylor and Jonathan Dwyer behind a revamped offensive line. Cardinals coach Bruce Arians recently told me at the NFL owners meeting that Ellington is "very similar" to Jamaal Charles in his skill set, which is exciting.
"His skill set is so unique," Arians said. "I don't think even he knew how good of a receiver he was. ... He's not a guy you're going to pound into the middle 30 times a game and survive. You'd rather have him catch 10 passes and get 20 carries and let Stepfan Taylor or Jonathan Dwyer pound the ball in there. You see mismatches all throughout the league with tight ends, but I remember when that was a running back. You did those same things with running backs because they had a skill set that a safety or linebacker couldn't cover. It's going to be fun with Andre seeing how people cover him."
After hearing Arians talk, a better comparison for Ellington isn't Charles but more C.J. Spiller in 2012. That season, Spiller had 207 carries for 1,244 yards and six touchdowns and 43 catches for 459 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 6.0 yards per carry and 10.7 yards per catch.
Ellington last year averaged 5.5 yards per carry and 9.5 yards per catch. His yards per carry was the best among running backs with at least 100 carries.
The rest of Ellington's stats were as follows: He was the No. 24 Fantasy running back in standard leagues with 118 carries for 652 yards and three touchdowns and 39 catches for 371 yards and one touchdown. By comparison, Mendenhall had 217 carries for 687 yards and eight touchdowns and 19 catches for 134 yards.
If you give Ellington the 99 additional carries that went to Mendenhall he would have run for 1,197 yards. Those additional 55 Fantasy points would have put him at No. 13 in Fantasy points, and that doesn't take into account any additional touchdowns.
Hopefully you're getting excited, but wait there's more.
I recently spent time with Ellington while he worked out with noted NFL trainer Tony Villani at XPE Sports in South Florida. Ellington is working on his speed and explosion and trying to gain an additonal 5-10 pounds on his 195-pound frame. He also took extra reps on the Jugs machine to keep improving on his receiving skills.
Ellington said he hopes to remind people of Chris Johnson, Charles and LeSean McCoy because "they're real shifty, not big guys, but they make the biggest impact on the field. That's something I like to do."
He's going to get that chance this season.
"(Last year) was good," he said. "It gave me an idea of where I stand. It laid out a foundation for me. I'm a guy that always tries to do better than what I did in the past. Since I had that pretty good season last year, it's only right that I have a better one next year. It's just something that will motivate me for next season."
Villani, who has trained Ellington since he finished school in Clemson, said Ellington spends time working on his routes with Hall of Fame receiver Cris Carter, who helps out at XPE Sports. Villani said Ellington wants to be great, and he knows his career is just starting.
Ellington is looking forward to a big season in 2014.
"It's going to be a challenge, but what's life without a challenge," he said. "That's how I approach everything. I'm willing to work, and I'm willing to get better."
I'm buying in, and Ellington is someone you should target in all your leagues as well. He might not live up to the hype, but the potential is there for him to be a star.
Well there's a hype train piece to grease the tracks. I'm not sure where I stand on this one. I actually own him in a league and had forgotten about it until someone sent me a trade request. I really didn't get too excited about him last year but that was partly because my team was clearly not going anywhere and it seemed like every time I was forced to use Ellington, he came away with 4-5 points. So I guess there is more than meets the eye (that my eye remembers).Andre Ellington has chance for starring role
By Jamey Eisenberg | Senior Fantasy Writer
One of my favorite players coming into this season is Cardinals running back Andre Ellington, and I plan to target him in all drafts. His Average Draft Position will likely be Round 4 or 5, but I'll look at him in Round 3.
He has that much potential.
Ellington goes from playing behind Rashard Mendenhall as a rookie in 2013 to being featured this year ahead of Stepfan Taylor and Jonathan Dwyer behind a revamped offensive line. Cardinals coach Bruce Arians recently told me at the NFL owners meeting that Ellington is "very similar" to Jamaal Charles in his skill set, which is exciting.
"His skill set is so unique," Arians said. "I don't think even he knew how good of a receiver he was. ... He's not a guy you're going to pound into the middle 30 times a game and survive. You'd rather have him catch 10 passes and get 20 carries and let Stepfan Taylor or Jonathan Dwyer pound the ball in there. You see mismatches all throughout the league with tight ends, but I remember when that was a running back. You did those same things with running backs because they had a skill set that a safety or linebacker couldn't cover. It's going to be fun with Andre seeing how people cover him."
After hearing Arians talk, a better comparison for Ellington isn't Charles but more C.J. Spiller in 2012. That season, Spiller had 207 carries for 1,244 yards and six touchdowns and 43 catches for 459 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 6.0 yards per carry and 10.7 yards per catch.
Ellington last year averaged 5.5 yards per carry and 9.5 yards per catch. His yards per carry was the best among running backs with at least 100 carries.
The rest of Ellington's stats were as follows: He was the No. 24 Fantasy running back in standard leagues with 118 carries for 652 yards and three touchdowns and 39 catches for 371 yards and one touchdown. By comparison, Mendenhall had 217 carries for 687 yards and eight touchdowns and 19 catches for 134 yards.
If you give Ellington the 99 additional carries that went to Mendenhall he would have run for 1,197 yards. Those additional 55 Fantasy points would have put him at No. 13 in Fantasy points, and that doesn't take into account any additional touchdowns.
Hopefully you're getting excited, but wait there's more.
I recently spent time with Ellington while he worked out with noted NFL trainer Tony Villani at XPE Sports in South Florida. Ellington is working on his speed and explosion and trying to gain an additonal 5-10 pounds on his 195-pound frame. He also took extra reps on the Jugs machine to keep improving on his receiving skills.
Ellington said he hopes to remind people of Chris Johnson, Charles and LeSean McCoy because "they're real shifty, not big guys, but they make the biggest impact on the field. That's something I like to do."
He's going to get that chance this season.
"(Last year) was good," he said. "It gave me an idea of where I stand. It laid out a foundation for me. I'm a guy that always tries to do better than what I did in the past. Since I had that pretty good season last year, it's only right that I have a better one next year. It's just something that will motivate me for next season."
Villani, who has trained Ellington since he finished school in Clemson, said Ellington spends time working on his routes with Hall of Fame receiver Cris Carter, who helps out at XPE Sports. Villani said Ellington wants to be great, and he knows his career is just starting.
Ellington is looking forward to a big season in 2014.
"It's going to be a challenge, but what's life without a challenge," he said. "That's how I approach everything. I'm willing to work, and I'm willing to get better."
I'm buying in, and Ellington is someone you should target in all your leagues as well. He might not live up to the hype, but the potential is there for him to be a star.
You got some good information there, lol.My thoughts on Ellington http://www.fakepigskin.com/2014/04/03/andre-ellington/
It's too bad he's already 25. There's not a great track record for 24 yo rookie RB's having long-term success.My thoughts on Ellington http://www.fakepigskin.com/2014/04/03/andre-ellington/
You got some good information there, lol.My thoughts on Ellington http://www.fakepigskin.com/2014/04/03/andre-ellington/
This caught my eye: .
"[SIZE=medium]Arians also said Ellington added 10 pounds of muscle this off season. Adding 10 pounds of muscle is music to my ears as an Ellington owner. Reading between the lines, I foresee Ellington getting set to take on a heavier work-load for the 2014 season. Add a full off- season with the same personnel, coaches, and system and that just might equal a recipe for success.[/SIZE]"
I hadn't heard that before.
I had taken a look at Ellington but saw that thin frame, listed at only 199 lbs and that he only scored 1 rushing TD last year and split carries with Rashad Mendenhall and firgured Arians was going to take a RB fairly high to be the workhorse.
I think the Cards still take a RB fairly high and that they'd like a split but I had not heard Andre packed on 10 lbs of muscle.
Very interesting.
Good job on the write-up Eric.
Heck he even noted his sources, pretty impressive.
Thank you still a work in progress! Yes age is a factor but same age as Shady with less miles on him, previous injury concerns and the tough division are some other concerns. Really looking forward to this season though.It's too bad he's already 25. There's not a great track record for 24 yo rookie RB's having long-term success.My thoughts on Ellington http://www.fakepigskin.com/2014/04/03/andre-ellington/
Kick off your shoes, crack a Corona, and enjoy your summer.Love Ellington.
Arizona will likely draft a RB on Day 2 and ruin my entire summer.
Ellington will already be 26 in February.The age factor is more significant for a RB because most RB see a decline in their performance after age 27 (a RB peak performance age). Inside Slant: Running back cliff after age 27
So when comparing Ellington to Bernard for example, Bernard has 3 more years of career before reaching that 28 year old mark than Ellington does.
For the most part change happens at the RB position at a higher frequency than other skill positions. So I will usually only project a RB for 3 years. But the career length is somewhat relevant here, as Bernard (or other younger players) will not see that decline as soon as you would expect to see decline with Ellington due to age.
There is also the consideration that players who are still very young when they enter the league that they will improve as they are still growing and getting better due to NFL training. We are seeing that with Ellington gaining 10lbs entering his second season. But Ellington at 25 is more experienced and likely closer to his peak performance at 25 compared to a younger RB who has more potential to grow and become better.
This does not matter for redraft, but should be a consideration in dynasty.
he has 6 more years until he is 30 plus he has low miles and is a great wr so he could have value into his early 30s I don't think age is a thing to worry about with Ellington.Ellington will already be 26 in February.The age factor is more significant for a RB because most RB see a decline in their performance after age 27 (a RB peak performance age). Inside Slant: Running back cliff after age 27
So when comparing Ellington to Bernard for example, Bernard has 3 more years of career before reaching that 28 year old mark than Ellington does.
For the most part change happens at the RB position at a higher frequency than other skill positions. So I will usually only project a RB for 3 years. But the career length is somewhat relevant here, as Bernard (or other younger players) will not see that decline as soon as you would expect to see decline with Ellington due to age.
There is also the consideration that players who are still very young when they enter the league that they will improve as they are still growing and getting better due to NFL training. We are seeing that with Ellington gaining 10lbs entering his second season. But Ellington at 25 is more experienced and likely closer to his peak performance at 25 compared to a younger RB who has more potential to grow and become better.
This does not matter for redraft, but should be a consideration in dynasty.
Then think about how the fantasy world feels about Spiller and Mathews, who were 26 last year.
Ellington has 2-3 years before he's considered 'old' by the fantasy community.
So because a bunch of people who have absolutely zero influence on his touches, ability or production think he is old that means what? His "perceived" value may be lower than his "actual" value? Beautiful! I'll buy wherever I can!Ellington will already be 26 in February.The age factor is more significant for a RB because most RB see a decline in their performance after age 27 (a RB peak performance age). Inside Slant: Running back cliff after age 27
So when comparing Ellington to Bernard for example, Bernard has 3 more years of career before reaching that 28 year old mark than Ellington does.
For the most part change happens at the RB position at a higher frequency than other skill positions. So I will usually only project a RB for 3 years. But the career length is somewhat relevant here, as Bernard (or other younger players) will not see that decline as soon as you would expect to see decline with Ellington due to age.
There is also the consideration that players who are still very young when they enter the league that they will improve as they are still growing and getting better due to NFL training. We are seeing that with Ellington gaining 10lbs entering his second season. But Ellington at 25 is more experienced and likely closer to his peak performance at 25 compared to a younger RB who has more potential to grow and become better.
This does not matter for redraft, but should be a consideration in dynasty.
Then think about how the fantasy world feels about Spiller and Mathews, who were 26 last year.
Ellington has 2-3 years before he's considered 'old' by the fantasy community.
Not really. The odds of any particular 6th round pick become a starter are not related to the odds of a former 6th rounder who's already performed well for a year and whose team didn't draft a RB the next year.People are pretty optimistic about a 6th rounder now huh... Interesting to think about immediately following a draft.
This seems reminiscent of the "We're going to feed CJ Spiller until he vomits" type of coach talk we heard last year in Buffalo. I LOVE Ellington, I snagged him in more or less every Dynasty league I'm in last season in the later rounds of the draft and laughed while everyone was taking Taylor ahead of him.That said, I agree... I think his ceiling for carries is somewhere in the 275-300 range.Rotoworld:
Andre Ellington - RB - Cardinals
Coach Bruce Arians reiterated Andre Ellington is the Cardinals' "No. 1 back" and is expected to get "25-30 touches per game."
As former Rotoworld All-Star turned NFL.com stud Chris Wesseling put it: "LOL." That would extrapolate to 400-480 touches over the course of a 16-game season. Jamaal Charles, who was the Chiefs' workhorse on offense, touched the ball 330 times last season. That was still plenty. Arians has already expressed concerns with Ellington's ability to handle a big workload. If Ellington flirts with even 250 touches after handling just 157 combined carries and receptions as a rookie, we'd consider it a win. He's on the RB2 radar, especially in PPR.
Source: Mike Jurecki on Twitter
May 27 - 2:55 PM
Arians also said that Ellington could be an Arian Foster-type back if he put on 10 pounds of muscle. Well, guess what, EEllington put on the muscle this offseason.This seems reminiscent of the "We're going to feed CJ Spiller until he vomits" type of coach talk we heard last year in Buffalo. I LOVE Ellington, I snagged him in more or less every Dynasty league I'm in last season in the later rounds of the draft and laughed while everyone was taking Taylor ahead of him.That said, I agree... I think his ceiling for carries is somewhere in the 275-300 range.Rotoworld:
Andre Ellington - RB - Cardinals
Coach Bruce Arians reiterated Andre Ellington is the Cardinals' "No. 1 back" and is expected to get "25-30 touches per game."
As former Rotoworld All-Star turned NFL.com stud Chris Wesseling put it: "LOL." That would extrapolate to 400-480 touches over the course of a 16-game season. Jamaal Charles, who was the Chiefs' workhorse on offense, touched the ball 330 times last season. That was still plenty. Arians has already expressed concerns with Ellington's ability to handle a big workload. If Ellington flirts with even 250 touches after handling just 157 combined carries and receptions as a rookie, we'd consider it a win. He's on the RB2 radar, especially in PPR.
Source: Mike Jurecki on Twitter
May 27 - 2:55 PM
It's funny how Arians tune has changed since last season though. Back in October he viewed him as a "30-32 snap" kind of guy because of his size. Now he wants him to get, not 30 snaps but 30 touches. Lol.