TheGreatest
Footballguy
Dynasty Thoughts? Does he start at WLB next year? How good can he be?
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Keith Ellison (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter TheGreatest
- Start date
Toads
Footballguy
shush....not too loud.
bcr8f
Footballguy
He's a congressman from Minnesota.shush....not too loud.
Picked him up a few weeks back.
Jene Bramel
Footballguy
No way to know until we see what happens with London Fletcher (FA) and Takeo Spikes (could be released). If both are back, Ellison remains a reserve/rotational player. It's possible he could start at either OLB or MLB.
He is really small but may have a shot at WLB b/c he is quick and instinctive. However, he has a huge physical hurdle to overcome and may not stay healthy for long. He is a possible starter but I imagine he'll get competition in camp, although there certainly aren't an abundance of able bodies in Buffalo. Check for news on his participation in the offseason program b/c he could use some good weight but the telling sign will be his competition come preseason.
Ellison def is a sleeper but has high upside. He is on the small side (less than 230) but he has lots of speed, plays sideline to sideline and is very smart). I traded clint Ingram AND Leon Williams for him in my keeper league. He has the highest upside out of the 3. The Bills org loves him they just need a spot for him to play. for him to start at WLB Flecther needs to leave. So I gambled. Ingram is the same type of player but after looking over his stats as a first year starter I wasnt to impressed. Yes Ingram can improve but I think Ellisons upside is better. I moved williams becaseu he is going to compete at OLB for the Browns when he is a natural ILB. That doesnt sit well with me.
bcr8f
Footballguy
Draft profiles said this
Ellison was frustrating to grade because statistically he was a very productive linebacker who was involved in one play out of every 7.3 snaps, but he was not a consistently productive player. He was much less productive when blockers were able to get their hands on him. While he measures nearly 230 pounds, he looks much smaller on film and when he plays up high he really struggles vs. blockers. He is a versatile linebacker who is good rushing the passer, very smooth dropping into zone coverage, has the play speed and athleticism to cover well in man-to-man coverage and can make plays vs. the run from sideline to sideline. Overall, Ellison has all the physical tools to be a very productive starting linebacker if he becomes more consistent playing aggressively vs. blockers and bulks up to approximately 240 pounds. An added bonus is that while Ellison is a backup during his first season or two while he bulks up and learns to play more consistently, he will be able to make an impact as a cover man on special teams coverage.
Ellison was frustrating to grade because statistically he was a very productive linebacker who was involved in one play out of every 7.3 snaps, but he was not a consistently productive player. He was much less productive when blockers were able to get their hands on him. While he measures nearly 230 pounds, he looks much smaller on film and when he plays up high he really struggles vs. blockers. He is a versatile linebacker who is good rushing the passer, very smooth dropping into zone coverage, has the play speed and athleticism to cover well in man-to-man coverage and can make plays vs. the run from sideline to sideline. Overall, Ellison has all the physical tools to be a very productive starting linebacker if he becomes more consistent playing aggressively vs. blockers and bulks up to approximately 240 pounds. An added bonus is that while Ellison is a backup during his first season or two while he bulks up and learns to play more consistently, he will be able to make an impact as a cover man on special teams coverage.
Bills LBs are completely in flux this offseason.
If they lose Fletcher, they may move Crowell to MLB or they may try to find a replacement in free agency or the draft. They could also consider cutting Spikes. Really tough to figure out what Ellison's role will be until some of this stuff gets sorted out. Right now, however, I'd probably project the Bills to line up like this:
WLB - Ellison; MLB - Crowell; SLB - Spikes
with Crowell/Spikes in the nickel as long as Spikes regains most of his quickness.
If they lose Fletcher, they may move Crowell to MLB or they may try to find a replacement in free agency or the draft. They could also consider cutting Spikes. Really tough to figure out what Ellison's role will be until some of this stuff gets sorted out. Right now, however, I'd probably project the Bills to line up like this:
WLB - Ellison; MLB - Crowell; SLB - Spikes
with Crowell/Spikes in the nickel as long as Spikes regains most of his quickness.
Rozelle
Moderator
Crowell will be either a will or a mike ... right?
I think that's a pretty safe assumption, yes.
Rozelle
Moderator
I'm hoping Buffalo doesn't pursue Kawika Mitchell (have he and Crowell on my dynasty). Has there been any talk of that Aaron?
I'm still holding out hope that they bring back Fletcher, but I haven't really heard anything about players they might target to replace him.I'm hoping Buffalo doesn't pursue Kawika Mitchell (have he and Crowell on my dynasty). Has there been any talk of that Aaron?
The Man With No Name
Footballguy
bcr8f
Footballguy
Patrick Willis? But with McGahee gone they may pick Lynch.
Jene Bramel
Footballguy
I don't think I'd feel too safe with Ellison until after the draft. A solid WLB or MLB in the first two rounds, which is likely, will cut Ellison's value back down. And Walker is more of a penetrating tackle and not as good as he was two or three years ago. He'll help some given the slop that was playing in rotation there last season but not a huge amount.So, Spikes move on and the Ellison band wagon is picking up some speed here?
Ellison's potential just picked up another upward spike, pending draft day of course. The addition of DT Walker is a real plus here....keeping the backers free to run to the ball.
Rovers
Footballguy
Jene, I would agree, but maybe not so much this year. I'm not impressed with this LB class after Willis. I also have to think the Bills think more of Ellison than most of us seem to, or why let both LFB and Spikes go? There isn't much of anything left at LB in FA..... is Ellison better suited to be a SLB? I can see Ellison having decent value for at least this year, unless the Bills go for Willis. My gut tells me the Bills will address the RB situation early... trade up for AP, or down for Lynch, but one never knows with Marv. Trading down makes a ton of sense to me... take Lynch and then the next best LB with their next pick. In the meantime, I took a flyer on Ellison in one league for 4 league bucks... and a wing and a prayer.
Jene Bramel
Footballguy
Ellison is in the Bills plans for sure. Off-season reports were good, although I'm not convinced he's a better player than Cato June was. Bills didn't want to pay Clements and/or Fletcher and the deal they took for Spikes probably is just as much fear of his staying healthy/productive as hope for Ellison who would've started even with Spikes around.The LB group this year isn't rich in traditional prospects but there are all kinds of interesting undersized guys that would fit a Cover-2 scheme to be had in the early/middle rounds both inside and outside. A Jon Beason at the top of the second round or Rufus Alexander, etal a little later could kill Ellison's IDP value.
bcr8f
Footballguy
Jene do you think Rufus Alexander will be a Lance Briggs in a couple of years?
Jene Bramel
Footballguy
I'm no draftnik and I don't trust myself to make those kinds of determinations until I watch a player against NFL competition and hear what their coaches/teammates say about them.Lance Briggs is a very nice player and would probably succeed in any role in the NFL. He may be undersized but he hits hard, has good range and can cover. He's much more Will Witherspoon than Cato June. Alexander's scouting reports suggest he's probably somewhere in between the two and may end up as more of a system guy than one that can fit in every scheme as a WLB. But in a Tampa-2 scheme, he has the same IDP potential as any other WLB in that system.As we saw last year though, sometimes those guys don't translate well to the pros. Chad Greenway had a better scouting report but couldn't work his way ahead of EJ Henderson and Napoleon Harris before his injury.
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Jene Bramel
Footballguy
I really liked Greenway's situation in May. You don't draft a defensive player in the middle of the first round and not expect him to make an impact his first season. Especially last season, when the OLB depth was silly good. So it really raised flags for me when Greenway hadn't earned first team snaps after multiple mini-camps and a couple of weeks of training camp. He's on a short list of guys I really want to hear about in camp.Interesting note here as Greenway is beginning to show up as an under rated player based on the likely hood that he starts for this outfit. Too much investment in him for him to be ridding the pine?Jene Bramel said:
