Dynasty Draftnik

Cowboys, Round 1. Declared early for the 2016 NFL Draft.

Postseason Events: NFL Combine.

Positives: Great height and good bulk for the position. Great hand size. Super-athletic, strong, and big running back. He runs with above-average speed, lateral quickness, and burst – and especially good for his size. Above-average cutback vision behind the line. His feet are quick enough for his size, and he is patient behind the line – but decisive, and follows his blockers well. Runs with good power – churning well, and with good stiff arm. Good body lean and balance, and usually falls forward for extra yards after contact. Churns pretty well in general as well in short yardage. Gets low through the line. Can take a hit and keep going. Has adequate hands, though not spectacular, and is okay at tracking passes over his outside shoulder. Above-average body control and adjusts well to off-target passes. Is pretty nimble on the sidelines after the catch. Protects the ball with both hands when he knows a hit is coming, and on the goal line. Switches hands well to the sideline. Above-average run blocker behind the line and down the field. Is agile and can leapfrog defenders and keep going. Is pretty tough and played through a broken wrist in 2014. Willing to hit hard on special teams as a tackler and as a downfield run blocker. Above-average track speed for the position, but very good for his size. Adequate broad jump.

Negatives: Below-average vertical leap. Needs to hold the ball high and tight down the field – can be stripped by defenders he doesn’t see. Below-average pass blocker but is willing to cut block. Though his hands are adequate, he is not a very natural receiver – he will double clutch and let some passes get to his body. Sometimes loses balance when changing direction and will trip himself up. Broke his left wrist in August 2014, had surgery, but missed no games. Had another surgery in February 2015 and was cleared in May. Slight character red flag in that he criticized his coach’s play calling in November 2015 but wasn’t disciplined. Charged with driving without a license in December 2015.

Pre-Draft Projection: Round 1, and possibly in the first 10 picks. To me, Elliott is the closest to a sure thing in this draft. Athletic, strong, fast, quick, good vision, tough, and nimble. I can’t imagine his minor negatives will get in the way of Elliott being a top-5 running back for years in the NFL, barring injury.

Titans, Round 2. Declared early for the 2016 NFL Draft.

Postseason Events: NFL Combine.

Positives: Huge for the position – big enough to be an H-back. A decisive runner, powerful runner with above-average speed for his size. Runs with above-average burst for the position and good for his size. Nice jump cut to find a running lane behind the line. Patient and stays on the hip of his blockers. He is able to maintain his balance well after contact. Hits with good power and good body lean and is hard to bring down – breaks a lot of arm tackles and defenders just fall by the side. Finishes runs with pop and will fall forward for extra yards. Very strong lower-body and defenders sometimes just seem to fall off of him. Effective stiff arm. Above-average hands and can extend well for passes away from his body. Reportedly ran good routes at his pro day, where he stepped in as a wide receiver due to a lack of numbers at pro day. Is an effective pass blocker when he gets good leverage – hard to move him off his block. Highly athletic for his size. Adequate track speed for the position, but good for his size. Above-average vertical leap for the position. Elite broad jump for the position – indicating the potential for high burst and acceleration. Above-average upper-body strength.

Negatives: Below-average hand size. Much easier to bring down when you can stop his momentum in the backfield – he has a hard time accelerating after that. Not as strong when he doesn’t get a head of steam behind him. Below-average ability to change directions with burst in Combine drills, but probably adequate for his size. Used to run a little off-balance, but improved by his sophomore year. Doesn’t churn well consistently, and will lean into contact more than he should because he was able to get away with it in college. Not very nimble and seems to be easy to trip up. Though adequate as a pass protector, he needs to get lower to get leverage against the rush to really take advantage of his size and strength. Has a hard time stopping his momentum on catches near the sideline. Broken fibula in 2013.

Pre-Draft Projection: Late Round 1. He is one of the strongest running backs to come out of college in a long time – stronger than Trent Richardson when he came out of Alabama. His power, athleticism, and surprising receiving ability could make him a serious weapon in the NFL. His size also comes with the drawback of a minor lack of dynamism. But his positives far outweigh his negatives, and he should be a solid NFL starter.

Ravens, Round 4.

Postseason Events: Senior Bowl and NFL Combine.

Positives: Adequate height, bulk, and hand size for the position. He runs with good long speed and above-average burst. Good lateral quickness and jump cut to find running lanes. Above-average open field vision and is a patient and decisive runner who will burst through small creases in the line. Likes to finish runs hard and runs with good power – will drag defenders and breaks arm tackles. Doesn’t just duck out of bounds and will drive through defensive backs on the sidelines. Above-average balance after contact and is hard to bring down one-on-one. Usually runs with very good balance and shows nice agility in the open field. Consistently falls forward for extra yards and always seems to be moving forward even when he is making lateral moves. Above-average hands and can extend consistently. Tracks passes smoothly over his outside shoulder. Is able to maintain leverage on impact as a pass protector. Adequate track speed. Above average vertical leap and broad jump, which matches the above-average burst he showed during games. Above-average ability to change directions with burst in Combine drills.

Negatives: Seems to have a short wingspan. Below-average upper-body strength. His concentration as a receiver is inconsistent and he will sometimes turn upfield before securing the ball. Inconsistent ball security technique going through traffic and will sometimes hold the ball in one hand while making moves. Slight hamstring issue at pro day limited him.

Pre-Draft Projection: Round 2. He looks like he has everything you need in a workhorse running back, including athleticism, determination, blocking ability, and receiving ability.