Cards 6th round pick #187: RB Andre Ellington

[b8rtm8nn]

I like one of the things I read about him on his break down on NFL.com.

Shows patience following pulling guards and fullbacks.

Hey if you're going to draft pulling guards you might as well draft a running back that has running behind pulling guards as one of his strengths.

+1

Has good vision, like his runs from his own endzone...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwMathEFzmQ

 

[1DS]

I think Ellington really has the skillset to thrive as a slot WR. I wonder if BA has this in mind. Maybe like a Dexter Mccluster or Reggie Bush type role. He doesn't have that elite, blazing top end speed, but he is really fast and quick inside the first 20 yards. And, he has really good receiving and jumping ability. I'd love to see him used as a dual threat to get him the ball in open spaces with quick 3 step drops. He wont take it to the house, but he will break 20-35 yard plays.

Interesting that the other WR we drafted isn't very durable. Maybe they view him as less risk if Ellington is someone who can also catch some passes.

 

[Duckjake]

Ellington was the BPA according to Mayock when the Cards drafted in the 5th round I think.

So why didn't they take him then? Maybe because they felt Taylor was a better fit and they'd rather chance losing Ellington than Taylor.

If they'd taken Taylor in the 3rd and Ellington in the 4th it would be a huge mistake but 5th and 6th its ok. Though I'd have rather had QSmith as a project than Taylor.

Finally if they were going RB they should have taken Spencer Ware. We don't have enough LSU players yet.

 

[overseascardfan]

My thoughts:

1) Mendenhall better have a really good year or he is gone.
2) If Ryan Williams ends up Beanie Wells II then he is gone next year too.
3) Ellington ran for almost 1100 yards & Taylor almost 1500 yards last year. Big time players IMO.
4) I felt we needed to take 2 RB's this year I guess so did BA & SK.

 

[DoTheDew]

With Ryan Williams on the roster you can never have enough RBs.

 

[D-Dogg]

I love this pick, he's a north/south runner who always is looking to move forward. I like this pick better than Taylor, given the later round.

Mendenhall and the rooks will be a nice RB corp, even if RW never sniffs the field again. If he does, super. Depth, and with RBs in the NFL, any one could pop off and be special in any round.

This draft has been so great, IMO.

 

[Perfectionist]

Living about 15 miles from Clemson, I got to see a lot of Ellington. I love the pick this late in the draft. No doubt we needed help at running back and I can see him sharing some of the load, especially third down situations. He is really elusive and can catch the ball. He is also a good kick returner. Hopefully, our offensive line will open a few holes this year.

 

[Southpaw]

I like him much better than Taylor. I also like the Cards are adding potential big playmakers with the last 2 picks.

Yup on both accounts.

 

[Duckjake]

I told you guys Ryan Williams was a stupid selection. I can't believe we passed on Orlando Franklin to take Ryan Williams.

 

[Snakester]

Love this pick. I had Ellington as my number two RB in this draft. I thought he would go in the third round. To get him in the 6th is a steal.

 

[WildBB]

I love this pick, he's a north/south runner who always is looking to move forward. I like this pick better than Taylor, given the later round.

Mendenhall and the rooks will be a nice RB corp, even if RW never sniffs the field again. If he does, super. Depth, and with RBs in the NFL, any one could pop off and be special in any round.

This draft has been so great, IMO.

Yup, I like both RB picks. Especially that late in the draft. They'll be coming in with some chips.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Drafting two backs was the RIGHT thing to do for this team and while we didnt get Lacey/Franklin, we had a lot more to work with at RB then GB did coming in.

Out of Mendenhall, Williams, Taylor, or Ellington someones gonna be stud. Line up behind Cooper and Levi and its ova....

 

[Doc Cardinal]

Taylor will challenge....but the current Card RB's just got challenged in a career way....produce or get cut.

 

[Duckjake]

Drafting two backs was the RIGHT thing to do for this team and while we didnt get Lacey/Franklin, we had a lot more to work with at RB then GB did coming in.

Out of Mendenhall, Williams, Taylor, or Ellington someones gonna be stud. Line up behind Cooper and Levi and its ova....

No it wasn't. Taylor or Ellington. Not both. We didn't need to use 25% of our draft capital on the RB position where only one will play at a time especially in a pass first, second and third league. If you are going to double up at a position it needs to be one that has two/three/four guys that can be on the field at the same time. Where did I learn that? From Bill Parcells.

Finally if either of these guys were any good what were they doing available in the 5th and 6th round?

 

[Arizona's Finest]

No it wasn't. Taylor or Ellington. Not both. We didn't need to use 25% of our draft capital on the RB position where only one will play at a time especially in a pass first, second and third league. If you are going to double up at a position it needs to be one that has two/three/four guys that can be on the field at the same time. Where did I learn that? From Bill Parcells.

Finally if either of these guys were any good what were they doing available in the 5th and 6th round?

Cant count on Williams and Mendenhall is always banged up and on 1 yr contract. Both of these guys will play roles next year and definitely in 2014/2015.

Also your presumption is that both guys cant or cant play. The extreme likliehood is one is good and one will washout. Do you know which one?

Now do you feel better we have both?

 

[ajcardfan]

No it wasn't. Taylor or Ellington. Not both. We didn't need to use 25% of our draft capital on the RB position where only one will play at a time especially in a pass first, second and third league. If you are going to double up at a position it needs to be one that has two/three/four guys that can be on the field at the same time. Where did I learn that? From Bill Parcells.

Finally if either of these guys were any good what were they doing available in the 5th and 6th round?

Don't agree. You have to have a minimum of two good RBs, and I don't think we have one on our current roster. RB was a major need. Drafting these two guys was off the hook smart.

 

[Duckjake]

Cant count on Williams and Mendenhall is always banged up and on 1 yr contract. Both of these guys will play roles next year and definitely in 2014/2015.

Also your presumption is that both guys cant or cant play. The extreme likliehood is one is good and one will washout. Do you know which one?

Now do you feel better we have both?

You misunderstand. They both won't play at the same time. Few if any teams run a 2 back set these days. Parcells talked about not drafting/signing free agents to where you had more players at a position than you could get on the field. For example if you had drafted Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning it would be a bad draft because you couldn't play them all at once. As opposed to having Fitz, Jerry Rice, Calvin Johnson and Q who you could get on the field at the same time.

I feel better because I have a new favorite player. The Big Prez.

However, what I don't understand is that the Cards had 9 draft picks. I criticize one of them and a 1000 people get their panties in a wad. Do you guys go home at night and mainline Cardinal Kool-Aid.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

You misunderstand. They both won't play at the same time. Few if any teams run a 2 back set these days. Parcells talked about not drafting/signing free agents to where you had more players at a position than you could get on the field. For example if you had drafted Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning it would be a bad draft because you couldn't play them all at once. As opposed to having Fitz, Jerry Rice, Calvin Johnson and Q who you could get on the field at the same time.

I feel better because I have a new favorite player. The Big Prez.

However, what I don't understand is that the Cards had 9 draft picks. I criticize one of them and a 1000 people get their panties in a wad. Do you guys go home at night and mainline Cardinal Kool-Aid.

My point is not every player you draft is going to be a starter anyway. Depth and talented depth is important.

And even more important not every player is going to be a big time contributor. We could have drafted JUST Taylor or JUST Ellington and where would we be if either of them washed out in that scenario? But your odds at RB just went up X 2 with our 5th and 6th round picks. They both hit? Even better. Now we dont have to count on Mendenhall beyond next year or always injured Ryan Williams beyond next year.

Im actually torn on which prospect I like better. But I feel pretty good one of them is going to hit. And for that position thats exactly what we needed with how was there on the depth chart going into the day.

 

[Duckjake]

My point is not every player you draft is going to be a starter anyway. Depth and talented depth is important.

And even more important not every player is going to be a big time contributor. We could have drafted JUST Taylor or JUST Ellington and where would we be if either of them washed out in that scenario? But your odds at RB just went up X 2 with our 5th and 6th round picks. They both hit? Even better. Now we dont have to count on Mendenhall beyond next year or always injured Ryan Williams beyond next year.

Im actually torn on which prospect I like better. But I feel pretty good one of them is going to hit. And for that position thats exactly what we needed with how was there on the depth chart going into the day.

And if we had drafted QSmith or Brandon Jenkins or Bacarri Rambo instead you would be talking about what good picks they were for the Cardinals. What if Calais got hurt? What if Okafor washed out? Now we don't have to count on the 35 year old Bell beyond next year or even this year. I just think the team would have been better served with one of those guys than Stepfan Taylor.

 

[Bodha]

Ellington is a CJ Spiller like Gamebreaker.


This guy will either be terrible or a superstar. I see no in between. Fastest, nastiest, flashiest RB weve had in a long time (moreso than Ryan).

If hes as good in pass protection as they say, then I think this is our workhorse.

 

[Mulli]

Seems like he is the type the Cards usually reach for in the second round.

 

[Totally_Red]

PFW had Ellington as their #2 running back. As BA noted he is totally different from the other three running backs on the roster. He is probably the kickoff returner to start and that means he's active on game days and probably gets some playing time eventually.

We have the best running back situation in some time - since Edgerin James and THT were both on the roster. And neither one of them brought Ellington's breakaway potential.

Love the pick, especially in the 6th round.

 

[BigRedRage]

wrong thread