Andre Ellington has the pure talent to be a starting running back in the NFL, but with a long injury history and the emergence of David Johnson, that won’t be his role for the Cardinals in 2016.
Instead he will be a change-of-pace complement, an elusive athlete with home run capability. That was on display in Friday night’s 31-10 loss to the Raiders, as Ellington had three carries for 41 yards and a touchdown, including a 35-yard scamper in the second quarter.
Although it seems like a lifetime ago, Ellington was the projected starter heading into the 2015 season. A knee sprain and other ailments took their toll, but now he feels healthy and looks explosive.
Ellington admitted he was never fully healthy at the end of last season, but he has been impressive in training camp and the first preseason game, the story said. As the story also pointed out, he's set to be the change of pace back with Chris Johnson serving as the backup to David Johnson. Ellington just needs to stay healthy, but we're only projecting him for 19 catches this season and he's just 59th on our RB rankings.
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