Ezekiel Elliott: Prospect Breakdown (with GIFs)
Pros, Cons, and a Summary of Ezekiel Elliott
Pros:
- Fantastic size at 6’0, 225 lbs.
- 4.47 speed, also very quick and possesses impressive burst
- Excellent footwork, shifty and incredible change of direction ability
- Tremendous vision, very patient
- Decisive, cuts without hesitation
- Smooth runner, glides
- Great balance through contact
- One-cut, downhill runner
- Has elusiveness, can make defenders miss
- Powerful runner, keeps legs churning to run through tackles
- Rarely gets tackled on first contact, almost always falls forward
- Has a knack for big plays
- Runs with a natural pad level, forward lean
- Creative, finds different ways to break tackles
- Willing and capable blocker
- Very good endurance, looks fresh even late in games
- Noted hard-worker, very competitive
- Durable, can be a workhorse back
Cons:
- Spread offense, runs primarily out of Shotgun and will need to adjust to a pro offense
- Inconsistent pass catching ability, handful of easy drops
- Good but not great ball security
- Some attitude concerns, openly questioned coaching to the media
Summary:
Ezekiel Elliott is an elite prospect and one of the best talents at running back to enter the NFL Draft in quite some time. He’s in that LaDainian Tomlinson, Todd Gurley range as far as prospects go, and has the ability to be a very special player.
This would be way too long of a write-up if I touched on each of his strengths – he’s that good.
To put it very simply, Zeke is the total package. He’s extremely well-rounded and can basically do everything. Power, speed, agility, vision, decisiveness, blocking, catching. Everything.
At 6’0, 225 pounds, he’s nearly identical in size to Gurley. Zeke has proven to be quite durable throughout his collegiate career and should hold up very well as an every-down back.
My favorite thing about Elliott is his very smooth running style; It looks like he is gliding. But at the same time, he still manages to be a very powerful runner, who is difficult to bring down and always fights for extra yards.
The gripes I had about Elliott’s game are all very minor.
First, playing primarily in a spread offense while at Ohio State, most of Zeke’s runs came out of Shotgun formation. He’ll have to adjust to running in a pro-style offense, so that could take some time.
While he is capable of catching passes out of the backfield, this is an area improvement that would be welcomed. There were a handful of times on film where Elliott dropped an easy pass.
Fumbling wasn’t a major issue for him (only three lost fumbles in his career) but ball security could use some improvement. A muffed punt, a mishandled direct snap, and a couple of of those fumbles happened in the nine games I watched for this breakdown.
Lastly, there are some attitude questions. Elliott has openly questioned play calling to the media, which is never a good look.
I have Elliott ranked as the 4th best player in this draft class, behind Tunsil, Ramsey and Bosa.
Because of positional value and need, for the Raiders 14th pick I’d still prefer Vernon Hargreaves if both were available. However, I would be ecstatic if Elliott were the selection.
I’ve been a big defender of Latavius Murray, and I think he’s a solid back. The truth of the matter is he while his numbers were impressive, he leaves a lot to be desired on the field. His production was largely out of opportunity, as he only topped 100 yards twice all season.
The team also hasn’t made it a secret that they are looking for help at running back. Zeke would certainly be that.
So if a special talent like Elliott is available and the Raiders have the opportunity to draft him, they should jump all over it.