STRENGTHS - He is an exceptional overall athlete with tremendous speed, quickness, burst, acceleration, & elusiveness to consider for the position at the NFL level. He has strong value to consider as an outside runner, receiver out of the backfield, & kickoff returner for the next level. He is a big-play threat every time he touches the ball. He shows excellent lateral avoid as an inside runner & has exceptional explosiveness as a runner on the perimeter & in the open field.
WEAKNESSES - He is an undersized player with limited growth potential & questionable durability to consider as an every-down player at the next level. He lacks the bulk & the strength to move the pile or to run through defenders squarely as a goal-line or short-yardage runner. He lacks the ability to serve as an effective blocker in pass protection. He had a couple fumbles in my views. He had a few plays where he showed narrow vision & missed the cutback lane in my views.
SUMMARY - Ellington has been a highly productive, big play back for Clemson and also serves as their primary kickoff returner. He has an undersized frame with limited growth potential to consider as an every-down player at the NFL level. However, he has the rare explosive athletic qualities to be a real weapon in a particular role in a two-back system. He is an exceptional overall athlete with tremendous speed, quickness, burst, acceleration, & elusiveness in his play. He is a legitimate big-play threat every time he touches the ball. He shows terrific initial quickness to get to & through the hole as an inside runner. Despite his lack of size, he does a very good job of being slippery on contact against bigger defenders within the box. He really threatens the defense when he gets to the 2nd level or on the perimeter. He gets to the sideline so fast that defenders don't have a chance to catch him from behind. He shows excellent make-you-miss ability against a defender one-on-one in space, but does not have the power to run over him. He did have a fumble on a reverse in my views. As a receiver out of the backfield, he is a dangerous weapon. He has too much speed for a linebacker to cover & a safety has too far to come down to pick-him-up. He shows rare elusiveness in his run-after-catch ability in space. He has special kickoff return value due to his home-run speed as well. Overall, he is a solid 2nd round draft consideration as a tandem runner, 3rd down receiver, & primary kickoff returner. He lacks the size & growth potential to ever develop into an every-down player. He reminds me most of former Cal Bear Jahvid Best [1st rd.-#30-DET] due to his size, athleticism, & potential role at the NFL level.