Andre

Ellington

Coach Bruce Arians’ old friend couldn’t quite make it onto the Bucs’ final roster. The 30-year-old Ellington posted 19-54-0 rushing and 8-65-0 receiving lines in the 2018 preseason, but was ultimately passed on the depth chart by Dare Ogunbowale.

Per Arians, Ellington is “showing a burst and running routes well.” It is very hard to take Andre Ellington hype seriously in the year 2019, though there is no disputing that Arians has always maintained a soft spot for a player who was one of his first draft picks in Arizona. There is a non-zero percent chance Ellington ends up with third-down duties in the Bucs’ underwhelming backfield.

Aside from a workout or two, Ellington spent 2018 out of the league. In Tampa, he will be reuniting with Bruce Arians, who was part of the team that made Ellington the No. 187 overall pick of the 2013 draft. Now on the wrong side of 30, Ellington can catch passes and make big plays. What he can’t do is grind between the tackles and stay healthy. He will be a long-shot to crack the 53-man roster.

Ellington has been out of the league since the end of last season with the Texans after he was cut by the Cardinals. It’s somewhat surprising he was unable to find a pass-catching job after showing flashes of excellence in that area. None of the five backs were signed to the 53-man roster by San Francisco, but Dayes landed a practice-squad gig. Alfred Morris is the new lead back.

Ellington is currently fourth on the running back depth chart behind Rashard Mendenhall, Ryan Williams and Stepfan Taylor, but is easily the most explosive of the four, and could make a nice move during training camp. A quick cutter who gets around the edge in a hurry, Ellington is dangerous in space. The numbers game could claim him as a rookie, but Ellington is a Dynasty name to watch.

No surprise. Mendenhall’s previous relationship with Bruce Arians from their Steelers days coupled with his first-round skill set makes him the logical leader. Ryan Williams needs to prove his health and rookies Stepfan Taylor/Andre Ellington will try to make up ground in training camp. There’s some sleeper appeal in Mendenhall, who is now roughly 17 months removed from his ACL tear.

During OTAs and minicamp, Mendenhall ran as the clear feature back. Arians appears to have zero interest in giving Ryan Williams, Stepfan Taylor or Andre Ellington a legit chance to compete. “He took me personally to a Super Bowl, and I know what he can bring to the table as a runner and a pass protector and also a receiver,” Arians said of his former first-round pick in Pittsburgh. “He’s an every-down player. And I think he’s looking forward to having an outstanding season.”

Rashard Mendenhall may be the slight favorite as he had his best years under Arians in Pittsburgh and will be roughly 20 months removed from his ACL tear when Week 1 rolls around. But Ryan Williams, Stepfan Taylor and Andre Ellington will all be in the mix as well. “You really can’t tell until the lights come on,” Arians said. “Some were different from this morning’s walkthrough to the afternoon practice. Until you turn the lights on, you really don’t know about them.”

“Being the running back with us the primary thing (Taylor) has to know is his protections,” Mitchell said. “His running skills and his ability to catch all of those things are natural as (a) running back.” Taylor, who graduated last week, will vie to make the club as a reserve. With starter Rashard Mendenhall and third-year pro Ryan Williams each having recent injury issues, the rookie from Stanford might be worth monitoring during training camp.

He registered a 4.59 “unofficial,” but surely would have run faster if not for the injury. The ailment’s extent is unknown. Ellington, who succeeded C.J. Spiller in Clemson’s backfield, stands 5-foot-9, 199 and possesses highly impressive burst and acceleration. He’s a probable second-round draft pick.