Rookie Report Card: Bruce Ellington and Damien Williams
I decided to put my own spin on the concept of a rookie report card this year. The Rookie Report Card is exactly what it sounds like, a report card. Not only will I cover my expectations for the player coming into the league and how he’s performed at the NFL level to this point, I’ll actually give him a grade in three categories. Those categories are performance to date, 2014 potential and long term upside. Each week I’ll cover at least two rookies and try to always include the biggest performers from that particular week.
The series continues with a closer look at a couple of rookies that are getting a chance to show what they can do late in the year – Bruce Ellington and Damien Williams.
Bruce Ellington, WR SF
Week 16 Stats: three carries, 12 yards, one reception, eight yards, two total touchdown
Season Stats: six carries, 28 yards, one rushing touchdown, six receptions, 62 yards, two touchdowns
At this time last year I had never heard of Ellington. After all, when it comes to college football, I’m a Wisconsin fan and rarely spend time watching teams outside the Big Ten. When the Badgers played South Carolina in the Capital One Bowl on January 1st though, I got a good look at Ellington and exactly how dynamic he could be. He caught six balls for 140 yards and a pair of touchdowns that day against the Badgers and threw another to quarterback Connor Shaw. Needless to say, I was fairly intrigued.
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Watching just that game, I was already convinced Ellington had a future as an NFL receiver. He was quick off the line of scrimmage and put an incredible amount of pressure on the Badgers defensive backs. Then at the top of his routes he was sharp and concise, making quick brakes to get separation. Once the ball was in the air, Ellington showed off his great hands. He plucked the ball from the air away from his body and quickly turned up field to get as many yards after the catch as possible.
Ellington’s two touchdown grabs that day were the perfect example of his flexibility in an offense. His first score came on a post route. He was lined up wide right and simply blew past the cornerback for a 39-yard touchdown. On the second one, he lined up in the left slot and ran a beautiful flag route. After bursting off the line of scrimmage, he ran 15 yards and turned his head to the inside only to jolt to the outside. He hauled in the pass at the one yard line and slipped inside the pylon for the 22-yard score.
After seeing Ellington on New Year’s Day, I decided to dig up some more film on him and everything I saw reminded me of what he did to my Badgers in the bowl game. He consistently displayed excellent quickness running routes and very good balance in and out of his breaks. Catching nearly everything thrown his way including some fairly inaccurate tosses, he constantly showed off his very good hands and after the catch he was incredibly elusive.
Coming out of college I thought Ellington had a good chance to earn a role as a “Swiss Army Knife” who could be dangerous in the open field on reverses and screens but still take the top off of defenses. His size (5’9” and 195 pounds) and quickness is reminiscent of Percy Harvin and his skill set suggests he could be used much like the Vikings used Harvin when he was in Minnesota. We haven’t seen much of that from Ellington since he was selected in the fourth round of the draft by the 49ers.
Not until this week anyway.
Ellington was a big part of the 49ers’ game plan on Saturday night. The San Francisco coaching staff designed plays for the rookie against the Chargers. He caught his first career touchdown early in the second quarter when he went in motion from the right side of the formation and continued into the flat to the left. After a play fake by Colin Kaepernick, he floated the ball to Ellington for the eight-yard score. The play was a great design and well executed as Ellington’s quickness was taken advantage of perfectly.
Right before the half, the 49ers decided to use Ellington around the goal line once again. This time he went in motion from the left but instead of running a route, Kaepernick handed him the ball on a jet sweep from the one yard line. Chargers linebacker Melvin Ingram was unblocked and met Ellington in the backfield but Ellington stiff armed him which took him back to the eight yard line. He quickly turned up field however and powered his way into the end zone.
Both scoring plays from Saturday night are good examples of how Ellington will need to be used for him to be a weapon for the 49ers and dynasty owners. His coaching staff will have to commit to getting him the ball in space to make it worthwhile to have him on the field and he’s going to have to get volume to have fantasy value.
This will be a very interesting off-season for Ellington and his dynasty owners. With rumors swirling that Jim Harbaugh is about to coach his final game with the 49ers, nobody knows if the new coaching staff will see Ellington as a weapon like Harbaugh and his staff seems to be coming around to. Personally, I believe Ellington’s role should grow in 2015 with San Francisco. He should be the full-time slot receiver and on top of doing the gadget things he did on Saturday, he should get the opportunity to use his speed and quickness to contribute as a deep threat.
If the 49ers bring in a coaching staff that wants to spread things out a bit and throw the ball, Ellington has the potential post WR3 numbers for dynasty owners as soon as next season. His upside is much higher in PPR than in standard leagues, but he’s a good trade target for those looking for a low cost, high upside prospect at receiver – especially if San Francisco changes it’s tune a bit employs a spread offense play caller next year.
| Rookie Report Card | ||
| Player: Bruce Ellington | ||
| Performance To Date | 2014 Potential | Long Term Upside |
| D | N/A | B |
Damien Williams, RB MIA
Week 16 Stats: three carries, 18 yards, six receptions, 50 yards, one touchdown
Season Stats: 36 carries, 122 yards, 19 receptions, 165 yards, one touchdown
In the time leading up to the NFL Draft, I wasn’t a very big fan of Williams. There were things to like about him while watching his tape from Oklahoma like his ability run outside the tackles and his impressive hands out of the backfield, but he constantly ran into the backs of his offensive lineman and missed holes far too often to get excited about his pro prospects.
After watching a couple of his college games, I quickly lost interest in Williams because he didn’t display the burst through the hole that featured runners have and although he has an impressive frame (5’11” and 225 pounds), he didn’t run with enough power to be excited about him as a pro. When I read that he was kicked off the Sooners’ roster for disciplinary reasons, I was even more turned off.
After going undrafted, Williams signed with the Dolphins and was unimpressive in his opportunities in the preseason. He ran for 69 yards on 27 carries (2.6 YPC) and a pair of touchdowns while playing primarily behind the second and third string offensive lines and against second and third string defenders. Constantly stutter-stepping in the backfield and missing open running lanes, it was likely only because of an injury to Knowshon Moreno that Williams made the roster.
Since the season started Williams has been used sparingly but until Sunday, hadn’t made much of an impact. He’s averaged just 3.4 yards per carry and dropped a pair of passes including one that could have gone for a big gain against the Ravens a couple weeks ago.
Against the Vikings on Sunday, Williams was used primarily as a third-down back. He carried the ball just three times for 18 yards but contributed six grabs for 50 yards and a touchdown in the passing game. On his three-yard grab for a score in the fourth quarter, he lined up to the right of Ryan Tannehill, ran a curl route at the goal line and held on to the ball despite taking a big hit from a pair of Vikings linebackers.
Outside of that play, Williams did exactly what a third-down back is supposed to do but certainly wasn’t overly impressive. He caught passes on check downs and made a couple blocks that gave Tannehill enough time to get the ball out of his hands.
Overall, Williams isn’t a special talent. He’s a useful receiving running back that can make a linebacker miss in the open field after making the catch, but certainly isn’t the kind of tailback a team can depend on to carry the ball more than a few times a game.
Williams may stick around the NFL for a few years as a third stringer, but shouldn’t be on your dynasty roster unless you’re in an incredibly deep league. Even then, you can probably find somebody with more upside for that roster spot.
| Rookie Report Card | ||
| Player: Damien Williams | ||
| Performance To Date | 2014 Potential | Long Term Upside |
| D | N/A | D+ |
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