Ezekiel Elliot was unbelievably good for a NFL rookie last season. He finished the season with 280 Fantasy points in ESPN standard and was second in scoring among running running backs, second only to David Johnson, who scored double digit fantasy points in every single game. Elliot ran behind one of the best offensive lines in football, and that helped him achieve his massive production last season.
Ezekiel Elliot Statistics.
The star Dallas Cowboys running back finished the 2016-2017 NFL season with 1,631 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns. Those would be impressive statistics for any running back, but they're even more impressive for a rookie like Elliot who was playing with a rookie quarterback in Dak Prescott.
The Cowboys offensive line didn't change in the offseason, so many expected Elliot to reach similar numbers this season.
If he did reach similar numbers, Elliot would absolutely be worth the 2nd or 3rd pick in the draft. Like David Johnson, Elliot scored double digit fantasy points in every week except the last one, consistency that is extremely difficult to find in fantasy football. Now that he's suspended for six games, however, it's a little more tricky to determine his value. Let's take a look at where Elliot should be drafted post suspension.
Best Spot to Draft Elliot?
Last season, Le'Veon Bell was suspended for the first three games of the NFL season. As a result, he slipped to the 11th and 12th pick in most fantasy football drafts.
When the Steelers star came back, he dominated, and even though he missed the first three games, Bell finished the season with the fourth most fantasy points in football.
Elliot's current suspension is for six games, but it's hard to believe that it won't be reduced, especially because a lot of suspensions handed down by the NFL seem to be cut in half.
For now, the current consensus seems to be that Elliot should be drafted at or around the 20th spot. That would place him after players like Jay Ajayi, Leonard Fournette, and Todd Gurley.
To me, that's crazy. If a fantasy team can stomach the current six game suspension by going at least .500, it will have a huge advantage over the rest of the league when Elliot comes back.
And if Elliot's suspension is reduced in length, as many of these suspensions are, fantasy owners will be even more thrilled when Elliot comes back.
Evaluation.
If you think Elliot's suspension will be reduced to three games like I do, he is worth at least the 12th overall pick in the draft. Even if the suspension is not reduced, Elliot is such a sure thing in the Cowboys offense that I'm willing to spend the 18th overall pick and take a risk on waiting for him to come back.
Don't be foolish and miss out on picking Elliot just because he is suspended! When he comes back, he will provide immense value to fantasy teams that were patient enough to wait for him to return.
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