NFL: Cordarrelle Patterson, players sure to breakout in 2014

Andre Ellington, RB Arizona Cardinals

During the 2013 NFL season, the Arizona Cardinals made the inexplicable decision to hand the ball to highly ineffective running back Rashard Mendenhall on 217 occasions, and they were rewarded to the tune of 3.2 yards per carry and exactly one rushing attempt that went for more than 20 yards. Next to Mendenhall, the Cardinals utilized rookie running back Andre Ellington for slightly more than 50% of the attempts, but Ellington accounted for nearly the full amount of yardage production and eight rushing attempts of 20 yards or more. Now, the job is in the hands of Ellington, presumably on a full-time basis.

The 5-foot-9 ball carrier from Clemson had some question marks about his size and durability as he entered the league, but from a talent standpoint, Ellington far exceeds his 6th-round pedigree. That was evident when he averaged better than 5 yards per carry as a rookie, and in addition to that, Ellington is versatile in the passing game with the upside to build on his 39-catch debut in 2013. It remains to be seen just how much of a workload that head coach Bruce Arians is willing to hand over to Andre Ellington, but if he can generate 250-300 touches between the ground game and the passing game, Ellington could make a run at a Pro Bowl selection, even in the loaded NFC.