Will the Holdout involving Ezekiel Elliott Affect his Draft Stock?

Now shifting our focus back to the present with the Cowboys and Elliott, the same scenario could potentially happen. Granted, the Cowboys and Steelers are two completely different organizations and their philosophies on how to pay their players are unique in their own ways.

With that said, we do not know for certain what will transpire between now and Week 1 of 2019. What we do know is that if Elliott’s holdout has no end in sight, then his draft stock will plummet even more than what it is now.

Much like fellow running back Melvin Gordon in Los Angeles, people will be unwilling to draft Elliott as their running back one on draft day. The question remains, where should I draft Elliott if his holdout appears murky at best when my draft day is scheduled?

The best advice I can give is to make sure you draft strong in the first two to possibly three rounds before considering Elliott. There are other running backs who are strong and can provide you great fantasy value if you do not have Elliott on your roster.

Guys like James Conner, David Johnson, Le’Veon Bell, Joe Mixon, etc are all worthy RB 1 candidates outside of the big four. After you select a running back who is a tier slightly below Elliott, then you either come back and draft Elliott or get a big wide receiver.

If you take the route with drafting a big wide receiver, then Elliott may or may not be around in Round Three depending on how bad the situation is with Elliott.

If it seems doubtful Elliott will be around in Week 1, then waiting until Round Three may be worth the gamble. So now you have a top wide receiver like Antonio Brown or Tyreek Hill, along with someone like Bell or Johnson as your first running back entering Round Three. You’re on the clock and Elliott is still available because of the holdout. Now you can take him but do so with caution.

After taking the gamble with Zeke you got to load up on other running backs and wide receivers. Guys like Kenny Golladay, Robert Woods, Stefon Diggs, and Julian Edelman are all being drafted somewhere in the fourth round in many consensus drafts currently.

The running backs may be a little thinner but there are players such as Phillip Lindsay, Chris Carson, Josh Jacobs, David Montgomery, and Mark Ingram going in the fourth and fifth rounds.

Lastly, make sure you select backup Alfred Morris in case Elliott sits out the entire season like what Bell did last year.

Morris will most likely be the main back in Elliott’s absence and he can be a great handcuff. Morris can be someone you take in the later rounds, but don’t wait too long or someone will snag him before you. It’s just a safety net to have for the worst-case scenario involving Elliott’s situation.

This all depends on your risk tolerance and where you want to draft Zeke which is predicated on his Week 1 status and beyond. In the event where he holds out until the last minute, you have a steal. In the case where he does not play at all, you have a wasted spot, but you managed to fill your other slots up with solid fantasy point producers.

Hopefully, Elliott’s contract dispute comes to an end soon and the headaches of where to draft him will cease. We as fantasy managers need to be prepared when a star player will not be present come draft day and where to draft them in these scenarios.

Worst and most extreme case scenario, Elliott drops somewhere in the third round of fantasy drafts. A moderate case would be for him to fall somewhere in the second round and the best would be for him to remain towards the top where he belongs.