Name: Ezekiel Elliott

Position: Running Back

School: Ohio State

Draft Status: First Round, Fourth Pick (Dallas Cowboys)

Dynasty Rookie Running Back Ranking: 1st

A four-star recruit coming out of  John Burroughs High School in Missouri, Elliott had to wait his turn to see substantial playing time with Ohio State. While impressive as Carlos Hyde's primary backup as a freshman, Elliott saw little action. His most-impressive performance that season came in a 76-0 win over Florida A&M. Elliott ran for 162 yards and two scores on 14 attempts, including touchdown runs of 16 and 13 yards. 

It wasn't until Hyde graduated to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL the following season that Elliott got his chance. He made the most of that opportunity, putting up nearly 2,100 total yards and 18 scores en route to helping Ohio State win the national title. 

Elliott put up 100-plus rushing yards nine times that season, including in the team's final five games. In fact, he dominated down the stretch, putting up 696 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in the Big 10 Championship game and the Ohio  State's two playoff outings. 

Elliott didn't necessarily improve on his numbers as a junior this past season, but it would have been somewhat hard to do that. He still put up over 2,000 total yards, only this time the dynamic young running back went for 23 touchdowns. He finished his career by putting up 363 yards and six touchdowns in the team's final two games, including a four-touchdown performance against Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. 

Scouting Report

Strengths: What's not to like about this generational talent? Above all else, Elliott's field vision is on an elite level. He's sees the field in front of him, is able to change direction on a dime, does a tremendous job following is blockers and is nearly unstoppable in the open field. Keeps a low center of gravity, which makes him hard to bring down with arm tackles. Can gain that needed one or two yards in between the tackles. Exceptional cut-back ability and plus-level pass protection. Oh, and his on-field speed is absolutely absurd. 

Weaknesses: Needs to understand when to take the hit and go out of bounds. Struggled in this area at Ohio State, which is a bit of a concern considering he put up more than 600 touches in his final two seasons with the Buckeyes. While Elliott has good hands, he could improve in terms of route running out of the backfield. While a willing blocker, could use some help in technique at the point of contact. 

2016 Outlook

The Cowboys selection of Elliott fourth overall was somewhat surprising considering they are returning a running back in Darren McFadden who put up over 1,400 total yards a season ago. Couple that with the addition of Alfred Morris, and running back didn't seem to be a huge need. 

This could have a direct correlation on Elliott's fantasy performance as a rookie. Will he see 15-20 touches per game or are the Cowboys going to ease him into the NFL with those other two capable veterans taking some touches from him? 

Considering Dallas picked a running back fourth overall, it's safe to assume they plan on using him, and using him a lot. It just remains to be seen how much as a rookie. 

What we do know is that the selection of Elliott pushes McFadden down from a mid-tier RB2 option to nothing more than a deep bench player. 

In terms of Elliott, his absolute floor in 2016 should be as a bottom end RB1 with a ceiling in the top five. His elite-level talent coupled with the Cowboys exceptional offensive line makes him a near lock to go in the first round, even in re-draft leagues. 

Dynasty Outlook

The best fantasy running back in the NFL two years from now. Sorry Todd Gurley, but Elliott is in a prime position to dominate this position over the next six-to-eight years. You simply don't see a prospect of this ilk enter the NFL too often. Now add in the fact that Dallas' offensive line helped DeMarco Murray become NFL's Offensive Player of the Year in 2014 and worked wonders with McFadden last season, and Elliott will find himself in a prime position to dominate. 

When looking at dyno drafts, the question is whether you go with someone that's proven himself in the NFL (Gurley), or a player in Elliott that can transform the fantasy football world by his mere presence. All indications here are that Elliott remains the best option in dynasty drafts. He's a bit more of a risk than Gurley because we haven't seen Elliott prove himself in the NFL. But he has everything he needs to be a dominating performer from a fantasy perspective. That much cannot be denied.