Ezekiel Elliott: Miami Dolphins Targeting RB In 2016 NFL Draft


Ezekiel Elliott is widely considered the top running back prospect in the 2016 NFL Draft and the Miami Dolphins appear to have major interest in him. After losing out on Lamar Miller in free agency and seeing the Denver Broncos match an offer sheet to C.J. Anderson, the Dolphins are in need of a new starter.

According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, the Dolphins have switched their attention to the draft and Elliott is the main name mentioned.

Drafting Elliott would make perfect sense for the Dolphins. He is without question capable of stepping into a starting role in his rookie season and would help take a lot of pressure off of Ryan Tannehill. One could even go as far as to say that Elliott will be a better fit in Adam Gase’s offensive system than Miller would have been.

Last season as a member of the Ohio State Buckeyes, Elliott put together a big statistical season. He carried the football 289 times for 1,821 yards and 23 touchdowns. Those numbers were not quite good enough to make him the Heisman Trophy winner, but he was in the running all season long.

At 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, Elliott will possess the physical and speed combination necessary to be an every down running back in the NFL.

Miami is hoping to make a push into the playoff picture in 2016 and have put together a very talented roster thus far. Mario Williams was signed to improve the Dolphins’ pass rush and Miami will still have one of the best wide receivers in the league with Jarvis Landry. Adding a ground game is the only thing that the Dolphins have to do in order to make their offense dangerous.

Ezekiel Elliott would be a perfect fit for the Miami Dolphins.
[Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]
Looking ahead to the NFL Draft, the Dolphins currently hold the No. 13 overall pick. There is a chance that Elliott will still be available, although there are a couple of teams ahead of them that could show interest in him as well.

Chris Burke of Sports Illustrated has the Dolphins taking Elliott with the No. 13 pick in his latest mock draft.

Simply watching Elliott at Ohio State made scouts and analysts believe that he will be a star at the next level. There is no way to argue that he has one of the best work ethics of any running back that has come out recently. Elliott has a drive and passion for the game that not many players ever find.

Ohio State saw Elliott carry their offense last season when Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett struggled. Urban Meyer had no other option but to utilize Elliott as a workhorse. Even with the added attention that defenses threw his way, Elliott still found ways to make big plays and keep his team competitive.

Big Ten defenses are not easy to run on and Elliott still was able to put up consistently big production. He doesn’t have question marks surrounding him heading into the draft.

The Miami Dolphins could end up drafting Ezekiel Elliott.
[Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]
All of that being said, the stage has been set for a lot of action throughout the 2016 NFL Draft. Almost every team has a position or two that they have to improve in the draft. Miami’s position is obviously running back and there is a chance that they could pursue a trade up in order to snag Elliott.

Gase and the Miami offense could be lethal if they make the right moves and adding Elliott is one of them.

It will be intriguing to see whether the Dolphins are able to draft Elliott or not. They are obviously one of the most interested teams at this point in time, but other teams could start showing interest as the draft continues to draw closer.

Do you think that Ezekiel Elliott would be the piece that the Miami Dolphins need? Would he be a legitimate candidate to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award?

[Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images]

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