2013 Dynasty League Rookie Draft RB Rankings- Tier 4
Bill Byrne, Rosterwatch.com Featured Analyst

Photo By USA Today

Here are my 2013 fantasy RB rookie rankings of heading into NFL pro-day season. Tiers 1, 2 and 3 can be found at the following links.

2013 Rookie RB Rankings Tier 1
2013 Rookie RB Rankings Tier 2
Dynasty League Rookie Draft RB Rankings- Tier 3
Dynasty League Rookie Draft RB Rankings- Tier 4

Here we rank Tier 4.

These rankings will bear little relation to which round I might think these guys will be drafted in. They are strictly evaluations for fantasy dynasty purposes, and are subject to radical adjustments post-draft depending on the situation they are drafted into.

15. Kenjon Barner, Oregon, 5’9 ¼”, 196 pounds, 4.52 – Barner lacks the size and lower body strength to be any kind of a pile pusher. He displays nimble feet to make quick cuts and change directions smoothly, but his overall strength as runner is disappointing. In the open field, he generally lets his blockers set up and reads the blocks correctly. He’s good at finding cutback lanes and his offensive line at Oregon usually opened up big ones for him. His problem is that he almost always tries to bounce his runs to the outside. He shows very little discipline for taking the run between the tackles where it was intended to go. He occasionally lacks patience and recognition skills, sometimes running right up the backs of his blockers because he did not anticipate holes opening. As a runner, Barner is a glider who just doesn’t seem to run with much toughness. As a back known for his speed, his ability to do well in pass-protection could be his ticket to getting on the field on third downs in the NFL. While very inexperienced, he stood out in the pass protection drills at the Senior Bowl. Still, his blocking will be impeded by his lack of core body strength. He is a reliable pass catcher who is comfortable catching with his hands, and he has experience running routes both from split end position and from the backfield. He was a very effective receiver of screen passes and swing passes for the Ducks.
 Barner is strictly a finesse, speed back who can add value on passing downs, but most likely his only immediate contribution will be in the return game, where he will be able to put his speed and lateral quickness to good use.  



16. Andre Ellington, Clemson – 5’9 1/4”, 199 pounds, 4.61 – Andre Ellington is a back with natural athleticism and instinctiveness. He runs with short, choppy steps and has impressive plant-and-go ability to quickly accelerate to top speed. While lacking elite top speed, he does show the ability to occasionally break into the open for a long run as he does possess some slippery elusiveness along with a second gear to pull away from defenders once he gets into the open field. Although he keeps shoulders low, Ellington struggles to keep his feet on contact and has limited ability to run through tackles. His vision is not as good as many of the other smaller running backs in 2013’s draft class. He lacks patience to set up his blocks, many times running right by them and sometimes missing the open hole. He’s far too eager to bounce runs outside. 
Ellington lacks much college experience in the passing game, and was used mainly on screen passes. He doesn’t appear to like catching the football outside of his frame. Ellington needs to significantly improve his technique if he is to become a third-down back in the NFL. He struggles to sustain his blocks and is not aggressive when meeting blitzers head on.
Ellington will likely be purely a situational back and never be asked to carry a load in the NFL. He has experience as a kick returner, where he can use his natural ability to turn any run into a touchdown to his advantage. 



Finally, after much thought, I decided not to rank Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina 5‘11 ¼”, 221 at all.

When he was healthy, the pure talent was undeniable. But he wasn’t the same back after suffering his first major knee injury. His second one tore all three major ligaments (ACL, LCL, and PCL) in a gruesome full dislocation, and was said by Dr. James Andrews to be the toughest knee reconstruction he has ever done. I know that both Lattimore and Andrews are saying that his recovery is going ahead of schedule, but what does that really mean? While Lattimore is great character person who I believe may have been a Top 15 overall pick if he didn’t suffer the injuries, I doubt he’ll ever become the special franchise back that he could’ve been.