Stepfan Taylor

The Cardinals picked up Taylor and Andre Ellington in the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively, of the 2013 NFL Draft. While Ellington was a revelation as a rookie, averaging 5.5 YPC as a complement to primary running back Rashard Mendenhall, Taylor received just 44 combined touches out of the backfield. Following Mendenhall's retirement and Ryan Williams' departure in free agency, Taylor was poised for a much larger share of the RB workload last year, but a lingering tendon issue in Ellington's left foot didn't afford Taylor valuable reps until the former was lost for the season after hernia surgery on Dec. 8. The expected development didn't come to pass, as Kerwynn Williams received a surprise start in Week 14 and responded with a 100-yard effort on the ground. Over the course of the final four games, Williams took 53 carries for 246 yards (4.6 YPC), while Taylor played second fiddle, earning 38 runs for 125 yards (3.3 YPC). After adding David and Chris Johnson to the running-back mix, Taylor can't expect touches to be a consistent occurrence in the fall.

Stanford's career leader in rushing yards (4,300) and touchdowns (40, plus five receiving), Taylor had a quiet rookie season, seeing minimal work and producing just 3.2 YPC while Andre Ellington – selected a round after him – exploded onto the scene in the second half of the year. He's now the backup to Ellington essentially by default, as the Cardinals chose to let Ryan Williams go over the offseason, while Rashard Mendenhall retired. Of course, last year's sample doesn't amount to a body of work, so it remains to be seen what Taylor can do with consistent touches. We'll find out this year, as the Cardinals don't want to overwork the undersized Ellington, meaning they should consistently find 5-10 touches per game for Taylor. And if Ellington goes down, only the less-than-exciting Jonathan Dwyer will stand in Taylor's way. While he's not the fastest running back out there, Taylor has great vision and patience, and is a sure-handed receiver who can produce in PPR formats if he can find the playing time.

The Cardinals' fifth-round draft pick, Taylor is Stanford's career-leader in rushing yards (4,300) and total touchdowns (45). Taylor is not a bruising back, but at 5-9, 214, he's not small, either, and his quick feet and perpetually churning legs allow him to evade and drive through defenders when going between the tackles. The Arizona backfield is crowded with former Steelers workhorse Rashard Mendenhall, the likely starter, Ryan Williams, and fellow rookie Andre Ellington, but Taylor has promise as the first skill player drafted in the Bruce Arians era. Moreover, Mendenhall and Williams carry durability questions, making Taylor an intriguing prospect, even if he enters the season third on the depth chart.