That he does, he does as much in the passing game alone as Allen and Williams and makes a pittance of what they make.
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums
Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.
RB Austin Ekeler, WAS (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Ketamine Dreams
- Start date
is there really a huge glut though? Jacobs is off the board, there's some decent guys like Montgomery, Damien Harris, Sanders, etc. And then the draft has one stud, one smallish top tier back and then some other late 2nd or 3rd round guys with potential but who knows if they'll work out.
Hot Sauce Guy
Footballguy
Chabonet, Tucker, Evans, and several other rookie RB could come in and take the between the tackles role while Kelley could take over the receiving role
There’s also Mattison, who would be a fantastic fit in the Chargers offense. Monty is a very good back, and Sanders is the most like Eke of the bunch.
So yes - there is a glut. At least enough of one to negate most of Eke’s leverage. Likely why he’s asking to be traded since he knows the Chargers are unlikely to pay him. I’m betting his trade market is fairly soft as well.
Well i guess we'll have to agree to disagree on the value of those guys you mentioned. think they're all decent but not close to replacements for Ekeler.
ghostguy123
Footballguy
It would be a home run landing spot even if Ekeler is still there. Not ideal for year 1 but still very good, then great after this year
Hot Sauce Guy
Footballguy
I’m not saying they are replacement level talent. I neither agreed nor disagreed with that statement.
I’m saying their availability takes away Ekeler’s leverage.
That’s an entirely different statement. You’re welcome to agree to disagree with that one though.
Hot Sauce Guy
Footballguy
If Eke is gone it’s an absolute jackpot landing spot - not only do they throw to the RB & use them extensively in the RZ, the entire offense is build around that role.
I agree and already had plans if they drafted Bijan or Gibbs to quickly shoot over offers in hopes people in position to draft them don't see the big picture.
i guess i wasn't arguing against it taking away his leverage but more that this year is not a huge glut of talent that significantly impacts his value more than any other year
Hot Sauce Guy
Footballguy
Fair to question - I believe there’s a larger number of talented backs available than years past. We came up with a pretty good combined list.
They could also draft Bijan and deal Eke. My question is how soft his trade value will be considering the FAs and rookies.
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
Ummmm....
BassNBrew
Footballguy
Ypc pretty close on 1/3 of the carries. 1/3 is getting pretty significant.
ghostguy123
Footballguy
Ekeler does other things great......right?
BassNBrew
Footballguy
Catches passes at .5 ypc less than Kelley.
To be fair Ek has a much higher catch percentage. I’m not arguing Kelley is better, just that the drop off from a $10 million a year rb to $1 million is much less than that drop at other positions
ghostguy123
Footballguy
Sure, if you want to be average everywhere, you can pay a lot less at every position.
Not saying give him some stupid deal, but people are undervaluing him here.
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
I'm not sure how we could actually really prove this one way or the other, so I'll drop it after your response, but ypc in such a small sample size is irrelevant, and the rushing stats are only a small part of it anyway. Ekeler's a far bigger threat in the passing game.
ghostguy123
Footballguy
I am guessing the most likely outcome is Ekeler plays his deal out on the Chargers, And this is a big nothingburger.
Unless a team actually offers a 2nd or whatever, then he's probably gone.
Unless a team actually offers a 2nd or whatever, then he's probably gone.
Hot Sauce Guy
Footballguy
I agree with this. I just don’t see how he has the leverage to pry any more money out of the chargers, and I don’t really see any other team overpaying for him in a trade at his age.
BassNBrew
Footballguy
Sample size is getting up there rushing wise. Agreed Ekeler is a far bigger passing threat. I was surprised how many Carries Kelley had last year. Eke wasn’t treated like a bell cow. Likely the Chargers system more so than Eke’s ability, but here we are.
Tau837
Footballguy
Come on, man. "Not much of a drop off to Kelley" is a really bad take. You are not looking at the right metrics or considering the right context. Is this a schtick response?
BassNBrew
Footballguy
Why did the Chargers give Kelley 25% of the carries (and he missed 4 games) when pretty much every game mattered? That split for the Raiders was about 6% to Bolden. Please why a team would settle for such a big drop off one of every four plays?
Now if you do come up with an explanation, please also explain why said team would re-negotiate a contract of that player.
Unwrittenlaw
Footballguy
Most likely will get the Bell treatment. Will they just tag him in 2024 after his contract is up next year? It would be dumb for the Chargers to trade him this year and draft a rookie RB. Better spent on a TE they need. I don't really like the 2nd/3rd rd RB draft options this year.
Tau837
Footballguy
1. The Chargers had 360 rushing attempts by RBs in 18 games last season. Ekeler had 217 (60.3%). Kelley, the RB2, had 76 (21.1%). I don't see anything remarkable about that.
2. The Chargers gave their RBs 535 touch opportunities -- 360 rushing attempts and 170 targets. Ekeler had 348 (65.0%). Kelley, the RB2, had 102 (19.1%). Again, I don't see anything remarkable about that... and I see a reason for Kelley to have 21% of the rushing attempts, given that Ekeler had 131 targets to go along with his 217 carries.
3. Not a big needle mover, but Ekeler played less than usual in the week 18 game, which didn't matter to the Chargers. He had 15 opportunities, less than his average per game (19.3), while Kelley had 9 opportunities, greater than his average (5.7).
4. Most importantly, the Chargers had an incompetent OC last season, which is why he was fired immediately after the season. He has now been replaced by Kellen Moore, who is proven to be a better OC. So any questionable usage choices were suspect and should not be repeated.
Because:
1. In the past 4 seasons, he has finished in the top 10 in receptions (across all positions) 2 times, top 10 in YFS 3 times, and #1 in TDs 2 times. These finishes would be more impressive had he not missed 6 games due to injury in 2020.
2. He is the #7 active player in YPC and #9 in yards per touch.
3. He is a highly respected player in the locker room, especially as a UDFA who worked his *** off to become one of the best RBs in the league. And especially at his size, which meant he had to work even harder.
4. And, practically, giving him an extension means lowering his cap number in 2023, which helps the team in its current "all in" approach to 2023.
Any questions?
Hot Sauce Guy
Footballguy
With Bijan on the board why would that be dumb? They might get a need position for him & they’d save a bunch of money.
Tau837
Footballguy
So you assume he will be on the board at #21? I'm skeptical. If he isn't on the board, how dumb would it be?
Wigglytuff's Gruff
Footballguy
I'm with you brother.
Great in fantasy, decent receiving game weapon, below par rusher. Not the sort of player you trade anything of value for, or even necessarily give a decent contract to in my opinion.
Da Franchise
Footballguy
He’s been granted permission to seek a trade. I can’t imagine he’s as valuable on any other team, but Miami stands out as a place he could still rack up the fantasy points. Hoping for that!
Tau837
Footballguy
Surely the Chargers would not trade him to the Bills, Chiefs, Broncos, Bengals, or Dolphins. If the Bears were to be interested and willing to make a reasonable offer, that should be the target from among these teams.
Da Franchise
Footballguy
Yuck.
Unwrittenlaw
Footballguy
Wonders if the Rams would be interested
Hot Sauce Guy
Footballguy
Would love to see the Chargers draft Bijan.
make it so.gif
make it so.gif
Nick Vermeil
Footballguy
As much as I would like him to remain a Charger, I'm thinking he ends up in Chicago. He'd fit well there methinks.
JohnnyU
Footballguy
He won’t like cold weather.
He grew up and played college football in northern Colorado
I think he'll be okay
Stinkin Ref
IBL Representative
he did play high school ball in northern CO....in the town I live in (Eaton)....no real weather issues as the high school football season is over by late November....but he played college ball in Gunnison which is indeed one of the coldest places in the state....the town sits in a bowl and the temps are bone chilling...dude is pretty good friends with my kids....long snapper for the Raiders is also from our town...
JohnnyU
Footballguy
Can we throw Spiller in the trash?
Hot Sauce Guy
Footballguy
Seems like a safe bet since he was beat out by Kelley pretty soundly.
Deep bench probably a hold. Ya never know.
brewer
Footballguy
Arian Foster comes to mind as another undrafted RB who was pretty great for a short period but yes, Ekeler has to be on that list.
JohnnyU
Footballguy
So does Priest Holmes
Tau837
Footballguy
He's not even the biggest draft miss that signed as a UDFA with the Chargers. That is Antonio Gates.
Tau837
Footballguy
It is reasonable to view him as a long shot to ascend to a fantasy meaningful role, but keep in mind he was injured during preseason and the early regular season last year, which limited his opportunity to compete. Agree he is a hold.
