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RB Austin Ekeler, WAS (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Ketamine Dreams
- Start date
FairWarning
Footballguy
Very low
FairWarning
Footballguy
How about Estime from ND?
Looks like a round 4 guy to me. A little one dimensional. Definitely helped himself in that Stanford game though.
fightingillini
Footballguy
Practically zero. LAC needs to move on and address other needs.
JohnnyU
Footballguy
Henderson is very good and proved it after he got over the nagging injuries later in the year. How quickly we get prospect fatigue and forget just how good Henderson is. He's got the speed, vision and receiving chops you want from a RB and is built for a heavy workload.
Tau837
Footballguy
JohnnyU
Footballguy
Kind of like picking the ugliest girl at closing time.
Zero chance Ekeler is on Chargers next year unless he retires and Chargers beg him to come out of retirement for 10 million. He hinted at retirement on his podcast and that he and his lady are thinking about his future in the offseason. He said he is either going into media or going all out NFL for another 2 years. He hasn't been utilized like previous years.
Every game I watched him in this years, he is wide open for 5 or 6 yard dump offs and gets ignored all day by his QB. I don't think he is like his predecessor Melvin Gordon on the fall off a cliff skill level. Ekeler still has some game left in him..and even crazier apparently Gordon does too!
Every game I watched him in this years, he is wide open for 5 or 6 yard dump offs and gets ignored all day by his QB. I don't think he is like his predecessor Melvin Gordon on the fall off a cliff skill level. Ekeler still has some game left in him..and even crazier apparently Gordon does too!
Tau837
Footballguy
I had forgotten about the incentives that were added to Ekeler's contract before the season. He hits his first incentive for yardage at 1125 YFS (needs 246 more yards to get there) and 10 TDs (needs 4 TDs to get there). It really isn't in the Chargers' best interest to let him reach either one, though the amounts are not substantial in the big picture. Combining that with the fact that Ekeler is going to be gone and they should try to get more of a look at Spiller, my expectations for Ekeler over the last 3 games are low.
LawFitz
Footballguy
Bush league organization doing bush league things to save a couple bush bucks.
-OZ-
Footballguy
Interesting. I was starting to think he’d be a good play with the new coach as that coach is basically auditioning for a promotion next year. No chance of him getting a HC gig, but then it would also be really surprising to see a team make him DC given how bad the chargers D has been.
Tau837
Footballguy
The Chargers just released Sebastian Joseph-Day, an IDL player under contract through 2024, but a likely cap casualty this offseason.
I figured he would be released this offseason but was surprised to see him released this week. It was pointed out elsewhere that this could be the team doing him a favor, giving him a chance to be picked up by a contender and make the playoffs while possibly auditioning in a better situation for his next contract. His 2023 salary is guaranteed, so he won’t lose any money. But if a team picks him up, it will cover his last 2-3 weeks of salary rather than the Chargers. So possibly good for the player and the Chargers.
It occurred to me that the same logic could be applied to Ekeler. No sign that it will be, but I never expected this with SJD either.
I figured he would be released this offseason but was surprised to see him released this week. It was pointed out elsewhere that this could be the team doing him a favor, giving him a chance to be picked up by a contender and make the playoffs while possibly auditioning in a better situation for his next contract. His 2023 salary is guaranteed, so he won’t lose any money. But if a team picks him up, it will cover his last 2-3 weeks of salary rather than the Chargers. So possibly good for the player and the Chargers.
It occurred to me that the same logic could be applied to Ekeler. No sign that it will be, but I never expected this with SJD either.
Tau837
Footballguy
The Chargers season is a disaster. The only things within their control that make sense to do now are these:
- Preserve whatever cap space they can to roll over to 2024 and help with their cap challenge. Not a lot to do here, but not paying incentives helps a little. Moves like releasing SJD (see previous post) could help.
- Get the best draft position possible. This requires losing, which I can't root for, and I don't expect the players and coaches to go along with, but it is in the team's best interest.
- Reduce playing time for players not expected to be part of the Chargers future in favor of playing younger players who may or will be with the team in 2024. Get them game reps and let them put those on film for the next coaching staff.
Per my previous post, the best thing for Ekeler right now would seem to be for the Chargers to release him. There is no doubt in my mind a contender would snap him up immediately... there might be a bidding war. He would be more likely to hit those incentives if he was playing for a better team, such as KC with Mahomes at QB instead of the Chargers with Stick and a dead man walking coaching staff.
The only thing negative about the early release strategy is that it could negatively affect the Chargers comp pick formula. I'm skeptical Ekeler will sign for a large enough contract to have much of an impact there, but it presumably wouldn't be zero impact. Maybe a 6th round comp pick? That would probably be the reason not to do what I mentioned here.
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Ilov80s
Footballguy
Given how he has been recently, this was a good showing. It's just clear he is not long for the NFL at this point.
JohnnyU
Footballguy
You have to dance with the date you brought to the prom. That doesn't make her the prettiest girl at the prom however.
Raleigh Engineers
Footballguy
Anyone starting him in the championship game in week 17? I'm leaning Ekeler over Ty Chandler and Dionte Johnson.
Pietaster2
Footballguy
That rushing matchup against the Broncos is very appealing, since they allow more yards to RBs than any defense in the league. Ekeler hasn’t looked awful over the last few games. I’m coming around to starting him over a banged up Mostert in a rough Ravens matchup.
My only concern is if the broncos are going to stack the box with Allen and Palmer out and Easton Stick behind center. But their rushing defense is such garbage; maybe it won’t matter?
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
I have to put him at one of my flex positions due to injuries at WR. While he wasn’t hugely productive last week, the usage was encouraging and hopefully we’ll see more of that.
-OZ-
Footballguy
Currently he’s in over Diontae and K Walker. But I keep mentally flipping between the 3.
FairWarning
Footballguy
I probably would also
togo
Footballguy
I have:
Breece Hall
Rachaad White
Jonathan Taylor
Austin Ekeler
Ty Chandler
Starting 3 of them.
Already started Hall
Looking to start White and Taylor.
But I have this weird feeling that Ekeler explodes?
We heard a few weeks ago, "going with the hot hand" and there was 3 backs sharing the load however after firing Staley last week it seemed back to normal in touches for him...Hmmmmmm...
vs. Denver poor running D (although better the last few weeks) ......but......
Breece Hall
Rachaad White
Jonathan Taylor
Austin Ekeler
Ty Chandler
Starting 3 of them.
Already started Hall
Looking to start White and Taylor.
But I have this weird feeling that Ekeler explodes?
We heard a few weeks ago, "going with the hot hand" and there was 3 backs sharing the load however after firing Staley last week it seemed back to normal in touches for him...Hmmmmmm...
vs. Denver poor running D (although better the last few weeks) ......but......
jm192
Footballguy
Definitely Taylor and White.I have:
Breece Hall
Rachaad White
Jonathan Taylor
Austin Ekeler
Ty Chandler
Starting 3 of them.
Already started Hall
Looking to start White and Taylor.
But I have this weird feeling that Ekeler explodes?
We heard a few weeks ago, "going with the hot hand" and there was 3 backs sharing the load however after firing Staley last week it seemed back to normal in touches for him...Hmmmmmm...
vs. Denver poor running D (although better the last few weeks) ......but......
They are giving enough work to the other backs to limit his rushing upside. You're almost left hoping for a bunch of dumpoffs. Which could happen, but you've got better and safer options.
jm192
Footballguy
non-existent.
fantasycurse42
Footballguy Jr.
Time to retire, washed bum.
dipandglide
Footballguy
The cliff comes fast
Wouldn't go THAT far, but he's clearly lost multiple steps.
He's still likely a good RBBC/3rd down RB for a contender, ala McKinnon, but better.
I’m not as down on him for 2024 as others are. Was kind of a perfect “shiotstorm” for him in 2023. Ankle injury which he never seemed to recover from. OL was a disaster and then Herbert goes out and the entire defense moved up closer to the LOS.
Will wait and see where he ends up in 2024 but should be good value in redraft. Think he is far from McKinnon type value.
Will wait and see where he ends up in 2024 but should be good value in redraft. Think he is far from McKinnon type value.
Landing spot will be key of course, but I totally agree that the situation was most of the reason for production decline. I don’t expect top 5 seasons, but he should be plenty good for another year or 2.
JohnnyU
Footballguy
You may be right. I felt the same way about James Conner and thought he was done a couple of years ago.
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JohnnyU
Footballguy
Outside of Exeler that RB room is probably the worst in the NFL, I don’t care what the coach says. If Exeler leaves, the starting RB currently isn’t on the team.
Tau837
Footballguy
IMO there is a pretty good chance that the Chargers sign Gus Edwards to be part of a committee. Edwards will be released by Baltimore, where Chargers GM Hortiz came from; played previously for Chargers OC Roman; and should be relatively cheap. I'm not sure if Justice Hill will also be released; if so, I could see the Chargers signing both of them and letting them and Spiller compete for committee reps.
JohnnyU
Footballguy
Kinda meh isn’t it?
Tau837
Footballguy
Edwards and Hill combined for 1583 YFS and 17 TDs last season. The Chargers top 2 RBs last season were Ekeler and Kelley, who combined for 1501/8 and cost a lot more thanks to Ekeler's contract. I'll happily take Edwards and Hill for a season on cheap contracts to help the Chargers get through their 2024 cap challenge.
JohnnyU
Footballguy
A rookie RB helps the 2024 cap challenge doesn't it? They have pick 37 in the 2nd and pick 69 in the 3rd. They could get someone like Jonathan Brooks, Blake Corum, or Trey Benson. Perhaps even a Bucky Irving later. All of which are an upgrade over their current RB room minus Exeler and on a rookie contract. RB is probably the easiest plug and play position in the NFL.
Tau837
Footballguy
Sure, I fully expect them to draft a rookie. But ideally not in the 2nd or 3rd round. Too many other more important needs - C, CB, IDL, TE, WR, FS, LB. And probably Edge since they probably cannot keep both Bosa and Mack. And some would say RT. Their cap and roster situation is a real mess. RB is a position that is easier to solve with veterans cheaply than most of the others I mentioned.
Besides, they need to add 2-3 RBs. As of now, they have only Spiller (who has barely played in 2 seasons) and Dotson and Patterson (practice squad caliber players at best).
JohnnyU
Footballguy
If you really want to call having Spiller having one RB
He is probably garbage. Next year will be a better RB class, so they could wait until next year to go a little higher in the draft for a RB and go with these retreads you mentioned for a year.Ekeler to the Commanders
Hot Sauce Guy
Footballguy
Reunion with Lynn
Kingsbury loves his short passes as well.
