Chargers: Austin Ekeler hits milestone in Mile High Stadium

Austin Ekeler is one of the few bright spots of a rough season for the Chargers, having just crossed important milestones for the first time in his career.

“Ignore the statistics. If you’re good enough, you’ll make it.” That’s what Austin Ekeler mentioned over two years ago in an interview with Bolt Beat’s Travis Wakeman, shortly after the undrafted free agent was named to the team’s 53-man roster.

Make it, he has; but this time, we aren’t going to ignore the statistics, because Ekeler just hit two important milestones in his young running back career.

With 132 total yards in Mexico City, No. 30 crossed 1,000 total yards for the first time in his career. With a receiving touchdown against the Broncos, he now has 10 total touchdowns on the season.

And he’s got four games to play.

Though the feel-good story of Ekeler taking over the No. 1 job hit a snag with the return of Melvin Gordon, it hasn’t prevented Ekeler from making the most out of his limited snaps. This is particularly true when he is a receiver, as his 10.4 yards per reception match his career-high even though he’s nearly doubled his career-high reception total (39 to 69 with four games left in 2019).

Gordon has now overtaken Ekeler in yards per carry (surprising, right?), but No. 30 continues to compliment him well in that receiving role. With 718 receiving yards this season and averaging about 60 receiving yards per game, he could surpass 1,000 receiving yards by the end of the year with a slight uptick in his average. Either way, congratulations is in order for the team’s likely Offensive MVP, a player who has done nothing but lead by example, grow as a player, and succeed on the field since he entered the league.