Ranking LA Chargers rookies on 2020 impact: 3. Joshua Kelley
Joshua Kelley was an interesting pick for the LA Chargers. Not only is he a hometown player, going to UCLA and growing up in Inglewood, but many Charger fans did not expect the team to pick a running back as early as they did.
We definitely had a running back on almost every mock draft heading into the 2020 NFL Draft, but not this soon in the draft, especially with the team trading its second and third-round pick.
However, the Chargers really liked Kelley and picked him over other positions of need, such as wide receiver. Kelly is now going to compete against Justin Jackson for the RB2 position and be a facet of the offense regardless in some capacity.
I do think that Jackson is going to win the RB2 job as he is one of the players on the Chargers that is benefitting from no preseason games. As long as he stays healthy, that is going to limit Kelley in the offense in his rookie season.
However, that limit is still going to produce decent numbers as Kelley should be turned to in short-yardage situations. As good as Austin Ekeler is, he is not good in short-yardage and in goal-line carries and while Jackson will be used in some of those instances, it does not hurt to switch things up and use a bruiser like Kelley.
He will do just fine as a rotational running back and if Ekeler or Jackson get hurt, Kelley is the one rookie that can far exceed expectations, in my opinion.