The Los Angeles Chargers are still fully recuperating from the poor decisions of the Tom Telesco and Brandon Staley era. Jim Harbaugh came in last offseason with Joe Hortiz and made an immediate impact, but there is still plenty of work to do.
One of the big decisions that the new regime made upon their arrival was to let running back Austin Ekeler walk in free agency and replace him with J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards. This combination did not necessarily light the world on fire either, but moving on from Ekeler was the right choice.
Ekeler was certainly a fan favorite there for some years, as his rise from an undrafted Division II player to starting running back was considered inspiring. However, it became clear after some years that Ekeler being the Chargers' primary running back was not exactly a recipe for success.
Chargers fans can only laugh as Commanders relying on Austin Ekeler to be RB1
While Ekeler is an elite pass-catcher at the position and can have some success on the ground, he is not a workhorse No. 1 running back that teams need to succeed in the NFL. His new team, the Washington Commanders, is about to learn this painful truth about him.
On Friday, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported that the Commanders were trading starting running back Brian Robinson Jr. to the San Francisco 49ers. This now means that Ekeler will be the first-string running back in Washington.
Luckily for the Commanders, they have emerging players like Bill Croskey-Merritt and Jeremy McNichols to ease the load on Ekeler, but he'll still garner a majority of the snaps. His history with the Chargers indicates that this is a bad idea.
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In his seven years in Los Angeles, Ekeler led the team in touches five times. During the two seasons that he was in more of a supporting role with Melvin Gordon, the team had two winning campaigns and made the playoffs one time.
During the five seasons he led the team in touches, the Chargers only had two winning campaigns and made the playoffs one time. When he left Los Angeles this offseason, the team's rushing attack instantly improved, and the team had a winning record and went to the playoffs.
Washington had Ekeler in a supporting role for Robinson in 2024, and the Commanders were able to go 12-5 and advance to the NFC Championship. He even earned a spot on the All-Pro Second-Team as a kick returner last season.
While Ekeler can be a key contributor as a rotational running back on a successful team, history would indicate that a team with him as its bellcow player is somewhat doomed. Chargers fans are not cheering against him, but they've seen this play out before.