It took one play for Chargers' Kimani Vidal to prove he's the next Austin Ekeler

Lightning may never strike twice, but Chargers running backs do. There have been a lot of great running backs in LA Chargers history, the most recent of which was Austin Ekeler, who left the team after the 2023 season.

Los Angeles replaced Ekeler with J.K. Dobbins, who had an electric start to the 2024 season but cooled off in the team's third and fourth games. His platoon mate, Gus Edwards, was not offering much help as one of the least productive running backs in the league.

The Chargers placed Edwards on the IR leading into Week 6 and it opened the door for the team to activate a rookie running back who fans were clamoring for. Sixth-round pick Kimani Vidal, who is strikingly similar to Ekeler, was active for the first time in his NFL career.

It did not take long for Vidal to make an impression.

Kimani Vidal is the next coming of Austin Ekeler for the Chargers

Those who follow our work at Bolt Beat know how excited we were when the Chargers selected Vidal in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Vidal was circled time and time again as a great fit for the Chargers on day three of the draft and someone in the front office agreed.

Vidal checked many of the same boxes coming out of college as Ekeler. He was an extremely productive running back who played at a small program, hence why his draft stock was not higher. His ability to produce in both the run game and the passing game jumped off the film.

Even Vidal's stature is similar to Ekeler's. Vidal is on the shorter side but makes up for it with his strength and toughness. From a pure football standpoint, Vidal was the closest thing to Ekeler in the 2024 NFL Draft.

It helps that Vidal also chose to wear No. 30 in Los Angeles, which strengthens in the comparison to Ekeler, for obvious reasons.

And in his first-ever NFL touch after being inactive for four games, Vidal lived up to the hype with receiving touchdown on a wheel route that looked painfully similar to something Ekeler used to do for the Chargers.

It is going to take time until Vidal's role in the offense is expanded, especially if Dobbins continues to succeed this season. But with no other backs on longer than one-year deals, it might be safe to say that Vidal is the RB1 of the future for the Chargers.

And just like Ekeler, it may take the rest of the NFL by storm.