Chargers’ undrafted free agent running back Elijah Dotson has secured a spot on the 53-man roster post-cutdowns, per Aaron Wilson.
Elijah Dotson has made the #Chargers initial 53-man roster, per a league source
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) August 29, 2023
Dotson put up 146 yards in the preseason on 18 carries, averaging eight yards per attempt. A lot of those yards did come from his two explosive touchdown runs in the Rams game. That seems to be what initially caught the coaching staff’s attention anyway.
Dotson becomes the first undrafted free agent running back to make the roster since Austin Ekeler in 2017.
But Dotson was no slouch in the other preseason games. While there were no big highlight runs, Dotson averaged 4.5 yards per carry and contributed on special teams.
Of course, the roster is still in flux. As seen with Breiden Fehoko last offseason, plenty of moves can still be made after the finalization of the roster. Nothing is set in stone. Jalen Guyton and Otito Ogbonnia will also still have to come off of the PUP list at some point after Week 4. Two roster spots will need to be cleared at some point for them.
That said, making the initial 53-man is a huge win for an undrafted player like Dotson. It certainly signifies the Chargers felt he was too valuable to leave to chance on post-cut waivers.
We’ll have to see how the season plays out, but Dotson could certainly play himself into a special teams promotional role this year like Larry Rountree did previously. With Joshua Kelley and Austin Ekeler likely departing after this year, the Chargers probably don’t want to shed too much future running back talent.