Tag: Chargers Running Back

Report: Chargers RB Austin Ekeler suffered ‘serious hamstring injury’, likely headed to IR

The Los Angeles Chargers will be without one of their top offensive weapons.

The Chargers lost another key player Sunday.

Running back Austin Ekeler suffered a serious hamstring injury, and while we don’t know the actual diagnosis, it’s likely that he will be placed on the injured reserve with the hope of returning later in the season, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

Ekeler was carted into the locker room late in the first quarter of the loss to the Buccaneers. He never returned, and following the game, coach Anthony Lynn said the injury “looked pretty bad.”

Losing Ekeler will be huge, as he’s been one of the team’s top offensive weapons. In his absence, Justin Jackson and Joshua Kelley will carry the load.

Chargers taking hot-hand approach with backfield

Chargers running back Justin Jackson should be back in the mix.

The Chargers have flourished on the ground in the first three games of the season, averaging 151.7 rushing yards per game and 4.3 yards per carry.

The majority of the work has been comprised by running backs Austin Ekeler and Joshua Kelley while Justin Jackson has missed the past two contests with a quad injury.

After two weeks of being sidelined, Jackson is heading towards making a return this Sunday against the Buccaneers.

At Wednesday’s media availability, coach Anthony Lynn said Jackson is “going to work today.” Lynn added the team will have a package of plays for the third-year back going forward, and if he plays well, he’ll stay in and play more frequently.

To some, this may come as a surprise when considering how well Kelley has played in the RB2 role. But the team’s intentions were to include Jackson in the rotation when he regained full health.

Jackson is a bit more of a pass-catcher than Kelley, which helps his case. Kelly, on the other hand, is more of a downhill runner and has been their goal-line guy.

Fantasy owners of either Jackson or Kelley should be intrigued to see how the touch total shakes up this weekend against the Buccaneers, assuming the former Northwestern product will be a full go.

This also all depends on the offensive production. If Los Angeles is able to control the game script, unlike in Week 3, then there will be more opportunities for the backs.

Chargers promote RB Darius Bradwell to active roster

The Chargers filled the void of running back Justin Jackson.

The Chargers have promoted running back Darius Bradwell from the practice to the active roster, the team announced Saturday.

The move came a day after RB Justin Jackson was listed as doubtful for Sunday’s matchup against the Chiefs.

Bradwell, one of the Hard Knocks favorites, signed as an undrafted free agent out of Tulane. He didn’t make the 53-man roster, but he was signed to the practice squad.

Bradwell ran for 2,062 yards and 17 touchdowns on 289 career in his college career.

Report: Chargers to bring in pair of running backs for workout

The Los Angeles Chargers are looking to bring in a running back to potentially fill the void of injured Justin Jackson.

According to NFL Media’s Tom Pellisero, the Chargers are bringing in running backs Jordan Scarlett and Brian Herrien for a workout.

The move comes after RB Justin Jackson left the season opener against the Bengals with a quad injury.

Coach Anthony Lynn said that he was unsure how severe Jackson’s injury was, and that the team was going to take it day-by-day.

The Panthers selected Scarlett in the fifth-round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Scarlett appeared in nine games as a rookie, mainly contributing on special teams.

Herrien signed with the Browns as an undrafted free agent this past April. In four years at Georgia, he averaged 5.1 yards per carry, with 277 carries for 1,413 yards and 13 touchdowns, adding 28 receptions for 167 yards and two touchdowns.

Chargers RB Joshua Kelley flourishes in NFL debut

The Los Angeles Chargers’ fourth-round pick had himself a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Chargers rookie running back Joshua Kelley received a lot of praise out of training camp.

The team’s fourth-round pick showed exactly why the coaching staff and players raved about him in the season opener against the Bengals.

After the passing game was nearly nonexistent, Los Angeles resorted to the running game, which was led by RB Austin Ekeler.

It wasn’t until late in second quarter when Kelley stepped on the field for the first time. His first two carries combined for seven yards.

Right after the half, the offense immediately went with the ground game. Ekeler received a pair of carries before Kelley raised some eyebrows, taking the ball up the gut for a 26-yard gain.

The carries that the former UCLA product followed up with, including his five-yard touchdown, exemplified the type of back he is: a win-at-all cost runner with cutting ability, body control, vision and toughness.

Kelley finished the game with 12 carries for 60 yards and a score.

Coach Anthony Lynn credited Kelley, saying that he didn’t think the Chargers would have won Sunday if they didn’t have him on the field.

Kelley’s performance and the fact that Justin Jackson is struggling to stay injury-free likely signifies that he will have an increased workload as the No. 2 back behind Ekeler moving forward.

“When my number gets called, I have to make the most of my opportunities,” Kelley said.

Chargers’ Joshua Kelley in ideal situation among NFL’s rookie running backs

Los Angeles Chargers running back Joshua Kelley has the opportunity to become the team’s feature back.

No one expected the Chargers to take a running back as early as they did when other positions like offensive tackle, wide receiver or cornerback had yet to be addressed.

Even though Melvin Gordon and the franchise parted ways, it was thought that they would be able to get away with Austin Ekeler, Justin Jackson and potentially a late rounder or undrafted free agent to fill the void.

But when Los Angeles saw former UCLA RB Joshua Kelley sitting on the board in the fourth-round with the No. 112 overall selection, they couldn’t pass up on the opportunity.

Kelley joins Ekeler and Jackson as part of the backfield committee. While it may seem like the rookie will be the odd man out, he’s actually in one of the better situations among the rest of the first-year backs.

Pro Football Focus ranked the situations for the league’s 2020 rookie running backs, and Kelley was listed as being in the ninth-best circumstances:

Kelley offers a distinctly different body type and skillset from starter Austin Ekeler. Even with Melvin Gordon out the first four weeks of last season, Ekeler commanded only 14 carries per game while backup Justin Jackson saw five-plus carries in each of those outings when healthy. The issue here could be simply taking carries away from Jackson, who earned a 78.1 rushing grade on 50 carries in 2018 before an 89.5 rushing grade on 29 carries in an injury-shortened 2019.

Kelley has the chance to receive the majority of the carries. Even though Ekeler sits atop of the depth chart, the team wants to utilize his versatility to line up all over the formation. As for Jackson, who’s coming off a season that was hampered by an injury, durability concerns loom.

I mentioned before that Kelley continues to only being seen as just a short-yardage specialist by many, but I believe he’s going to be used more than that over time.

While Kelley has the power to run through defenders, which would come in handy in those situations, he also has good change-of-direction, vision, burst, decent speed and passing game ability to make an impact on any down.

Kelley showed that he is capable of taking on a big load for the Bruins in 2018 and 2019, receiving 225 and 229 touches, respectively, making the most with them by posting 1,000-plus rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns in both seasons.

For someone that has that type of production and was taken that high over other positions of need, they’re certainly seen as more than just a bruiser who receives 5-10 carries per game.

I expect the Chargers to have a committee approach for their backfield early on in the season. But don’t be surprised if it’s Kelley that receives the bulk of the carries down the road, especially if Jackson is unable to stay healthy.

Chargers RB Austin Ekeler proving there is no offseason

Check out some of these insane workout clips from Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Ekeler.

While many NFL players are using this time to unwind after the long 2019 regular season, Chargers running back Austin Ekeler is already using this time to gear up for the 2020 campaign.

Ekeler, who has been active on his personal Twitter account as of late, has been frequently posting some of his workouts.

Some of the exercises have consisted of standard exercises like barbell squats.

Then you get more into muscle-ups using a standard bar, which is not an easy exercise by any means.

What can’t Ekeler do? These ring pull-ups with the legs straight up are a killer.

On the field, you’d see Ekeler burn defenders with speed, wiggle and elusiveness, but hardly would you ever see him hurdle them. The 5-foot-10 and 201 pound back recently showed that he could so if need be with this insane jump lunge.

Ekeler was phenomenal for the Chargers this past season, racking up 557 yards rushing, 993 yards receiving, and 11 touchdowns. He is set to be a restricted free agent, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if they put at least a second-round tender to secure him.