As the Los Angeles Chargers prepare for this year’s postseason, their running back room remains shorthanded. Although J.K. Dobbins returned in Week 17 against the New England Patriots, his position-mate, Gus Edwards, was unable to suit up due to an ankle injury. Things can never go easy for the AFC West team from Los Angeles.
Edwards hasn’t returned to practice yet, either.
While Dobbins has certainly contributed more to the overall run-game of the Chargers this season, Edwards is the guy who excels in short-yardage situations. This should come as little surprise, being Edwards has over 20 pounds of weight on his running back counterpart. The only player on Los Angeles’ roster who’s built similar to Edwards in addition to having a comparable run style is Hassan Haskins.
However, there’s one problem with Haskins: he has, by far, been the team’s least dependable rusher.
Beyond having a team-low yards per carry mark of 2.5, that stands more than one full yard lower than the next-lowest mark, Haskins has a team-low 2.27 average yards after contact per run. On 22 carries, the 25-year-old has only been able to make two would-be tacklers miss.
With Edwards likely out of the lineup in the immediate future, the Chargers are in need of a runner who excels in short-yardage situations. That’s exactly why Jim Harbaugh’s squad is the co-favorite to sign veteran running back Ezekiel Elliott, via Bovada Official.
AFC West, Los Angeles Chargers stand as co-favorites to sign Ezekiel Elliott
At this juncture, it’s abundantly clear that Elliott’s ‘glory days’ are behind him—to say the least. On 74 rushing attempts this season, the 29-year-old has totaled 226 yards and three touchdowns. He wasn’t much better last year, either, totaling 646 yards and three touchdowns on 184 carries.
While Elliott is a far cry from the All-Pro runner he once was, he still serves a purpose: He can be counted on to pick up tough, short-distance yardage.
Through 15 games with the Dallas Cowboys, ‘Zeke’ has managed to pick up 189 yards on the ground after contact. He’s averaged 2.55 yards after contact per rush, making five would-be tacklers miss in the meantime.
This number is comparable to the 2.66 mark of Gus Edwards through the ’24 season.
Of course, Elliott was doing this with notably less blocking help than both Haskins and Edwards. While the Chargers’ offensive line ranks 12th-best via Pro Football Focus‘ weekly rankings, Dallas’ offensive line ranks 20th-best. More than that, the Cowboys’ line is ranked that high due to their pass protection, which stands far superior to their run blocking.
Tackle Terence Steele stands as the highest-graded run-blocker for Dallas this season, coming into Week 18 with a 77.4 grade. Comparatively, Rashawn Slater, a tackle for the Chargers, has a run-block grade of 82.8, the fifth-highest league-wide among all tackles. Los Angeles rookie offensive lineman Joe Alt has received a 74.0 grade this season on running downs. That beats out Dallas’ next-highest-graded run-blocker, Tyler Smith.
The Chargers give Elliott a better situation to thrive in those short-yardage situations he’s so effective in.
If Los Angeles does end up adding Elliott to their roster, the run-game shouldn’t miss very many steps, even in Edwards’ absence. However, the AFC West club’s decision to pursue that option remains uncertain.
*Top Photo: Getty Images
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