The Chargers let Austin Ekeler walk in free agency, replacing him with Gus Edwards. If anyone needed a crystal-clear message about how different the offense will be under Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman this year, there it is.
Chargers GM Joe Hortiz spelled out the new offensive philosophy last week. “He’s the bell-cow, the goal line (guy), the finisher,” he said. “The right mentality for what we’re looking to do here.”
In short, it's a team that's going to run a lot more and pass a lot less. Last year the Chargers ranked 9th in passing and 25th in rushing, and that disparity would likely have been even greater had Justin Herbert not missed the last month of the season.
Over the last five seasons, there have been 33 running backs to have at least 500 carries. Los Angeles has swapped out the back who had the most receptions among those players for the one who had the fewest (by far).
The below table, compiled using the search tools at pro-football-reference.com, is sorted by receptions over the last five seasons.
| RBS WITH 500-PLUS CARRIES, 2019-2023 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | Att | Run | TD | Rec |
| Austin Ekeler | 73 | 837 | 3541 | 34 | 374 |
| Alvin Kamara | 70 | 1001 | 4218 | 32 | 343 |
| Christian McCaffrey | 59 | 961 | 4652 | 43 | 322 |
| Leonard Fournette | 60 | 743 | 3039 | 20 | 254 |
| Aaron Jones | 73 | 963 | 4764 | 33 | 237 |
| Ezekiel Elliott | 80 | 1197 | 4856 | 43 | 221 |
| Joe Mixon | 69 | 1156 | 4618 | 37 | 210 |
| Saquon Barkley | 58 | 940 | 3904 | 24 | 197 |
| Josh Jacobs | 73 | 1305 | 5545 | 46 | 197 |
| D'Andre Swift | 56 | 593 | 2729 | 23 | 195 |
| Dalvin Cook | 73 | 1142 | 5238 | 43 | 185 |
| James Conner | 64 | 878 | 3759 | 39 | 179 |
| Tony Pollard | 79 | 762 | 3621 | 23 | 176 |
| Devin Singletary | 78 | 888 | 4049 | 20 | 175 |
| Antonio Gibson | 61 | 642 | 2643 | 22 | 172 |
| David Montgomery | 74 | 1134 | 4624 | 39 | 171 |
| Miles Sanders | 73 | 868 | 4140 | 21 | 151 |
| Kareem Hunt | 64 | 577 | 2285 | 25 | 147 |
| Najee Harris | 51 | 834 | 3269 | 22 | 144 |
| Melvin Gordon | 57 | 696 | 2915 | 28 | 130 |
| Jamaal Williams | 71 | 747 | 2938 | 24 | 126 |
| Kenyan Drake | 56 | 583 | 2508 | 24 | 124 |
| Jonathan Taylor | 53 | 925 | 4582 | 40 | 123 |
| Derrick Henry | 72 | 1529 | 7209 | 68 | 116 |
| Latavius Murray | 74 | 661 | 2854 | 25 | 111 |
| Nick Chubb | 61 | 1046 | 5515 | 40 | 103 |
| Alexander Mattison | 75 | 584 | 2370 | 11 | 100 |
| James Robinson | 40 | 515 | 2264 | 18 | 92 |
| AJ Dillon | 60 | 597 | 2428 | 16 | 86 |
| Raheem Mostert | 56 | 633 | 3216 | 31 | 86 |
| Chuba Hubbard | 49 | 505 | 1980 | 12 | 78 |
| Sony Michel | 52 | 570 | 2312 | 12 | 49 |
| Gus Edwards | 58 | 562 | 2677 | 24 | 28 |
Needless to say, with that non-usage in the passing game, Edwards doesn't have a lot of appeal in PPR leagues. A year ago he scored 13 touchdowns and still didn't even crack the top 25 among running backs. (He was 26th, even while ranking 3rd among running backs in rushing touchdowns, which seems hard to do.)
And it's fair to wonder whether he'll even wind up being that bell-cow running back. The Chargers' investment in him is small: A $1.1 million base salary and a $2.2 million signing bonus. He's going to have a role, but once the draft comes and goes (Harbaugh's Michigan running back Blake Corum?), will he still be the top back on the roster?
Those in TD-only and standard leagues may have some interest in Edwards this season. I won't be surprised if Ekeler is more productive in PPR leagues, even as part of a committee in Washington (with Brian Robinson perhaps getting more carries). Someone else in my leagues will be drafting Edwards.
--Andy Richardson