Chargers RB Austin Ekeler Looks to Put a Cherry on Top of a Great Season
Fans of Los Angeles Chargers football and the entirety of the fantasy football community couldn't have asked for a better 2022 season out of running back Austin Ekeler. Through the first 16 games of the season, Ekeler proved to be one of the more efficient RBs in the game, scoring 18 times with 13 rushing touchdowns while leading the position in both targets (124) and receptions (103). These came as a relief for the team who were missing both Mike Williams and Keenan Allen for much of the season.
Wrapping Up the Fantasy Season with a Bang
Chargers RB Austin Ekeler has had an incredible 2022 season and was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts against the Los Angeles Rams over the weekend. Ekeler rushed for 122 yards to go along with two TDs in the game despite being listed on the injury report, helping to lead the Chargers to a dominant 31-10 win over their cross-town rivals. Ekeler had no injury designation come game time, and his two scores gave him 18 touchdowns on the year, enough to lead all non-quarterback players in the NFL by a wide margin, and the 1,500 total yards he has amassed over the course of the last 16 games has helped keep the Chargers competitive in the loaded AFC.
The NFL playoffs are now on the horizon, and the team will continue relying on Ekeler for a large portion of their offensive output in the coming weeks. With star quarterback Justin Herbert under center and Ekeler in the backfield, it seems that this 2022 Chargers squad has limitless potential. They could make some noise in the postseason with more outstanding performances like the one the running back turned out in Week 17.
His 30.1 half-PPR performance was the 10th occurrence of him scoring 15+ points and the fourth performance of over 30 points, solidifying his placement as the overall RB1 on the 2022 season (316.2 half-PPR points), out-pacing Josh Jacobs (297.8), Chrisitan McCaffrey (293.1), and Derrick Henry (274.8, 15 games) who each had incredible seasons of their own. His aforementioned efficiency was paramount to his success, particularly in the passing game, where he ranked second among all qualifying running backs in yards per route run (1.9) even as he led the position in routes.
Week 18 Projection
For those fantasy players with a late Week 18 championship, or those of us looking to play in DFS this weekend, the road hasn't ended quite yet. The only issue is, we have some concerns about the team's motivations. With a lot of the AFC Playoff seedings set in stone, the Chargers are now floating between the fifth and sixth seeds and won't know precisely who their matchup will be until the slate of games on Sunday wraps up. With this final regular season game being played against a division rival, there's a good chance that they won't simply lay down, and Ekeler should at least begin the game with his normal workload, so his chance at a TD and his typical passing-game workload should be there, even if the pure upside to his rushing yards and receiving yards may be capped.
The Denver Broncos defense currently ranks 25th in schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed to the position, and Ekeler is currently ranked as a top-10 option in 4for4's Week 18 rankings.
