Austin Ekeler Fantasy Football Week 13 Scouting Report

Austin Ekeler
RB
, Washington Commanders

Age: 29
Weight: 200 lbs
Height: 5' 9"
College: Western State (CO)

ADP: 95
Depth Chart Ranking: 2

Pts	RuYds	RuTD	Rec	RecYds
94.1	355	4	33	346

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Scouting report

by Neil Dutton

· Sep 16, 2021 · 11:21 AM EDT

LAC RB Austin Ekeler - Week 2 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 2 vs. Cowboys
It was a fairly quiet start to the 2021 season for Austin Ekeler. He carried the ball 15 times for 57 yards, scoring a touchdown into the bargain. But he failed to draw a single target for just the fourth time in 57 regular-season games in his career. This shouldn't be a long-lasting issue, as Herbert explained that his wide receivers were winning their matchups and getting open. This played into the Chargers' strategy of looking to send the ball downfield. The targets will come for Ekeler. He still commanded 20% of the total offensive opportunities without any looks in the receiving game. The Cowboys were fairly solid on the ground in Week 1, allowing just 52 rushing yards. But the Buccaneers only attempted 14 rushes, the fewest in the league. They were generous to the Tampa Bay backs in the passing game, however, allowing a 7-39 line on 10 targets. Ekeler has the 15th best running back matchup this week according to our projections

by Neil Dutton

· Sep 10, 2021 · 9:51 AM EDT

LAC RB Austin Ekeler - Week 1 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 1 vs. Washington

Austin Ekeler endured an injury-hit 2020 campaign, limiting him to just 10 games in which he averaged 11.6 rushing attempts and 53 rushing yards per game. But he still finished among the leaders at his position in terms of receiving work. Ekeler commanded 65 targets, the eighth-most among all running backs, catching 54 for 403 yards. Ekeler averaged 13.8 fantasy points per game in Half-PPR formats, the same number as Ezekiel Elliott. Ekeler faces a tough matchup to start his 2021 season. Washington held running backs to 4.2 yards per attempt last year, giving up a total of 112.8 rushing yards per game. They also shut down tailbacks as receivers, giving up the fourth-fewest receptions and just 24.9 receiving yards per game to the position. All told, only six teams allowed fewer fantasy points per game to running backs than Washington. Ekeler faces the seventh toughest matchup of the week by our projections.

by Bob Harris

· Jul 18, 2021 · 10:33 AM EDT

LAC RB Austin Ekeler - 2021 Fantasy Football Outlook

Fantasy Upside
Limited by a hamstring injury suffered in Week 4, Austin Ekeler played in just 10 games in 2020, seeing his production dwindle from 1,550 scrimmage yards in 2019 to 933 last season. In those 10 games, however, Ekeler averaged 4.6 yards per carry and 5.4 receptions per game (only Keenan Allen caught the ball more on average in 2020). Now healthy and entering a new offense under coordinator Joe Lombardi, Ekeler views himself as a chess piece the new play-caller can use in ways similar to how the Saints used Alvin Kamara. "I think that's something that I've learned about Joe coming in like this man is going to get his playmakers in space and situations where they can be successful," Ekeler said of the former Saints OC.

Fantasy Downside
According to the L.A. Times, to understand the impact Ekeler has had on the Chargers' offense, we should consider this: In his four seasons, he never has rushed for more than 557 yards. The Times went on to remind readers that three things -- splitting time with other backs, extensive usage as a receiver and injuries -- have tempered Ekeler's annual rushing haul. Since Sept. 29, 2019, he has one rushing touchdown.

2021 Bottom Line
The backfield in L.A. remains roughly the same as last season, with Ekeler leading the way ahead of Justin Jackson and Joshua Kelley. The club did add Larry Rountree III in the sixth round of the draft. It's a diverse backfield, but Ekeler fits best with how Lombardi prefers to use his backs, particularly in the passing game. If Ekeler stays healthy, expect him to return to his 1,200-plus scrimmage-yard ways.

by Richard Mejia

· Jan 01, 2021 · 3:32 PM EST

LAC RB Austin Ekeler - Week 17 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 17 at Kansas City

Ekeler had a fine day last week against the Denver Broncos as he carried the ball 10 times for 45 yards and caught all three of his targets for 23 yards and a touchdown. Ekeler is clearly not at 100% healthy, but he still managed to salvage his fantasy game with a score.

This week Ekeler takes on the Kansas City Chiefs who are ranked 22nd in aFPA to RBs this season. With the Chargers to play without Keenan Allen and Hunter Henry once again, Ekeler will once again be leaned to carry the offensive load. Even at less-than-ideal health, Ekeler is still a strong RB1 this week.

by Richard Mejia

· Dec 25, 2020 · 10:23 AM EST

LAC RB Austin Ekeler - Week 16 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 16 vs Denver

Ekeler had a disappointing game last week against the Las Vegas Raiders as he carried the ball 13 times for 60 yards and caught all four of his targets for 19 yards. It was not until shortly before kickoff that reports revealed Ekeler wasn’t at 100% and much like Mike Williams and Keenan Allen, he would also be on a pitch count. Ekeler still saw a 63% snap share, however, he did surrender 37% of the touches to a combination of Kalen Ballage and Joshua Kelley.

With 10 days to get close to full health, Ekeler is poised to rebound against the Denver Broncos who rank 30th in aFPA to RBs this season. Denver is fresh off giving up 149 total rushing yards on 7.1 yards per carry to a combination of Buffalo’s Devin Singletary and Zach Moss, so Ekeler is primed for a huge game. Count on a healthy Ekeler to have an elite RB1 game in a clutch championship game performance.

by Richard Mejia

· Dec 16, 2020 · 3:26 PM EST

LAC RB Austin Ekeler - Week 15 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 15 at Las Vegas

Ekeler bounced back nicely last week against the Atlanta Falcons, as he carried the ball 15 times for 79 yards and caught all nine of his targets for 67 yards. The LA offense went through Ekeler as he led the team in carries and tied Keenan Allen in receptions. Ekeler once again dominated the touches in the backfield as he saw a 60% snap share.

Week 15 brings on the Las Vegas Raiders who rank 28th in aFPA to RBs this season. The Raiders just gave up a career game to Indy’s Jonathan Taylor (20-150-2) and have also given up 557 receiving yards to RBs this season (7th most). On a short week with a new defensive coordinator, there is little reason to think this defense is even remotely capable of containing Ekeler. With 34 targets in the three games since he has been back, Ekeler has seen a ton of work and should be expected to see plenty more in this matchup. Fire up Ekeler as an elite RB1 option, especially in PPR leagues.

by Richard Mejia

· Dec 11, 2020 · 2:27 PM EST

LAC RB Austin Ekeler - Week 14 Fantasy Football Outlook

Week 14 vs Atlanta

Ekeler was bottled up by the New England Patriot defense last week as he carried the ball eight times for 36 yards and caught 4-of-9 targets for 32 yards. The Chargers were crushed 45-0 so there were not many opportunities to run the ball, however, inept playcalling limited what should have been an otherwise successful afternoon for Ekeler. Even though he did not produce to expectations, fantasy managers should take solace in knowing he once again led the backfield in touches and snaps as there should be no doubt moving forward that he is this team’s top back.

Now even though Ekeler faces the Atlanta Falcons this week who are ranked second in aFPA to RBs this season, that does not mean he has a particularly difficult matchup. In Ekeler’s case, fantasy managers should be delighted to know Atlanta has given up 63 receptions for 431 yards to RBs this season and have surrendered four receiving touchdowns, 5th most in the league. In what should be one of the highest-scoring games of the week, expect a full workload for Ekeler who is sure to deliver high-end RB1 numbers in the first week of the fantasy playoffs.