Austin Ekeler
29-Year-Old
2024 Rush/Rec Stats
ATT
13
YDS
83
TD
1
YDS
121
TD
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Perhaps Ekeler has lost a step, but it's difficult to tell strictly from 2023. Badly as Ekeler's numbers declined, regression would have been predictable if one knew ahead of time that Ekeler would suffer a high-ankle sprain early in the year and that QB Justin Herbert would miss four games and play many of the others with a broken finger on his throwing hand. The Chargers offense collapsed, and it fell hard on Ekeler in particular. Now in Washington on a two-year, $8.4 million contract, Ekeler should have better circumstances in 2024, though it's not clear to what degree. Not just that, but Ekeler is 29 years old now, so even if physical decline wasn't one of the main causes of his 2023 struggles it could still happen any time now. He should stay a little more spry with Brian Robinson and Chris Rodriguez taking most of the power-rushing workload in Washington under new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, perhaps opening the door for Ekeler to recapture some of his magic as a pass catcher for rookie QB Jayden Daniels. The days of fantasy dominance are likely gone, with Ekeler not even assured of getting goal-line carries despite his established TD-scoring prowess. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Falls short of 100 scrimmage yards
Ekeler carried the ball six times for 67 yards and caught both his targets for 30 yards in Sunday's 34-13 win over the Browns.
ANALYSIS
Despite the low touch volume, Ekeler produced a season-best yardage total in his return from a concussion that cost him last week's win over the Cardinals. The former Charger might have has even bigger day from a fantasy perspective, but Washington's three rushing TDs from inside the five-yard line went to Brian Robinson (two) and Jeremy McNichols (one) instead. Ekeler is showing he's got plenty left in the tank after his rough 2023 campaign with the Bolts, and through his first five games as a Commander he's averaging an eye-popping 7.9 yards per carry, albeit on only 19 totes. He'll look to keep rolling in Week 6 against the Ravens.
Despite the low touch volume, Ekeler produced a season-best yardage total in his return from a concussion that cost him last week's win over the Cardinals. The former Charger might have has even bigger day from a fantasy perspective, but Washington's three rushing TDs from inside the five-yard line went to Brian Robinson (two) and Jeremy McNichols (one) instead. Ekeler is showing he's got plenty left in the tank after his rough 2023 campaign with the Bolts, and through his first five games as a Commander he's averaging an eye-popping 7.9 yards per carry, albeit on only 19 totes. He'll look to keep rolling in Week 6 against the Ravens.
NFL Stats
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Fantasy/Red Zone Stats
See red zone opportunities inside the 20, 10 and 5-yard lines along with the percentage of time they converted the opportunity into a touchdown.
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Advanced NFL Stats
How do Austin Ekeler's 2024 advanced stats compare to other running backs?
This section compares his advanced stats with players at the same position. The bar represents the player's percentile rank.
The longer the bar, the better it is for the player.
Broken Tackle %
15.4%Positive Run %
84.6%% Yds After Contact
36.1%Avg Yds After Contact
2.3Rushing TD %
7.7%Touches Per Game
7.3% Snaps w/Touch
31.0%Air Yards Per Game
-5.3Air Yards Per Snap
-0.23% Team Air Yards
-2.5%% Team Targets
8.5%Avg Depth of Target
-1.8 YdsCatch Rate
100.0%Drop Rate
0.0%Avg Yds After Catch
15.2% Targeted On Route
22.0%Avg Yds Per Route Run
2.95Loading Advanced NFL Stats...
2024
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2020
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2018
2017
2024 NFL Game Log
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Snap Distribution / Depth Chart
Snap Counts
Snap %
Receiving Alignment Breakdown
See where Austin Ekeler lined up on the field and how he performed at each spot.
Detailed
Grouped
Side
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This Week's Opposing Pass Defense
How does the Browns pass defense compare to other NFL teams this season?
The bars represents the team's percentile rank (based on QB Rating Against). The longer the bar, the better their pass defense is. The team and position group ratings only include players that are currently on the roster and not on injured reserve. The list of players in the table only includes defenders with at least 3 attempts against them.
vs Browns
Sunday, Oct 6th at 1:00PM
Overall QB Rating Against
72.7
Cornerbacks
73.7
Safeties
45.3
Linebackers
92.4
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2024 Austin Ekeler Split Stats
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Austin Ekeler See More
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Dan Marcus goes deep into the free-agent pool to find upside adds who could pay off down the road, if not this week.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
Ekeler is back in Los Angeles for at least one more year despite requesting a trade in March, ultimately accepting an amended contract (more incentives) shortly after his 28th birthday in May. It may not be what he wants or deserves in terms of pay, but he's at least well positioned to pile up numbers again with the help of Justin Herbert, who douses his running back in targets. Ekeler is among the two or three best pass catchers at his position, and he's proven as an efficient, medium-volume runner now that he's coming off back-to-back seasons with least 4.4 YPC on slightly more than 200 carries. He's also coming off back-to-back seasons leading the league in touchdowns, with his combination of tough, clever running (25 rush TDs) and quick, precise route-running (13 receiving TDs) making the 200-pounder one of the best red-zone weapons in the league. It does seem the Chargers hope to use Ekeler a bit less this year, at least in the passing game, with OC Kellen Moore and rookie wideout Quentin Johnston brought in to help Herbert stretch the field. On the other hand, Ekeler caught at least 4.4 passes per game each of the past four seasons, and the Chargers still don't have good backfield depth or any reason to turn away from their star RB near the goal.
More Fantasy News
Clears concussion protocol
Ekeler cleared concussion protocol and will play against the Browns on Sunday, Zach Selby of the Commanders' official site reports.
ANALYSIS
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Gets back to full practice Thursday
Ekeler (concussion) practiced in full Thursday.
ANALYSIS
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Limited in return to practice
Ekeler (concussion) practiced in a limited capacity Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
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Tracking toward playing
Ekeler (concussion) expects to play Week 5 versus the Browns, Grant Paulsen of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Out Week 4 with concussion
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said Wednesday that Ekeler (concussion) won't be available for Sunday's game at Arizona, JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Could be top back Sunday
Ekeler, who missed the Week 4 win over the Cardinals with a concussion, is off the injury report and could function as the top back in a Week 5 matchup against the Browns due to Brian Robinson's knee injury, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Ekeler was back to a full practice by Thursday, and head coach Dan Quinn noted "Austin is doing great; he had a really good week." The veteran running back, who'd looked impressive while compiling 204 total yards and a rushing touchdown over the first two-plus games, may now serve as the No. 1 back due to Robinson's injury, which has him projected as a game-time decision after missing practice Wednesday and Thursday.
Ekeler was back to a full practice by Thursday, and head coach Dan Quinn noted "Austin is doing great; he had a really good week." The veteran running back, who'd looked impressive while compiling 204 total yards and a rushing touchdown over the first two-plus games, may now serve as the No. 1 back due to Robinson's injury, which has him projected as a game-time decision after missing practice Wednesday and Thursday.