With Gordon, over the last 12 games, Ekeler scored 168 total points. He was going to get the targets no matter what because he was a threat when he was thrown the ball, but how did he do when he was all alone? During this holdout of Gordon’s, Ekeler had massive fantasy performances and he would continue this success even when Gordon would come back in week 5. Both backs are similar so expect Taylor to check down to Ekeler more than anyone else. It earned him a new contract and a starting role for the team heading into 2020. Ekeler had 108 targets and 92 receptions for 993 receiving yards last season, all second in the NFL among running backs behind Panthers’ Christian McCaffrey.

Rivers has always targeted his RBs and if Hines could assume the role that Austin Ekeler had in 2019, with 108 targets, he could be the single best sleeper in fantasy football.

He averages 14 rush attempts per game and 55.5 rush yards.

Austin Ekeler has been the No.

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That is nearly double the amount of attempts on the ground. Ekeler made the team and by midseason had supplanted veteran Branden Oliver in the main seat behind Melvin Gordon.

During Melvin Gordon's absence at the beginning of last season, Ekeler stepped as the leading … It shows that the team wanted Ekeler in that role after his 4 game stretch as the starter.

While he may not have ran the ball as much as fantasy owners would have hoped, he was the main contributor out of the backfield in the passing game. At No. From 2017–2018 Ekeler had averaged 7.6 expected points (EP), 2.2 total fantasy points over expectation (FPOE), and 9.8 PPR fantasy points per game. He has a very safe floor and a high ceiling as the new front runner for LA in 2020.As stated above, Ekeler was used like the definitive starter for the Chargers the first 4 weeks of the season. Melvin Gordon held out for the first 4 weeks of the season and it was the best thing that could have happened to Ekeler. Ekeler has made most of his hay in the passing game, where he garnered 108 targets last season and hauled in 92 passes. Gordon made his mark when he came back taking a majority of the carries while Ekeler took the majority of targets out of the backfield. His finishes would have obviously been higher if Gordon held out for the entire season like some thought he might, but it didn’t stop Ekeler’s fantasy success. While he may have a new QB in Tyrod Taylor, it should not effect him much at all. Gordon made his mark when he came back taking a majority of the carries while Ekeler took the majority of targets out of the backfield.

Ekeler was used as a pass catching weapon a majority of the time and to great success. Get instant advice on your decision to draft Austin Ekeler or Miles Sanders in 2020. He is not much bigger than Ekeler so any goal line work that he may lose would likely go to rookie Joshua Kelly.

Taylor is used to playing with a receiving back.

There are not a lot of RB’s in the NFL that get over 100 targets on the season and Ekeler seems to be one of the few that you can count on getting that target share for the foreseeable future. Rankings, Opinion Articles, Player Outlooks, etc.So what is the future for Ekeler in 2020?

He was a fantasy force no matter who was on the field and it was because of 1 thing.

The fact he did that with Melvin Gordon taking a majority of carries for 12 games is amazing to me and I think he will do great as the starter this season.