Austin Ekeler was a great fantasy running back last year, coming in with 1,550 yards from scrimmage, 11 total touchdowns, and 92 receptions. That was with Melvin Gordon, who handled pretty much all of the rushing work, on the Chargers. Now that Gordon is gone, Ekeler can expect to take over as the lead runner as well as the lead pass catcher in the backfield, so his numbers could get even better. On top of that, Ekeler should become a main goal line option (him and Joshua Kelley will likely split work), and Chargers running backs get tons of goal line carries. Last year Melvin Gordon had 15 goal line carries in 12 games. In Ekeler’s first four games (Melvin Gordon wasn’t playing) he scored three rushing touchdowns, and in the last 12 weeks with Gordon there, he scored none. It’s safe to assume that Ekeler’s total rushing yards and rushing touchdowns will go up by a lot next year. The problem with Ekeler comes with Tyrod Taylor likely being the starting quarterback. Mobile quarterbacks don’t tend to dump the ball off because their first instinct is to run when nothing is open. This will limit Ekeler’s receiving upside while Taylor is starting, but he will still get a lot of receptions because the Chargers have many designed plays for him. The brightside to having Taylor there is that it will open up running lanes for Ekeler because defenses will have to account for Taylor potentially taking off and running instead of handing the ball off. Justin Herbert should potentially be able to start later in the season, but for now Ekeler’s receiving upside is limited. Many people think Joshua Kelley is going to take over Melvin Gordon’s old role, but that probably won’t be the case because the Chargers paid Ekeler to be their primary back. Kelley isn’t an incredibly talented player who isn’t on the same level as Gordon or Ekeler, so he will probably just end up filling a backup role. Overall, Ekeler is going to get much more rushing work next year, and though the addition of Tyord Taylor will hurt his receiving upside, he will be a borderline RB1 at the least.