Jeff Pearlman is a guy I follow on social media, and he made some dismissive comments about the Chargers signing Ezekiel Elliott this week. That's fair; Elliott has looked pretty washed for a while. But I'm not going to rule out Elliott being a factor if the Chargers are able to go on a playoff run of some kind.
Granted, Elliott wasn't impressive (or even serviceable) in Dallas. He averaged just 3.1 yards per attempt, a yard and a half worse than Rico Dowdle, and last in the NFL among all running backs who carried the ball 70-plus times during the season.
But even that figure was only marginally worse than Gus Edwards, working behind a better offensive line on a team with more commitment to running the ball. Edwards, Elliott, and some guys who either got hurt, phased out of their offenses, or had a strong history of being ineffective runners (Alexander Mattison, for example) -- those are the guys at the bottom of the league in this metric. Yards per carry isn't always an accurate measure of ability, but with Edwards doing so little behind the same line compared to J.K. Dobbins (4.6 per attempt), it seems valid here.
| RUNNING BACK RUSHING, 2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Att | Yds | TD | Avg |
| Derrick Henry, Bal. | 325 | 1921 | 16 | 5.9 | |
| Saquon Barkley, Phi. | 345 | 2005 | 13 | 5.8 | |
| Jahmyr Gibbs, Det. | 250 | 1412 | 16 | 5.6 | |
| Bucky Irving, T.B. | 207 | 1122 | 8 | 5.4 | |
| Jerome Ford, Cle. | 104 | 565 | 3 | 5.4 | |
| Jordan Mason, S.F. | 153 | 789 | 3 | 5.2 | |
| Isaac Guerendo, S.F. | 84 | 420 | 4 | 5.0 | |
| James Cook, Buf. | 207 | 1009 | 16 | 4.9 | |
| Emanuel Wilson, G.B. | 103 | 502 | 4 | 4.9 | |
| Bijan Robinson, Atl. | 304 | 1456 | 14 | 4.8 | |
| Chuba Hubbard, Car. | 250 | 1195 | 10 | 4.8 | |
| Austin Ekeler, Was. | 77 | 367 | 4 | 4.8 | |
| Jonathan Taylor, Ind. | 303 | 1431 | 11 | 4.7 | |
| Tyler Allgeier, Atl. | 137 | 644 | 3 | 4.7 | |
| James Conner, Ari. | 236 | 1094 | 8 | 4.6 | |
| Rico Dowdle, Dal. | 235 | 1079 | 2 | 4.6 | |
| J.K. Dobbins, LAC | 195 | 905 | 9 | 4.6 | |
| Tank Bigsby, Jac. | 168 | 766 | 7 | 4.6 | |
| Aaron Jones, Min. | 255 | 1138 | 5 | 4.5 | |
| De'Von Achane, Mia. | 203 | 907 | 6 | 4.5 | |
| Antonio Gibson, N.E. | 120 | 538 | 1 | 4.5 | |
| Josh Jacobs, G.B. | 301 | 1329 | 15 | 4.4 | |
| Tyrone Tracy, NYG | 192 | 839 | 5 | 4.4 | |
| Jaleel McLaughlin, Den. | 113 | 496 | 1 | 4.4 | |
| Chase Brown, Cin. | 229 | 990 | 7 | 4.3 | |
| Brian Robinson, Was. | 187 | 799 | 8 | 4.3 | |
| Rachaad White, T.B. | 144 | 613 | 3 | 4.3 | |
| Jaylen Warren, Pit. | 120 | 511 | 1 | 4.3 | |
| Cam Akers, 2TM | 104 | 444 | 2 | 4.3 | |
| Tony Pollard, Ten. | 260 | 1079 | 5 | 4.2 | |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 228 | 950 | 6 | 4.2 | |
| Breece Hall, NYJ | 209 | 876 | 5 | 4.2 | |
| David Montgomery, Det. | 185 | 775 | 12 | 4.2 | |
| Zach Charbonnet, Sea. | 135 | 569 | 8 | 4.2 | |
| Kyren Williams, LAR | 316 | 1299 | 14 | 4.1 | |
| Joe Mixon, Hou. | 245 | 1016 | 11 | 4.1 | |
| Audric Estime, Den. | 76 | 310 | 2 | 4.1 | |
| Najee Harris, Pit. | 263 | 1043 | 6 | 4.0 | |
| Rhamondre Stevenson, N.E. | 207 | 801 | 7 | 3.9 | |
| Ray Davis, Buf. | 113 | 442 | 3 | 3.9 | |
| Devin Singletary, NYG | 113 | 437 | 4 | 3.9 | |
| Kenneth Gainwell, Phi. | 75 | 290 | 1 | 3.9 | |
| D'Andre Swift, Chi. | 253 | 959 | 6 | 3.8 | |
| Kenneth Walker, Sea. | 153 | 573 | 7 | 3.7 | |
| Travis Etienne, Jac. | 150 | 558 | 2 | 3.7 | |
| Javonte Williams, Den. | 139 | 513 | 4 | 3.7 | |
| Tyjae Spears, Ten. | 84 | 312 | 4 | 3.7 | |
| Isiah Pacheco, K.C. | 83 | 310 | 1 | 3.7 | |
| Kareem Hunt, K.C. | 200 | 728 | 7 | 3.6 | |
| Gus Edwards, LAC | 101 | 365 | 4 | 3.6 | |
| Braelon Allen, NYJ | 92 | 334 | 2 | 3.6 | |
| Nick Chubb, Cle. | 102 | 332 | 3 | 3.3 | |
| Raheem Mostert, Mia. | 85 | 278 | 2 | 3.3 | |
| Zack Moss, Cin. | 74 | 242 | 2 | 3.3 | |
| D'Onta Foreman, Cle. | 71 | 232 | 0 | 3.3 | |
| Alexander Mattison, L.V. | 132 | 420 | 4 | 3.2 | |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dal. | 74 | 226 | 3 | 3.1 | |
The key question this week is if the Chargers will be successful running the ball at Houston, and if Elliott, having just joined the team, will get much work. Edwards has missed the last two games with an ankle injury and been limited in practice thus far.
If Houston wins this game, which is certainly possible, it should be Dobbins getting almost of the work. But if the Chargers are winning, and playing with a lead throughout the second half, I could see them giving Zeke 10-12 carries, seeing if he's got some juice left, seeing if he has enough mojo to be a factor for them in the postseason. Stranger things have happened. He's definitely on a better roster right now, and there may be an opportunity to get some work.
Not to say I'd put him on a playoff roster, but I like his chances of contributing a little more than Edwards. Put Edwards in Dallas and Zeke in LA all season, and I think we'd have seen it.
--Andy Richardson