Amidst rumblings of a 50/50 backfield spit, Austin Ekeler took over fantasy workhorse duties in Melvin Gordon‘s Week 1 absence. In fact, this marked Ekeler’s fourth straight game with 17+ touches minus Gordon.
Unlike 2018’s modest outputs, however, Ekeler flatout dominated. After racking up 154 yards and 3 TDs, Ekeler looks like a true RB1 with “2019 James Conner” upside for however long Gordon holds out.
Ekeler played 47 snaps as compared to 16 for Justin Jackson, a 75/25 split. Moreover, Ekeler touched the ball 18 times (6 rec), as compared to 7 (1 rec) for Jackson. With 98 yards and 2 scores via the air, Ekeler trailed only Keenan Allen for targets. He was the team’s clear No.2 passing-game weapon, and was downright deadly in the role.
So… 50/50 split?
Meanwhile, Gordon’s current plan is to return somewhere between Weeks 6-8. As Le’Veon Bell taught us last year, though, nothing is final until he’s actually in the building. Gordon supported Bell’s year-long absence, and this can’t be ruled out.
That means Ekeler will be a cheat-code value for at ~60% of the fantasy regular season, at minimum. Fire him up in fantasy with confidence until further notice.
