Upon taking his talents to Washington D.C., Austin Ekeler is looking to reclaim his role as one of fantasy football's top producers in 2024.
During an appearance on Wednesday's edition of The Insiders, the new Commanders running back wanted to clear up past quotes on his reasoning behind leaving the Chargers and went on to explain why he believes Washington is an ideal place for him to flourish once again.
"You're going to get the best version of myself always, no matter what," Ekeler told NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero. "There's been this controversy out there, like, 'Oh Austin said he doesn't want 300 carries, 'cause that's what the Chargers said.' I've never had that many carries ever. So, I don't know why everybody's in an uproar. It's not that I don't want to touch the ball. It's the way that I've had the most production is when I'm able to split between catching and running the ball. That is when I've been the most productive, down in the red zone, right out in the field, when I can have both those type of environments. And now, with Brian Robinson being in the backfield also, my old head coach, Anthony Lynn, where I first got my start and first started finding success, is also my running backs coach and is going to utilize us probably in that same type of way, is what it's looking like. So, I'm going to go right back to my roots of when I continue to have success and continue to build on that in the way that fits Austin Ekeler the most."
Ekeler going from an undrafted rookie in 2017 to becoming a perennial top pick in fantasy drafts is one of the more endearing stories in the NFL. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound ball of muscle runs as if his job is on the line on every play. That type of drive makes him a headache for opposing defenders to bring down, and an ideal red-zone weapon who can find pay dirt both on the ground and through the air.
Since 2021, Ekeler leads the league with 44 scrimmage touchdowns (30 rushing, 14 receiving), according to NFL Research. But coming off a subpar year by his standard -- 1,064 scrimmage yards, six scrimmage TDs in 2023 (both fewest since 2020) -- the Chargers were comfortable with letting the 29-year-old walk as Los Angeles enters a new era under Jim Harbaugh.
A new team and system isn't hindering Ekeler's confidence entering his eighth NFL season, though. And it begs the question: Should fantasy owners be looking to select Ekeler in the first round this year?
"Yes," he answered when asked by Pelissero. "Let me ask you this: I guess it's little tough because in the fantasy world you're judged off your last season, but as far is consistency, when I've been healthy -- yes, last year I missed like four games (with) high ankle sprain, come back sprain my other ankle -- but when Austin Ekeler has been healthy on the field, he has produced. And so that's the same thing going forward here. If I'm healthy, I'm going to be on the field and I'm going to be producing. You've seen what it looks like when I produce, so you're going to want me on your team."
The Commanders have struggled offensively in recent years and are set to trot out a different Week 1 starting quarterback for the eighth straight season in 2024. It's assumed Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft, will be up to that task as a rookie. The LSU product led all QBs with 1,134 rushing yards during his Heisman-winning campaign, and is already generating the type of excitement reminiscent of Robert Griffin III's arrival in Washington in 2012.
After going through Washington's offseason program, Ekeler is liking what he's seen early on from Daniels on and off the field.
"He's an absolute stud out there slinging it," Ekeler said. "I love his leadership that he's shown early on. You know, he's texting me about routes, he's calling me out in practice, 'Hey, Ek, this is what we need to do on this,' or 'What did you see on this choice route?'
"He's got all of the right stuff that I love to see from a quarterback that he's been bringing out in the first couple weeks that I've met him. Looking forward to his growth, and we have a lot of veterans like you mentioned that we brought in to help set the culture."
Setting the culture in Washington was a continuous theme brought on by Ekeler during his appearance on the The Insiders, and new Commanders head coach Dan Quinn is playing a major role in that endeavor. Long regarded as a players' coach, Quinn, who comes over from the rival Cowboys, takes over a Commanders team that hasn't reached the playoffs since 2020 and has been unable to see a double-digit win season since 2012.
There's plenty of work to be done in Washington as it enters a new era that includes new ownership, a new front office and coaching staff, and a potential franchise-altering star quarterback at the helm. As Ekeler looks to do his part in not only restoring himself as a do-it-all weapon in the backfield, he's taking it upon himself to be a veteran leader to ensure Washington's franchise shift goes in the right direction -- one step at a time.
"To me, it's not even about that," Ekeler said when asked about the Commanders reclaiming the division. "It's not even about NFC East, not about the Super Bowl -- it's about what we have right now in the locker room. I can't even see that far out. For me, it's how do we establish a culture that brings the team together. That is the phase we're in right now.
"I'm thinking how can we become the best team possible right now while we're just together with each other because we have a lot of new pieces, we've got a lot of new parts. I don't care about what happened last year. That's how we're judged in this league, absolutely, on what have you done for me lately. Well, that's in the past. We have a new opportunity as a team to move forward. I'm not going to sit up here and say this is what we're going to go do -- I don't care what we're going to go do in the future -- I'm too focused on now. I'm focused on right now because that is going to lead to what goes on in the future, which is what we want to do. Yes, we want to go in a direction to win games, but it doesn't matter unless you take care of the opportunity right now, which is build the culture, build everyone up as far as being a good teammate, being bought into some type of standard, some type of culture, accountability, all these different things you need to go and make a run, and then we will proceed to the next thing."
