The Los Angeles Chargers don’t go into training camp with that many questions – but one of them is who will emerge as the clear backup/change-of-pace running back behind Austin Ekeler. Last year Joshua Kelley played that role as a third-down back, but new wrinkles like a new offensive coordinator in Kellen Moore as well as needing to prepare for Ekeler likely departing next year are bringing the question back to the forefront.
Los Angeles Chargers Training Camp Battles: Who Will Be RB2?
A New System
As mentioned earlier, the Chargers will be looking at a new offensive playbook this year with Kellen Moore. The reason this is relevant to the RB2 question is that Moore seems to like to utilize two more running backs more than Joe Lombardi did. This is evident in how in three out of four seasons, Tony Pollard was just as much a factor in the offense, getting 100+ carries in each of those seasons (and crossing the 1,000-yard mark in 2022) – and it wasn’t even like Pollard’s numbers were getting padded that much by Ezekiel Elliott injuries.
For comparison’s sake, Joshua Kelley had 69 carries for 287 yards last year. Granted, he missed a few games, but for the most part, he was only getting the ball on a third-down situational basis rather than as a change-of-pace option. Moore will likely be wanting to have someone that can be a complement to Austin Ekeler and not just a third-down back. At first glance, based on the performances of the backups from last year and the lack of new acquisitions, one could end up thinking there isn’t such an option on the team this year. Moore will certainly have to bring the best out of the current group.
Joshua Kelley
We’ve already gone over Kelley a bit. After mostly struggling in his first two years, he finally broke out somewhat by being a suitable third-down back and averaged 4.2 yards per carry. The problem is, given that this was his third season, it seems possible that he has reached his ceiling. That’s not necessarily bad, but based on his skillset and ability, it’s hard to see him becoming a Pollard-esque change-of-pace back. But based on last year’s performances, he is easily the second-best running back on the team. So he will need to either take one more small step forward to be a true complement to Ekeler beyond his current role, or someone else will have to break out.
Isaiah Spiller
Spiller was actually presumably supposed to be the guy in Kelley’s role last year. However, he was clearly not ready yet in his rookie season. He had only 18 carries for 41 yards (2.3 yards per carry), and was even a healthy scratch for much of the season. That would not seem to bode well for him, but there is still time for him to show something.
The skillset we saw from him coming out of college would seem more conducive to a change-of-pace back than Kelley, but it still seems bold to hang a lot of your hopes on him breaking out with little in the way of a backup plan. Nevertheless, perhaps Moore and the rest of the revamped offensive coaching staff will be able to bring out the best in him.
Everyone Else
The only other returning player from this group for the Chargers (not including the fullback Zander Horvath) is Larry Rountree III, who is essentially just a training camp/practice squad body. Through two seasons now, he has a career average of 2.2 yards per carry – and you get the feeling that on most teams with more depth, Rountree would not have a job even in the offseason.
The Chargers also picked up two undrafted free agents in Elijah Dotson and Tyler Hoosman. There seems little reason to expect much out of them as of now, but one of those two probably stands a better chance of making the final roster than Rountree.
In Conclusion
As has been demonstrated, this almost certainly comes down to Kelley vs Spiller. It is possible we still have yet to see Kelley’s best football, but after three years, the chances of that are on the lower side. It does seem the Chargers are putting a lot of faith in Spiller to show more than he did last year. If we do see the Spiller we expected coming out of college, that may work out just fine. If it doesn’t though, the Chargers may find themselves regretting not taking an additional running back in the Draft this year. Kelley will perform the same role as he did in 2022 if necessary and do fine with it, but something tells me Moore is counting on a better outcome than that.
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