The Los Angeles Chargers sent the fantasy football world into chaos by activating Melvin Gordon just three days after he rejoined the team. Austin Ekeler has been fantastic in his absence, but the Chargers already announced Gordon will resume his role as feature back once he’s back into game shape.
Initially, the Chargers planned on resting Gordon for Week 4’s matchup against the Miami Dolphins, but that plan changed when Justin Jackson suffered a hamstring injury. Gordon is reportedly in great shape, but NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport noted that Gordon will not play a big role in Sunday’s matchup. According to the NFL insider, Gordon is only going to be used in an “emergency”. For fantasy football players, this means Austin Ekeler is still going to be a great play in your league.
Two notes on #Chargers RB Melvin Gordon: 1. The plan is for him to be active but only used in an emergency. 2. #Giants WR Golden Tate worked out with him and the word is Tate is “on a mission” as he nears a return. https://t.co/N9STKFOrN6
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 29, 2019
Melvin Gordon to Be Active, Only Used in “Emergency”
The Chargers face off against an atrocious Miami Dolphins team, which is fantastic news for Austin Ekeler owners everywhere. The Dolphins are a train wreck and currently allow a league-worst 30.7 fantasy points-per-game to the running back position. The Chargers should gain an early lead and spend the majority of the game running out the clock. The Dolphins cannot stop the run, and Ekeler has been remarkably effective between the tackles this year. This game isn’t going to be close, so it’s hard to imagine an emergency situation where Gordon needs to see a sizable portion of the snaps. Barring injury, Gordon is going to spend the vast majority of the game on the sideline.
Even with Gordon back in the picture, Ekeler could have his best fantasy football outing of the season. Through three weeks, Ekeler is the RB4 in PPR scoring formats while playing roughly 70% of the snaps. Now that Jackson’s out of the way, there is a possibility that Ekeler approaches an 80% snap share. If the Chargers truly don’t plan on using Gordon against Miami, then Ekeler could finish as Week 4’s top fantasy running back. As mentioned in an earlier article, make sure to put Austin Ekeler in every starting lineup you can.
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