Ekeler: Negotiated Incentives for 2023 Contract Year

[Bolt4Knob]

I didn't focus on it because it don't matter. If Robinson can do 80% of that as a rookie, great. It will only get better.
I'd rather our RB not have 100 receptions and give about 40 or so of those to the WRs and TEs.
I didn't dislike Lombardi but the short pass game did get old.

I'd love to see our offense with both Robinson and Ekeler.

Agreed. Ekeler would be the ideal complement to the more "bell cow" type running back. Whether that is Spiller, Bijan , the UCLA kid . And yes, Ekeler should be in the 60ish receptions category - not over 100. Those 107 catches totaled under 7 yards per catch. That might move the chains but it takes a long time to score points with those kinds of first down to first down, station to station, type drives

[dmac_bolt]

Wow, the robinson stuff has gotten completely out of hand, now the comps have gone from LT to Barry Sanders?! Now I’m actually hoping the chargers don’t draft the poor kid because there’s no way in hell he could ever live up to those expectations…., this has gotten so ridiculous…

I’ll say this, go ahead and spend a 1st rounder on robinson and when his numbers only come within 70-80% of the production that ekeler has had in the last two years and he gets offensive rookie of the year and goes to the probowl and gets all pro honors then everyone here can feel justified about having spent a first round pick on a guy that produced less than ekeler just because he’s bigger or his status as a first round pick or his name recognition…

Not to nit pick, but we didnt go from LT to Barry Sanders

We went from LT to LT+Barry Sanders

And weren’t you hoping they didn’t draft him before we further clarified his projected greatness? I’m not going to look it up, I’ll take your word as a gentleman.

[wu-dai clan]

It must be noted that Bijan is climbing into LT territory (top five overall) even with devaluation of the position.

[Bolt4Knob]

It must be noted that Bijan is climbing into LT territory (top five overall) even with devaluation of the position.

I hope he becomes a top 10 pick and its not the Chargers

[21&500]

Here's an idea
Atlanta severely under utilized Kyle Pitts last season
Likely because they had crap at QB and Pitts is a receiving threat in an offense that clearly wants to run the ball.
Their backfield isn't very impressive, they struggle to score TDs.
would they be interested in trading for Ekeler using Pitts to buy Ekeler and say a 2nd rounder and maybe swap a few picks in their favor (since Pitts on a rookie contract is much greater value than an aging RB looking for 10/year).
just a thought for a creative way to trade Ekeler that helps us win now, makes Atlanta's offense much better and pays Ekeler.

[Bolt4Knob]

Here's an idea
Atlanta severely under utilized Kyle Pitts last season
Likely because they had crap at QB and Pitts is a receiving threat in an offense that clearly wants to run the ball.
Their backfield isn't very impressive, they struggle to score TDs.
would they be interested in trading for Ekeler using Pitts to buy Ekeler and say a 2nd rounder and maybe swap a few picks in their favor (since Pitts on a rookie contract is much greater value than an aging RB looking for 10/year).
just a thought for a creative way to trade Ekeler that helps us win now, makes Atlanta's offense much better and pays Ekeler.

My guess, they would want to pair Ekeler with London and Pitts

I think it would be Ekeler and the chargers 2nd rounder for Pitts

The Falcons have an extra 4th from the Julio Jones trade and an extra 5th from the Ridley trade

I would do Chargers 5th and Ekeler for the Falcons 3rd rounder

[Fouts2herbert]

Not to nit pick, but we didnt go from LT to Barry Sanders

We went from LT to LT+Barry Sanders

And weren’t you hoping they didn’t draft him before we further clarified his projected greatness? I’m not going to look it up, I’ll take your word as a gentleman.

Yes, but that was before the ekeler uncertainty, after ekeler requested a trade I’ve put RB on the menu but my preference would be a 1 year veteran in addition to what we alreayd have…

…in the draft my guy is Charbonet in the second, ironically Charbonet would’ve been the perfect complement to ekeler but he does catch the ball well out of the back field too…plus he knows how pick up blitzes and pass blocks really well…he’s bigger than robinson but just as fast, he doesn’t juke like robinson but his contact balance is top shelf and he knows when to bounce it outside for a long run, otherwise he’s a no nonsense north south runner that punishes defensive players and always falls forward for positive yardage…he also fits the profile for the chargers, he’s super intelligent amd squeaky clean off the field…

my comparison robinson vs charbonet is barkley vs chubb…would you rather spend a 1st rounder for barkley or get that surplus value with 2nd for chubb? and it’s because we can use that 1st rounder to fill important depth in 2023 and starting needs in 2024 at Edge, TE, or WR…

[Budsman]

Wow, the robinson stuff has gotten completely out of hand, now the comps have gone from LT to Barry Sanders?! Now I’m actually hoping the chargers don’t draft the poor kid because there’s no way in hell he could ever live up to those expectations…., this has gotten so ridiculous…

I’ll say this, go ahead and spend a 1st rounder on robinson and when his numbers only come within 70-80% of the production that ekeler has had in the last two years and he gets offensive rookie of the year and goes to the probowl and gets all pro honors then everyone here can feel justified about having spent a first round pick on a guy that produced less than ekeler just because he’s bigger or his status as a first round pick or his name recognition…

I wouldn’t be shocked if his passing numbers were not as good and the TDs were down but we went further in the playoffs and won more games.

Moore will be more balanced on offense and the opportunities won’t be there. I highly doubt Ekeler if we don’t draft Bijan wil have the same results.

I can all but guarantee outside of injury Bijan will have more rushing yards than Ekeler and at the end of the day it’s not about TDs it’s about winning games, close or blow out important games, and Bijan can help us do that.

[Budsman]

Yes, but that was before the ekeler uncertainty, after ekeler requested a trade I’ve put RB on the menu but my preference would be a 1 year veteran in addition to what we alreayd have…

…in the draft my guy is Charbonet in the second, ironically Charbonet would’ve been the perfect complement to ekeler but he does catch the ball well out of the back field too…plus he knows how pick up blitzes and pass blocks really well…he’s bigger than robinson but just as fast, he doesn’t juke like robinson but his contact balance is top shelf and he knows when to bounce it outside for a long run, otherwise he’s a no nonsense north south runner that punishes defensive players and always falls forward for positive yardage…he also fits the profile for the chargers, he’s super intelligent amd squeaky clean off the field…

my comparison robinson vs charbonet is barkley vs chubb…would you rather spend a 1st rounder for barkley or get that surplus value with 2nd for chubb? and it’s because we can use that 1st rounder to fill important depth in 2023 and starting needs in 2024 at Edge, TE, or WR…

Charbonet doesn’t have the quickness of Bijan. Charbonet is great but he is missing the quickness to get up to top speed that Bijan has. Otherwise he’s really good and I wouldn’t hate it if we go WR rd1 and Charbonet rd2.

[Bolt4Knob]

I wouldn’t be shocked if his passing numbers were not as good and the TDs were down but we went further in the playoffs and won more games.

Moore will be more balanced on offense and the opportunities won’t be there. I highly doubt Ekeler if we don’t draft Bijan wil have the same results.

I can all but guarantee outside of injury Bijan will have more rushing yards than Ekeler and at the end of the day it’s not about TDs it’s about winning games, close or blow out important games, and Bijan can help us do that.

And aside from obviously wanting money now and not 12 months from now - but Ekeler could see that his nubmers might go down in 12 months thereby reducing his earning potential

I mean, I totally 100% get it. And he probably deserves 2-3m of cash for the last two years. But for 2023 - his production and value should be more in line with his 6.25m salary.

And if Ekeler has the 107 catches and the 1600 apy - that is bad for the Chargers.

[charger1_sj]

Oakland won running the ball, whatever you want to say about what LAC did, thats what they did and we all saw it. Oak passed for 186 yards, LAC passed for 383. Jacobs n alts were the difference, rushing for 174 yards, most notably the soul-crushing final drive for the win. We only ran for 85.

”Yes of course we need balance”. Thank you, thats all I want. 2022 Chargers were very imbalanced, they need a better rushing game. It’s not 2004, it’s also not 1985. We have a passing game that is very good and will, paradoxically, be even better if we add a credible run game. Run game won’t just add the run, for LAC it will also improve the pass game.

Jacobs doesn't rush for 174 in every game. He does it against us and other weak defenses against the run. Raiders lost the their PO game. So it's not that they were great,
We were miserable stopping the run. This was not something new, we were bad all last season and this last one too.

They were unbalance because our run blocking stinks. Take a look at how many times we ran left, versus the right side. Why? The answer should help you out.
We were decent to good at pass blocking when there were no blitzing or we didn't face elite edge rushers. Once teams blitzed or they had an elite guy Herbert was
under constant pressure. Thus all the dump offs. They were not designed plays, it was what Herbert had to do to stay alive.

If you want to run the ball fix the blocking. Then we can talk about Bijan. By the way if he falls to #21 I wouldn't hesitate to take him. I'm just not giving up the farm
to get a RB, any RB. There are other options that are also pretty good. If we think we really need a RB we should be able to get one in the 2nd or 3rd round.

[charger1_sj]

Agreed. Ekeler would be the ideal complement to the more "bell cow" type running back. Whether that is Spiller, Bijan , the UCLA kid . And yes, Ekeler should be in the 60ish receptions category - not over 100. Those 107 catches totaled under 7 yards per catch. That might move the chains but it takes a long time to score points with those kinds of first down to first down, station to station, type drives

So does running the football for 4 yards at a time. Which is why the NFL is now a passing league. The run game is a complement. It's not going to win you many games.
But it is needed.