Chargers' Austin Ekeler: Focused on route running

Ekeler said he will focus on his route running this summer.

Ekeler often replaces Melvin Gordon on passing downs, though the latter also gets plenty of work as a receiver. Their roles should look much the same in 2019, considering undrafted rookie Jeremy Cox was the only offseason addition to the Los Angeles backfield. Ekeler's career marks of 5.3 yards per carry and 7.8 per target rank as elite by RB standards, but he was limited to 3.2 YPC and 3.8 YPT in three starts last season, failing to approach his usual efficiency when tasked with a larger workload (40 carries, 20 targets in those three games).