Melvin Gordon's holdout has complicated how our experts' are projecting this backfield, Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson included. Below are their latest projections (as of August 22) for all three along with the rest of the offense.
Our analysts have also ranked all the Chargers' key players by scoring format and analyzes their overall outlooks heading into the season.
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Chargers Fantasy Rankings, Projections
Philip Rivers, QB
- Pass: 356 comp | 540 att | 65.9 comp% | 4,335 yds | 29 TDs | 11.8 INTs
- Rush: 18 car | 10 yds | 0.4 TDs
Melvin Gordon, RB
- Rush: 163 car | 709 yds | 6.3 TDs
- Rec: 37 catches | 325 yds | 2.1 TDs
Austin Ekeler, RB
- Rush: 115 car | 552 yds | 4.2 TDs
- Rec: 47 catches | 451 yds | 2.9 TDs
Justin Jackson, RB
- Rush: 84 car | 351 yds | 2.9 TDs
- Rec: 19 catches | 157 yds | 0.5 TDs
Keenan Allen, WR
- Rec: 91.8 catches | 1179 yds | 6.1 TDs
Mike Williams, WR
- Rec: 57.6 catches | 813 yds | 7.2 TDs
Travis Benjamin, WR
- Rec: 25.5 catches | 377 yds | 2.5 TDs
Hunter Henry, TE
- Rec: 56 catches | 718 yds | 6.3 TDs
Note: Projections as of August 22.
>> Get our experts' latest fantasy rankings and projections in our Draft Kit.
Chargers Fantasy Outlooks
Chris Raybon breaks down offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt's playcalling tendencies to forecast who will benefit most.
- In games Melvin Gordon has missed over the past two seasons, Austin Ekeler's carries per game go from 4.7 to 13.3 and his targets from 2.8 to 6.7. In the one game both of them missed last season, Justin Jackson got 16 carries and 4 targets. In the Anthony Lynn-Whisenhunt era, Chargers starting running backs are averaging 19.4 PPR and 15.5 standard points, or the equivalent of RB6 numbers. In the event that Gordon misses time, it's worth noting Danny Woodhead carried 9.5 times per game through two games under Whisenhunt before tearing his ACL, so Ekeler would likely continue to get a fair shake at a sizable role.
- After carrying the ball twice in his first five years in the league, Keenan Allen posted a career-high 9-75 rushing line last season, good for an extra 0.5 fantasy points per game.
- Mike Williams played 63% of snaps and ran 23.3 routes per game last season, which is expected to increase with Tyrell Williams now in Oakland. But given his team's average of 32.0 pass attempts and his per-route target rate of 16.8%, he would project for just 5.4 targets per game if he ran every route. He did seem to turn a corner down the stretch, though, and his 20.5% rate over the final eight games (including postseason) would project him for 6.5 targets per game, or 104 over 16 games. No WR with 104 or more targets finished below WR30 in PPR or WR37 in standard.
