Los Angeles Chargers Running back Room Excels in Week 3 of the NFL Preseason
The Los Angeles Chargers and who to look out for.
By Nathan Gosney
The Los Angeles Chargers won a hard-fought game against the San Francisco 49ers on Friday, Aug. 25. During the course of this game, the Chargers flexed their ability to annihilate the opposition, gashing the 49ers’ defense for 267 rushing yards.
The rushing attack was not all just the running backs, as the offensive line’s blocking deserves plenty of credit. They played an amazing game, using their size, strength and hand placement to ensure leverage against the 49ers' front seven. This, as well as the dual-threat ability of quarterback, Max Duggan, accounted for 51 of the 267 yards.
The main source of the rushing yards came from the stellar group of running backs the Chargers have on the current 90-man roster. In the coming few days, many of these players will be released to the free-agent market, making a strong audition for running back-deprived teams.
Joshua Kelley
To begin, Kelley, who was the leading rusher of the entire game, was a Chargers' former fourth-round selection. Kelley, who is now going into his fourth season, had two carries for 78 yards and a touchdown. In the first quarter, Kelley had a massive 75-yard run and that was enough for the coaches to rest him for the remainder of the game. This ended his preseason on a high note with his spot as a very likely number two rusher behind super-star Austin Ekeler.
Tyler Hoosman
The next leading rusher was the 24-year-old Hoosman from the College of North Dakota. In his try-out for the Chargers roster, he had the most rushing attempts this week. Hoosman was given 12 attempts which he turned into 43 yards. This ended up being a very average 3.6 yards per carry. Hoosman is one to look out for to make the Chargers practice squad as a bigger back, with his bowling ball-like build at 5 feet 11 inches, 215 pounds.
Elijah Dotson
Elijah Dotson was the star of the 2023 Chargers preseason, as he was formerly the main offensive piece of the Northern Colorado Golden Bears. After Dotson had a very impressive week one preseason, he followed such a performance with a very up-and-down week two. This week, he solidified himself as a very likely candidate to make this roster, with his six attempts for 33 yards, averaging an outstanding 5.5 yards per carry.
Isaiah Spiller
Next is another former fourth-round selection from the Chargers, the patient, yet quick running back, Isaiah Spiller. Spiller had a very rough rookie season with the Chargers last season but in year two with a new coaching regime, Spiller looks refreshed. In this game, he was not given much from his offensive line but did have five attempts for 14 yards.
Spiller will be one to look out for as the third rusher behind the aforementioned Kelley and Ekeler. His vision, balance and ability to catch the football gives him enough to warrant the coaching staff to include Kelley in the Chargers 2023 offense.
Aaron Shampklin
Shampklin is a very recent signing for the Bolts and was the last runner in the rotation this week. Shampklin did not have a very impressive debut, as he only had 10 yards on three carries. Some may argue a lack of attempts is the reason for the lack of production, but in contrast, only one of those attempts went for positive yardage.
More than likely Shampklin will find himself back on the free-agent market after a very short stint with the team. Someone to look out for is the former Harvard product to find another home in the coming days.
Conclusion
Overall, this team has a gauntlet of rushers all with talent and different skill sets, which gives each one of them a unique case to make this team. This contest against the 49ers added another chapter for each one of these running backs, giving them all a stronger resumé. Many of these rushers will be in the Chargers' plans for the 2023 season and many will be headed to one of the other 31 teams for a chance to continue their dreams.