Chris Carson or Austin Ekeler
Who Should I Draft?
Experts' Pick | |||
RB - LAC  | RB - SEA  |  | |
Expert |
68% Recommended by 120 of 177 experts |
32% Recommended by 57 of 177 experts |
Add Player |
| Most Accurate Experts | |||
| Top ExpertsTop RB ExpertsTop Player Experts |  See who the Most Accurate Experts would draftUpgrade Now | ||
| Rankings | |||
| ECR | # 14 | # 15 | - |
| Best Rank | # 4 | # 9 | - |
| Worst Rank | # 23 | # 25 | - |
| Fantasy Points | |||
| Season Total | 217.0 | 195.6 | - |
| Avg Game | 13.6 | 13.0 | - |
| Avg Projection | 184.2 | 186.8 | - |
| Schedule | |||
| SOS Rank | 14 | 30 | - |
| Misc | |||
| Injury Alert | ‐ | ‐ | - |
| Expert Ranks | |||
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Austin Ekeler | Chris Carson | Add Player |
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RB - LAC | RB - SEA | |
| 2020 Schedule | ||
| Week 1 | at CIN | at ATL |
| Week 2 | vs. KC | vs. NE |
| Week 3 | vs. CAR | vs. DAL |
| Week 4 | at TB | at MIA |
| Week 5 | at NO | vs. MIN |
| Week 6 | vs. NYJ | BYE WEEK |
| Week 7 | at MIA | at ARI |
| Week 8 | vs. JAC | vs. SF |
| Week 9 | vs. LV | at BUF |
| Week 10 | BYE WEEK | at LAR |
| Week 11 | at DEN | vs. ARI |
| Week 12 | at BUF | at PHI |
| Week 13 | vs. NE | vs. NYG |
| Week 14 | vs. ATL | vs. NYJ |
| Week 15 | at LV | at WAS |
| Week 16 | vs. DEN | vs. LAR |
| Week 17 | at KC | at SF |
RB - LAC | RB - SEA | |
| Rushing | ||
| Rush Attempts | 164.0 | 247.0 |
| Rush Yards | 709.7 | 1,120.0 |
| Rush TDs | 4.5 | 7.8 |
| Receiving | ||
| Receptions | 66.0 | 31.5 |
| Rec Yards | 654.6 | 243.2 |
| Rec TDs | 3.9 | 1.3 |
| Points | ||
| Fantasy Points | 184.2 | 186.8 |
RB - LAC | RB - SEA | |
| 2019 Points | ||
| Week 1 | 33.4 | 18.0 |
| Week 2 | 17.3 | 6.7 |
| Week 3 | 8.1 | 3.0 |
| Week 4 | 24.2 | 14.5 |
| Week 5 | 7.3 | 18.3 |
| Week 6 | 2.8 | 21.9 |
| Week 7 | 18.5 | 7.4 |
| Week 8 | 8.2 | 15.0 |
| Week 9 | 9.3 | 11.3 |
| Week 10 | 10.8 | 16.1 |
| Week 11 | 13.2 | ‐ |
| Week 12 | ‐ | 5.7 |
| Week 13 | 12.7 | 16.9 |
| Week 14 | 27.3 | 9.1 |
| Week 15 | 8.1 | 25.7 |
| Week 16 | 6.9 | 6.0 |
| Week 17 | 8.9 | ‐ |
| Total | 217.0 | 195.6 |
| Average | 13.6 | 13.0 |
RB - LAC | RB - SEA | |
| 2019 Targets | ||
| Week 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Week 2 | 6 | 3 |
| Week 3 | 7 | 1 |
| Week 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Week 5 | 16 | 2 |
| Week 6 | 4 | 4 |
| Week 7 | 8 | 5 |
| Week 8 | 3 | 1 |
| Week 9 | 4 | 3 |
| Week 10 | 2 | 4 |
| Week 11 | 12 | ‐ |
| Week 12 | ‐ | 4 |
| Week 13 | 5 | 2 |
| Week 14 | 5 | 4 |
| Week 15 | 7 | 2 |
| Week 16 | 6 | 1 |
| Week 17 | 11 | ‐ |
RB - LAC | RB - SEA | |
| Expert | ||
| Jacob Wayne Lineups | Ekeler finished as the RB4 in PPR leagues last season despite sharing backfield work with Melvin Gordon who's now on the Broncos. However, I'm a little hesitant to jump to conclusions with his projection for this season as Philip Rivers is also gone from the team. Rivers has always been a QB who peppers his running backs with targets and last season was no different as Ekeler hauled in 92 catches. Replacing Rivers is Tyrod Taylor, a scrambling QB who has historically not thrown to his running backs. Ekeler will get a significant increase in his carry count with Gordon out, but I don't see him getting enough targets to make him a top-5 guy again. | I was down on Chris Carson earlier this offseason as I was worried about the presence of Rashaad Penny and Carlos Hyde. However, Penny is going to start the season on the PUP without a clear timetable and it's become clear throughout the offseason that this is still Carson's backfield to lose with Hyde serving as the backup. Assuming he isn't plagued by the same uncharacteristic fumbling issue from last season, Carson should be set for at least a 60-65% workload in one of the most run-heavy teams in the NFL. |
| Draft Engine Draft Engine | Melvin Gordon's 2019 holdout resulted in Ekeler racking up 490 scrimmage yards, 24 receptions and six touchdowns over four September games prior to Gordon's return. With Gordon having left for Denver, Ekeler will be the Chargers' main man in 2020. | Carson was off to a promising start as a rookie in '17 before breaking his leg in a Week 4 game against the Colts. He has bounced back with two straight seasons of more than 90 total yards per game. In '19, he took on a bigger role in Seattle's passing attack. |
| David Zach FantasyPros | Gordon vacated touches, improved Offensive Line, projection model darling, finally "THE" guy | |
| Ben Wasley The Fantasy First Down | I'm very torn on Austin Ekeler in 2019 and could see myself slotting him in anywhere from RB8 to RB 14 in half-ppr before the pre-season concludes. He remains a pass-catching monster but I'm not yet convinced he'll provide enough volume in the running game to justify a first-round pick. I expect a slight reduction in the quality of this attack overall with Philip Rivers gone and I could also see Joshua Kelley or Justin Jackson chipping into his goal line and between-the-tackles work. Ultimately, this really comes down to your risk-aversion. In PPR he'll be a monster but otherwise, he's a risk you may choose to avoid. If he's sitting there in the second round though, he's going to be very hard for me to pass up on. | The Seahawks running back room remains a nightmare for fantasy. There's clearly enormous upside available but it's an annual mess of the fumble master Chris Carson, injury prone Rashaad Penny and now the fun sponge Carlos Hyde. The common fantasy wisdom in these situations is to take the cheapest option but Rashaad Penny looks likely to start the season on IR and Carlos Hyde clearly isn't taking the starting role so it's really Carson that's the only valid option. If Carson gets the volume he enjoyed for most of 2019, he's a non-PPR monster with 20+ carries and 100+ yards most weeks. He's even starting to improve in the receiving game and has legitimate upside as a true workhorse in this elite Seahawks offense. If only the risk wasn't there. I'm taking him late in the 2nd round as a high upside option to pair with a veteran like Leveon Bell or Todd Gurley in the 3rd or 4th. |
| Mike Tagliere FantasyPros | After seeing Ekeler's contract extension this offseason, it seemed a little light for a workhorse, leading many to believe they'd draft a running back early on. They waited until the fourth round to select UCLA's Joshua Kelley, who's a bigger complementary back. The Chargers offense isn't likely going to be as high scoring as it was with Philip Rivers under center, but Ekeler remains the top dog in the backfield. Still, don't just anticipate this offense is going to be as potent, or that he'll have as many scoring opportunities, which is why he's best-suited as a high-end RB2 than an RB1. | If we knew Carson would be healthy the entire season, he'd be ranked as a top-12 running back. But we don't. There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Seahawks backfield, as Carson is coming off a season-ending hip injury, while Rashaad Penny is recovering from a torn ACL, and they drafted DeeJay Dallas in the fourth round of the draft. You'll want to pay close attention to this backfield as we approach fantasy draft season. |
| Rob Wilson The Fantasy Footballers | Melvin Gordon left and Ekeler remains. Some of the vacated carries and targets should funnel his way, while touchdown totals project to decline | Carson is a bit overlooked this season. Seattle remains committed to him and he should have another breezy RB2 season this year. |
| Frank Bonincontri Fantasy Wire HQ | Hoping he can hold up between the tackles for an entire season. If not, expect Jackson to bite into those goal line TDs, but its not enough to scare me off, the guy is a playmaker for real.. | Every season we say he won't be the RB1 by end of season and here we are. Again, the Seahawks are run heavy and Carson is an integral piece of the offense. I love his value in fantasy drafts as he always falls to the right spot each season. |
| Dalton Kates APEX Fantasy Leagues | Top 5 finish last year. Unlikely to be true workhorse, but will be the lead back in what should be an underrated offense. Tyrod at QB may hinder Ekeler's receiving production, but overall Ekeler is a special player and we want to be chasing this type of profile. | With Penny likely headed to PUP to start the season this leaves the opportunity for Carson to be the workhorse again. In a solid offense and doesn't offer the receiving upside we are necessarily looking for, but at his price he's a value. |
| Brandon Funston The Athletic | Averaged better than 1.0 FAN PTS/TOUCH in Half PPR formats each of his 3 seasons, and if he can maintain that with a QB change in 2020, another RB Top 10 finish likely | 96.9 YPG over past 2 seasons ranks 8th-best among RBs in that span, and he's also chipped in 9 TDs in each campaign - expected to be fully recovered from hip injury by Week 1 |
| Elliot Berkovits Packer Report | Ekeler finally gets the starting role in LA but he also loses his dump off heavy QB - Philip Rivers. Now he'll have the combination of Justin Herbert and Tyrod Taylor to get him the football. With Herbert likely to be the starter sooner rather than later, I like Ekeler's chances of finishing inside the 10 at RB. | The Seahawks backfield is never an easy one to figure out but over the last two seasons, Carson has proven to be the superior back to Rashad Penny. While he will never get a full workload, I expect Carson to see the majority of the work, especially near the goal line. |
| Jason Petropoulos BRoto Fantasy | In .5 PPR leagues last season, Austin Ekeler (14.71 PPG) actually performed better than Miles Sanders (14.36 PPG) in the second half of the season. Sanders is getting loads of love while Ekeler has been more of a forgotten stud. Ekeler did not have a game with double-digit rushes after Week 4 last season and was still an RB1. He'll get it done, no matter what. | |
| Derek Lofland FantasyPros | Ekeler had 1,550 yards from scrimmage and 11 touchdowns while splitting touches with RB Melvin Gordon for 12 games. Gordon leaving for Denver should give him an increased workload, but Ekeler's quarterback situation is less than ideal and they added Joshua Kelley in the NFL Draft, which could create another RBBC. | Carson is a RB2 coming off a season with 1,496 yards from scrimmage and 9 touchdowns. The only downside was his 7 fumbles. Seattle could be a RBBC this year, but if Carson can hang onto the ball, he is a solid RB2. |
| Kyle Yates FantasyPros | Ekeler should see a drop-off in overall targets with Tyrod Taylor now at QB, but it won't be as much as some people are projecting. Ekeler's chances of repeating as the RB6 simply aren't there again this season, but he's going to be a fantastic RB2 option for your roster. | Carson is a bit of a question mark for 2020 at this point due to his recovery from a hip injury. While all signs point to him being ready to start week one, we need to be prepared to shift as new news comes out. Right now, drafting Carson at his current ADP is certainly risky. |
| Seth Miller Crossroads Fantasy Football | I'm bad at ranking outliers. Had a career high 132 carries last year, yet to go over 560 rushing yards. Makes his money in the passing game, which now unknown. Can't be more efficient than last year: 108 targets, 92 receptions. I think it would be safe(?) to pencil him in for 1000 total yards and 5 TDs. Which would put him in the RB20s range. 20 touches a game without Gordon(4 games)23.75ppg 12 touches a game with Gordon(12 games)14ppg. 6 rushes a game with Gordon The Chargers were 28th in att last year and that still leaves almost 17 rushing attempts per year Gordon also got a healthy 55 targets in his 12 games, albeit with Rivers, Melvin also paced as RB11 after his return | Hip injury is definitely something to follow-> Actually didn't need surgery for it, is expected to make a full recovery. Meanwhile, there is talk of the PUP list for Rashaad Penny, and bring Marshawn Lynch back, all good news for Chris Carson |
| Wolf of Roto Street Roto Street Journal | Back on a huge deal, suggesting he'll remain a focal point -- even moreso than when he was the RB4 in PPR. Avoided any major Draft Day additions as well (only 4th rounder Josh Kelley added)... Ekeler has top-3 upside. | Received a huge vote of confidence with the Seahawks surprisingly avoiding any major backfield moves in FA or the Draft. His fractured hip could hamper him all offseason and potentially to begin 2020 though, but the team likely would've made more RB moves if they were truly worried. If healthy.. no one was more consistent in 2019, with nearly 90% of Carson's active games finishing as a RB1 or RB2. |
