Former Chargers Star Not Necessarily Bullish on New Team's Playoff Chances

He's taking a pragmatic approach to team-building.

Jan 7, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Ekeler (30) runs with the ball during the first quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Former top Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Ekeler, who joined the Washington Commanders in free agency earlier this offseason, believes his new club has playoff contention, one year removed from a dismal 4-13 finish.

The team drafted 2023 Heisman Trophy-winning LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick during April's 2024 NFL Draft.

A 6-foot-4, 210-pound super-athlete, the All-American superstar completed 236 of his 327 pass atttempts last year (a career-best 72.2 percent) for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns (against just four interceptions), notching a 208 passer rating.

Ekeler believes that his revamped new team is capable of surprising everybody this fall, as he told "Up & Adams" host Kay Adams.

Are we sleeping on the @Commanders as a potential PLAYOFF team? 👀🔊 #raisehail @AustinEkeler @heykayadams #HTTC pic.twitter.com/kWGe1BQgUc

— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) June 17, 2024

"I can't even think about [the playoffs], I gotta think about getting the guys that are in the building ready to go. And what does that mean? That means establishing a standard, because there's a lot of new guys around," Ekeler said. "Then it needs to be established... how we're going to work, how we're going to go out there, how we're actually going to execute. Who's leading?"

"I've been around for a while, I was a captain for the Chargers for the last four years, and so I have put myself in a role where I am vocal," Ekeler continued. "To be a captain is a huge honor, you get voted on by your team. But it's not even about that, it's about making sure that we have put ourselves in a position to be successful because at the end of the day, we're all trying to get paid, we're all trying to win games. So what do we got to do? We want to put ourselves in a position where we can win. So we need people to be held accountable, to be playing up to a standard, and be competing their ass off out in OTAs."

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