Chargers News: Austin Ekeler Misses The Cut For 2023 NFL Superstar Club

Ekeler continues to be heavily underrated

The debate for best running back in the game changes from year to year, it seems like. There are new guys every year who explode out of nowhere or remain as dominant and consistent for years upon years. 

The best players in the world play in this league, but some players separate themselves from the ordinary and are in a league of their own. NFL podcaster Dan Hanzus made his 2023 Superstar Club list for each offensive position, and when it came to running backs, our very own Austin Ekeler failed to make the cut once again. 

This seems to be the case every year with Ekeler; for some reason, he gets left off lists, Pro Bowls, All-Pros, and major award categories. That remained true for the superstar running backs list, as Hanzus explains why he was hesitant to put Ekeler among the rest. 

I really want

Austin Ekeler

to make me pay. I want that man to have another monster season, then see me at radio row at next year's Super Bowl, take a printed copy of this article and performatively stuff it in my front pocket like Bill Cowher

did to that poor ref

once upon a time. I would deserve such public humiliation. After all, how can a man with 38 total touchdowns the past two seasons alone (12 more than any other player in football) not qualify as a superstar? Is the stink of the Bolts' 27-0 playoff collapse rubbing off on my analysis here? I sure hope not, but I can't be certain. Ekeler is a wonderful two-way player, the best all-purpose back in the world not named CMC. But a true superstar? I'm not there. It brings me some peace that

a slice of the general public agrees

.

(via NFL.com)

What more does this man have to do to get the respect he earns? The 28-year-old enters each season in the best shape and dominates and plays the right kind of football to help his team out. He is as lowkey as it comes, and although he requested a trade this past offseason, he remained calm and didn't spaz out on the front office or social media as we see others do. 

The others who made the list are Nick Chubb, Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, and Jonathan Taylor. Ekeler had a better season than three of those four in 2022 and is primed for another spectacular season in which should be an explosive offense. 

Another year of Ekeler silencing his doubters is coming up soon.