Grant Paulsen and Austin Ekeler share a birthday, both born on May 17, and they’re both ice cream cake guys. Hard-hitting journalism, sure, but fear not: G&D asked Ekeler the hard questions when he joined them on Friday, too, like what he sees his role being here in DC.
“There’s an anticipated role going into it, but one of the reasons I came here is with Anthony Lynn, it might be a similar role to what I had with Melvin Gordon my first few years with the Chargers,” Ekeler said. “Brian Robinson is the bigger back, I’m still my scat speed back self that can catch the ball, so it’s different types of styles. That’s how I see it playing out, which we’re kind of seeing play out across the league, but I’m looking forward to supporting whoever is playing quarterback and making some plays in the DMV.”
One of the reasons he came to be with Lynn, his former head coach in Cali, is because he’s exactly the type of coach Ekeler wants and needs.
“My relationship with him is strictly business, but you know he knows a lot about it. He will put pressure on you, tell you what you’re good at and what he wants you to work on. I want to be coached, and that’s what he does,” Ekeler said. “He’s not there to be your best freind, he’s there to tell you how to work best. He knows a lot about the running back position, and that’s where I got a lot of my fundamentals in the NFL. Having him as my running back coach, I’m looking forward to being pushed in that type of scenario.”
He is a different player than he was in the past – “I’m still the physical type player but I’ve added a lot of depth to my knowledge base and leadership,” he said – but he also understands that he can be an important piece of the learning curve for whomever the Commanders draft to play quarterback.
“I’m gotten good with understanding playbooks and being able to help guys articulate it, and carry some of the load of the mental side by being in the right spots and helping that way,” Ekeler said. “The physical stuff, I can anticipate a lot more because I’ve seen it a lot more now, so I’m a more mature player that can be more effective.”
All that said, how would he use himself if he were Kliff Kingsbury?
“I liked Joe Lombardi’s offense, and he used Alvin Kamara like that with Drew (Brees) – if the running back is at your side, he’s not just a check-down, he’s in your progression. I would have myself in that kind of role,” Ekeler said. “Within some of the play-calling, there will be plays where the RB is in the progressions early. In the run game, I like to attack the edges. I can still run between the tackles, but I love wide zone, gap schemes; give me a toss and put me on the edge, I want to get my shoulders to the sideline and make power cuts up the field. And of course, in the screen game, I can move around the field, especially in the red zone.”
And for those who think last year is an indication that he’s already on the downswing?
"I don’t like to look back in the past; I had the injury, a different coordinator, other injuries, and I wasn't playing as well for whatever reason - a lot of factors at play between myself and the environment, but it was a down year and we were all part of that," he said. "For me, it’s about looking forward; we got through it, and now I have a new opportunity. That’s where my eyes are at. In the fantasy world, one bad game and you’re washed, and if you do that for a year, everyone is on the bandwagon that you suck, but you can't get caught up in all that. As an individual, I block it all out. I know who I am and what I'm all about."