Fantasy Football: 4 Unexpectedly Great Week 10 Performances

Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

NFL.Com Start Percentage: 0%
Week 10 Fantasy Points: 21.9

Wait, what just happened? Someone not named Melvin Gordon led the Chargers backfield? That's right, Austin Ekeler finished as the week's third-best fantasy rusher (NFL.com scoring).

Ekeler is a rookie, and an undrafted one at that, so it makes sense that he was well off the casual fantasy player's radar. But check this out: over the first four weeks of the season, he played a total of just 12 offensive snaps. Over the next four games, he averaged almost 14 per game. Then in Week 10, he played 23 snaps. He's clearly carving out a role for himself.

Ekeler appears to have passed Branden Oliver as the direct handcuff to Gordon, and that alone makes him a player of whom to be aware. He might also be earning a change of pace role that has standalone value.

Producing 119 yards and 2 touchdowns was nice, but he also committed a costly fumble late in the game. We'll have to wait and see how much the coaches hold that against him, but Ekeler is definitely a player to consider adding to your roster.