Don't laugh – Ezekiel Elliott might be better addition for Chargers than fans expect

One doesn’t have to look far online to see NFL fans shrugging off the Los Angeles Chargers adding running back Ezekiel Elliott before the first round of the playoffs.

Washed accusations are common when it comes to Elliott these days and the fact he chose the Chargers over other interested teams as he goes ring chasing comes up in the conversations, too.

But the Chargers added Elliott for two key reasons—short-yardage situations and his skills as a pass-blocker, an area that Chargers coaches have said keeps a rookie like Kimani Vidal from seeing the field often.

For those reasons alone, Elliott could get elevated from the practice squad to the active roster for Saturday’s playoff game against the Houston Texans. The pass-blocking in the backfield simply hasn’t been good enough after the first two names on the depth chart and there was at least one instance of failed short-yardage running during the win over Las Vegas in the season finale.

Behind J.K. Dobbins, who has battled injuries of his own this year, Gus Edwards has missed the last two games with an ankle injury and remains a question mark for the playoff game.

So while it’s easy to hop on the meme train right now about Elliott to the Chargers, there’s a very real chance he could see immediate situational usage, especially if Edwards isn’t 100 percent.

And if Elliott contributes during a playoff win, the critics will be deleting some comments pretty quickly as both player and team are proven right about deciding to link up.