Welcome to the third piece in our series breaking down the Los Angeles Chargers’ veteran free-agent class.
So far, we have assessed center Bradley Bozeman and cornerback Kristian Fulton, two projected starters.
These film breakdowns are honing in on members of the class who are positioned for large roles in 2024.
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Next up: the running backs, Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins.
Edwards and Dobbins are the top two running backs on the Chargers’ depth chart entering training camp. Edwards signed a two-year, $6.5 million deal in March. Dobbins signed a one-year, $1.13 million deal in April. They are both former Baltimore Ravens. Edwards was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Ravens in 2018 and spent six years with the organization. Dobbins was drafted in the second round in 2020 and spent four years with the organization.
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In Baltimore, they crossed paths with many new members of the Chargers’ front office and coaching staff, including general manager Joe Hortiz, offensive coordinator Greg Roman, run game coordinator and tight ends coach Andy Bischoff and offensive line coach Mike Devlin. Of course, Edwards and Dobbins also played for Jim Harbaugh’s brother, John.
Edwards is coming off his best season. In 2023, he set career highs in rushing yards (810) and touchdowns (13). Dobbins had a promising rookie season in 2020 before injuries derailed his career. He tore his ACL in the final preseason game of 2021. He missed the entire season. He returned in 2022 and showed promise down the stretch of that season, including in the Ravens’ playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. In Week 1 of 2023, though, Dobbins tore his Achilles and missed the rest of the season. Edwards also tore his ACL in 2021 and missed that entire season.
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I am combining the players for this film review because they play the same position.
I watched two games for each player. For Edwards, I watched Week 8 against the Arizona Cardinals and Week 16 against the Jacksonville Jaguars from last season. For Dobbins, I had to go back to 2022 to find a full game of a film. I watched Week 14 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and that wild-card round loss to the Bengals.
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Gus Edwards
Some observations from my notebook on Edwards as I was watching the film:
• Big-body thumper who makes quick decisions to get downhill and take the yardage available.
• Smooth cutter at his size.
• Almost always falls forward when finishing runs.
• Good vision to find small creases and stays light on his feet while keeping his momentum north.
• Not a dynamic pass-catcher or route-runner but functional when called upon.
• Red zone and short-yardage beast and not just because of his size; has really good feel and patience for finding space in those situations (84.7 percent conversion rate on runs with 1 yard to gain last season; big upgrade for Chargers, who only converted on 58.7 percent of such runs in 2023, last in the NFL, according to TruMedia).
• Pretty versatile runner; at his best when he can get downhill between the tackles, but he can also get to the edge, on designed outsize zone runs and when bouncing outside.
• Wears teams down in the fourth quarter with his run style, size and physicality.
• Not overly explosive when hitting the line of scrimmage, relies more on size, patience and vision.
Let’s dive into some plays.
The bread and butter of Edwards’ game is power. And this part of his skill set comes to life in two primary situations: in the red zone and in the fourth quarter when his team is leading.
Against the Cardinals, the Ravens faced a first-and-goal from the 6-yard line with 1:00 remaining before halftime. With three timeouts remaining, they opted to hand off to Edwards.
As Edwards approached the line of scrimmage, there was no clear hole. And the Cardinals had an unblocked defender in safety Jalen Thompson, No. 34.
Edwards put his head down and drove through the middle of the front.
He was hit initially by defensive lineman Ben Stille, No. 90.
But Edwards kept driving his legs.
And driving.
And driving.
He was finally brought down just short of the goal line.
Edwards scored from 1 yard out one play later.
Labeling Edwards as purely a power back is missing the full picture, however. He has really impressive feet for his size, and he can find and exploit tiny holes because of his smooth short-area movements.
This play in the fourth quarter against the Jaguars exemplifies that. It also shows what he can mean for an offense late in games.
The Ravens led 17-7 in the fourth quarter when Edwards took this first-down handoff deep in Jacksonville territory.
As Edwards turned upfield, he already had eyes on Ravens fullback Patrick Ricard sealing off Jaguars defensive lineman Adam Gotsis, No. 96.
Edwards hesitated slightly to give left tackle Ronnie Stanley time to execute his pull block.
Edwards slithered through the small hole and past the arm tackle attempt from linebacker Foyesade Oluokun, No. 23.
He broke another tackle attempt in the open field from safety Andrew Wingard.
And he finished with a stiff arm on safety Rayshawn Jenkins for a few extra yards.
J.K. Dobbins
Some observations on Dobbins from my notebook as I was watching the film (with the obvious caveat that these games were pre-Achilles injury):
• Compact runner with low center of gravity and excellent contact balance; can drive through arm tackles because of his low pad level.
• Elite vision to see holes away from his initial lane.
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• Patience and feel to allow blocks to develop in front of him; has an obvious understanding of how to change speeds to set up blocks.
• Explosive but never really rushed, and that gives him the ability to find small crevices for extra yards at the end of runs.
• Finishes runs with authority.
• Legitimate speed to win races to the edge.
• Very capable pass-catcher out of the backfield, with the potential to turn check downs into explosives on any play.
• Regularly uses a devastating stutter step to freeze defenders, which allows him to escape from dangerous situations in the backfield.
• Eager for contact (Ravens had him chipping on the edge against the Bengals, and he did not shy away from delivering a blow to the pass rusher on that side).
On to the tape, which for Dobbins down the stretch of 2022 was electric. Dobbins had initially tried to return earlier in the season, in Week 3. But he needed an additional surgery to clean up some scar tissue. Dobbins returned a second time in Week 14. He rushed for 120 yards on 15 carries in that game and looked like a premium back.
The one part of Dobbins’ game that really jumps out is his vision.
The Ravens faced a first-and-10 from the Steelers’ 43-yard line on this handoff.
The Steelers fit the run well. Dobbins faced a wall.
But he saw a hole developing on the other side of the play.
He jump-cut to approach the hole.
Then he exploded.
And Dobbins finished through contact, driving for extra yardage to turn what looked like a dead play into a 6-yard gain.
Dobbins provides more juice as a receiver than Edwards. He has been lining up in the slot some during OTAs.
This play from the wild card game against the Ravens was super impressive.
The Ravens trailed by seven points in the third quarter. It was the opening play of an eventual tying touchdown drive.
The Ravens were in pistol formation, and Dobbins aligned behind quarterback Tyler Huntley.
Huntley took the snap, and Dobbins released to the right flat.
Pressure came up the middle.
Huntley was just able to get the pass off the Dobbins in the flat.
Dobbins turned upfield.
Then he juked Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt.
And Dobbins was gone down the sideline for a 27-yard gain.
A second significant leg injury could affect some of the traits Dobbins showed on film in 2022. But this was a smart bet from the Chargers. He is still only 25, and the upside is tremendous.
Dobbins and Edwards are a complementary pairing. Hortiz and Harbaugh were able to overhaul their running back room in one offseason without breaking the bank.
There is a lot to like with both players.
(Top photo of Gus Edwards: Courtney Culbreath / Getty Images; screenshots via NFL+)
