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Kris Rhim, ESPN
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Injury-plagued Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins, who has played in just 24 of a potential 73 potential games since the Baltimore Ravens drafted him in 2020, told reporters Thursday that when healthy, he is one of the league’s best running backs.
“I do think if I get the volume, I’ll be one of the best in the league,” he said. “I’ve shown that.”
“Y’all know how much yards I averaged per carry?”
Dobbins has a career average of 5.8 yards per carry, the highest of any back since 2020 with a minimum of 200 career attempts.
“I don’t know how many backs got that,” he said.
The issue for Dobbins has been staying on the field.
Last season with Baltimore, he suffered a season-ending Achilles rupture in Week 1.
In a 2021 preseason game, he tore his ACL, LCL, meniscus and hamstring against the Washington Commanders and missed the remainder of that season.
Dobbins returned in 2022 and played in four of the Ravens’ first six games before having arthroscopic surgery. He returned in Week 14 and finished the season. In those final five games, Dobbins averaged 6.5 yards per carry and 91.8 yards per game and caught a receiving touchdown in a playoff loss against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Dobbins and the Chargers’ running backs will be an integral part of this offense under new coach Jim Harbaugh, who has won with dominant rushing offenses. And they emphasized the importance of that this offseason.
“Can you imagine Justin Herbert with a great running game?” offensive coordinator Greg Roman said in February. “… We don’t know, but I can imagine what it might look like. So that’s kind of the vision.”
The Chargers have some questions in the backfield.
Roman, who was the offensive coordinator in Baltimore for Dobbins and Gus Edwards, said the two backs are the leaders of the Chargers’ group. Still, he hasn’t committed to a starter or a lead back. The Chargers drafted running back Kimani Vidal in the sixth round and also have Isaiah Spiller, Elijah Dotson, and Jaret Patterson on the roster.
Harbaugh said Edwards had an unspecified offseason surgery and hasn’t yet practiced in team drills through two days of training camp. Dobbins, meanwhile, has been a full participant and said that the game has felt slower to him since he returned.
“I feel like I’m in college out there right now,” Dobbins said. “And I do think that the storm is over. Now I’m on a new journey, a healthy journey this year. You guys will see — it’ll be special.”