Melvin Gordon has decided to end his hold out and report to the Los Angeles Chargers, and while he won't be playing this weekend, his return will obviously have significant ramifications on the Chargers long term.
Los Angeles has gotten off to a 1-2 start without him, so it will be certainly nice for the Bolts to have him back in the fold.
It might not be so nice, however, for Fantasy Football owners who invested some stock into some Chargers players.
Here are three players who will be drastically affected by Gordon's return.
3. Philip Rivers
Unlike the next two names on this list, Philip Rivers should benefit from Gordon's return.
Gordon gives him another option in the aerial attack, as Gordon is a good pass-catcher out of the backfield. It also takes a bit of pressure off of Rivers in the passing game and could limit interceptions.
Not that Rivers has been turning the ball over left and right, as he has thrown just two picks through three weeks, but having Gordon back should certainly help make things easier.
The more weapons Rivers has in the passing game, the better, especially with Hunter Henry out and Mike Williams fighting through a nagging back injury.
2. Justin Jackson
Justin Jackson has been the Chargers' No. 2 running back with Gordon out, and he has had a whole lot of success, carrying the ball 18 times for 142 yards, good for a ridiculous average of 7.9 yards per carry.
Los Angeles seems to like Jackson a lot and will still give him touches even with Gordon's return, but, obviously, he won't be involved as much as he has been over the past several weeks.
Not that Jackson was some elite Fantasy running back; his efficiency has been his most impressive quality. He doesn't have the volume that you would want out of your halfback in Fantasy Football, and he has only caught six passes for 13 yards.
But, he was still a fine option in case of injuries. Now, he has been relegated to a No. 3 back and probably won't make much of an impact in any Fantasy leagues.
1. Austin Ekeler
That brings us to the big one.
Ekeler has been very productive as a versatile weapon out of the Chargers' backfield this season, carrying the ball 38 times for 160 yards and a couple of touchdowns and hauling in 19 receptions for 208 yards and a pair of scores.
Thanks to his sheer volume, Ekeler has been a very solid option in Fantasy thus far, as he has been LA's No. 1 back. But, with Gordon's return, Ekeler will almost surely return to being the No. 2 guy.
He won't completely lose his usefulness, as he did total 554 yards and three touchdowns on the ground while catching 39 passes for 404 yards and three scores in 2018, but without Gordon, he was on pace to rush for over 850 yards and catch over 100 yards. Basically, he was on his way to being the next Alvin Kamara, or at least a poor man's version of him.
But his value has taken a rather big hit with Melvin Gordon's decision to end his holdout.
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