Joshua Kelley
26-Year-Old
Free Agent
2023 Rush/Rec Stats
ATT
107
YDS
405
TD
2
YDS
32
TD
0
2024 Projections
RANKS
Roster spot uncertain for '24
Kelley tallied two carries for one yard in Sunday's 13-12 loss to the Chiefs. He finished the season with 107 carries for 405 yards and two touchdowns to go along with an additional eight receptions for 32 yards.
ANALYSIS
Kelley played 18 offensive snaps Sunday, his most playing time since Week 13. It's unclear why he suddenly jumped over Isaiah Spiller, who was a healthy inactive despite three straight weeks of relief play, but neither backup running back really did much when Austin Ekeler was healthy. Kelley finished the 2023 season with a career-high 405 rushing yards in large part due to a four-week stretch to begin the season where he operated as the starter with the aforementioned Ekeler sidelined, but he averaged just 3.6 yards per carry across 57 rush attempts. The 26-year-old enters the offseason an unrestricted free agent and might not be a candidate to return to Los Angeles given the expected coaching and front-office upheaval.
Kelley played 18 offensive snaps Sunday, his most playing time since Week 13. It's unclear why he suddenly jumped over Isaiah Spiller, who was a healthy inactive despite three straight weeks of relief play, but neither backup running back really did much when Austin Ekeler was healthy. Kelley finished the 2023 season with a career-high 405 rushing yards in large part due to a four-week stretch to begin the season where he operated as the starter with the aforementioned Ekeler sidelined, but he averaged just 3.6 yards per carry across 57 rush attempts. The 26-year-old enters the offseason an unrestricted free agent and might not be a candidate to return to Los Angeles given the expected coaching and front-office upheaval.
NFL Stats
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Fantasy/Red Zone Stats
See red zone opportunities inside the 20, 10 and 5-yard lines along with the percentage of time they converted the opportunity into a touchdown.
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Advanced NFL Stats
How do Joshua Kelley's 2023 advanced stats compare to other running backs?
This section compares his advanced stats with players at the same position. The bar represents the player's percentile rank.
The longer the bar, the better it is for the player.
Broken Tackle %
6.5%Positive Run %
82.2%% Yds After Contact
61.2%Avg Yds After Contact
2.3Rushing TD %
1.9%Touches Per Game
6.8% Snaps w/Touch
31.1%Air Yards Per Game
0.1Air Yards Per Snap
0.01% Team Air Yards
0.0%% Team Targets
1.9%Avg Depth of Target
0.2 YdsCatch Rate
66.7%Drop Rate
16.7%Avg Yds After Catch
5.0% Targeted On Route
6.8%Avg Yds Per Route Run
0.18Loading Advanced NFL Stats...
2023
2022
2021
2020
2023 NFL Game Log
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Receiving Alignment Breakdown
See where Joshua Kelley lined up on the field and how he performed at each spot.
Detailed
Grouped
Side
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2023 Joshua Kelley Split Stats
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Measurables Review
View College Player Page
How do Joshua Kelley's measurables compare to other running backs?
This section compares his draft workout metrics with players at the same position. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that metric and it would be considered average.
Height
5' 11"Weight
212 lbs40-Yard Dash
4.49 secShuttle Time
4.28 secCone Drill
6.95 secVertical Jump
31.0 inBroad Jump
121 inBench Press
23 repsHand Length
9.63 inArm Length
31.63 in
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Likely to get Week 4 start
Kelley, who's started the last two games for an injured Austin Ekeler, appears set to reprise his role as the No. 1 back in Sunday's Week 4 matchup against the Raiders with Ekeler listed as doubtful for the contest due to his ankle injury.
ANALYSIS
Kelley hasn't been able to capitalize on his opportunities, gaining a scant 51 yards on 24 carries and only adding one reception for five yards as a receiver in that pair of starts. However, those two games came against the stout run defenses of the Titans and Vikings. In contrast, Sunday's matchup versus the Raiders sees Kelley get a crack at a unit surrendering a more palatable 122.8 rushing yards per contest at 4.3 yards per carry.
Kelley hasn't been able to capitalize on his opportunities, gaining a scant 51 yards on 24 carries and only adding one reception for five yards as a receiver in that pair of starts. However, those two games came against the stout run defenses of the Titans and Vikings. In contrast, Sunday's matchup versus the Raiders sees Kelley get a crack at a unit surrendering a more palatable 122.8 rushing yards per contest at 4.3 yards per carry.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
After a brutal first two seasons with the Chargers, Kelley finally gained some traction in his third year. The 2020 fourth-round pick from UCLA was bottled up for just 456 yards and two touchdowns on 144 carries entering last year -- a mere 3.2 yards per carry -- so his still-mediocre 2022 box score of 287 yards and two touchdowns on 69 carries (4.2 YPC) marked a significant improvement. The Chargers seemingly played Kelley ahead of 2022 fourth-round pick Isaiah Spiller mostly because of blitz pickup and scheme familiarity. Losing that edge this season with a new offensive coordinator coming in could cost Kelley his job, even though Spiller is coming off an unimpressive rookie year with only 21 touches. The good news for Kelley is soft competition behind Austin Ekeler, with those two and Spiller joined by last year's fourth-stringer, Larry Rountree, and a few undrafted rookies.
More Fantasy News
Low snap share again
Kelley tallied two carries for two yards in the 16-9 loss to the Broncos on Sunday.
ANALYSIS
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Negative yards on lone carry
Kelley lost two yards on his lone carry in Saturday's 24-22 loss to the Bills.
ANALYSIS
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A bit more playing time in blowout
Kelley tallied five carries for 22 yards and caught his lone target for six yards in Thursday's 63-21 throttling at the hands of the Raiders.
ANALYSIS
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No impact in loss
Kelley rushed three times for six yards in Sunday's 24-7 loss to the Broncos.
ANALYSIS
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Could see uptick in playing time
Head coach Brandon Staley suggested Wednesday that Kelley could see increased opportunities out of the Chargers backfield in the weeks to come, Daniel Popper of The Athletic reports. "Competition for carries is going to be something that you can see happening," Staley said. "We're going to keep exploring, making adjustments so that we can find that rhythm I've been talking about. That's certainly one way to do it."
ANALYSIS
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