3 NFL contenders that should sign DeMarco Murray

2. L.A. Chargers

Last season Melvin Gordon rushed for a career high 1,105 yards and scored eight touchdowns, but if Gordon goes down with an injury, who will pick up the slack?

Behind Gordon, the depth chart includes young running backs that have little to no NFL experience. Because of that it’s tough to write them off, but there is reason to be concerned if the Chargers need to play without Gordon for an extended period of time.

Austin Ekeler, who was an undrafted rookie, finished last season with 539 total yards and five touchdowns. On the ground, he averaged over five yards a carry, which was much higher than Gordon’s 3.9 yards per carry.

In 2017, the Chargers rushed for 99.7 yards per game, 24th in the NFL and they only compiled 3.8 yards per carry, 28th in the league. Gordon may have finished with the seventh most rushing yards in the league, behind Todd Gurley, Le’Veon Bell, Kareem Hunt, LeSean McCoy, Mark Ingram and Jordan Howard, but he had the third most attempts.

Injuries are a legit concern for the third-year running back and expecting Ekeler to pick up Gordon’s slack if he was to miss some time isn’t smart for a team that should be a contender in 2018.

Similar to the Packers, adding a veteran like Murray would provide depth at the position and add a veteran leader to the roster. More importantly, Murray would lessen Gordon’s workload which could result in him staying healthy this season.