Has Commanders RB Austin Ekeler done any homework on QBs Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels? 'Heck, no'
Changing coasts and changing conferences, Austin Ekeler is likely to be sharing backfields with another first-round quarterback.
Having played the past seven seasons with former first-rounders Philip Rivers and Justin Herbert, Ekeler's set to play his first season with the Washington Commanders in 2024. It's next door to a guarantee that Ekeler will be playing with another first-rounder, as Washington holds the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and doesn’t plan on shopping it.
With speculation at a high regarding whether the Commanders will select LSU's Jayden Daniels or North Carolina's Drake Maye, Ekeler, perhaps surprisingly, has yet to do any homework on the two. He's just waiting for it to play out like everyone else.
"Heck, no. I ain't got time to do the homework," Ekeler said recently in an interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio. "That's not my job, that's not my job. I'll leave that to the administration to do that. Whoever we end up picking, if that's the route we choose to go, then I'll do some homework then. But until they give me that person's name, I ain't even worried about it."
Whether it's Maye or Daniels, Ekeler is likely to play a major part in their rookie season -- and they for him during his first Washington campaign.
Despite dealing with injury issues and missing three games in 2023 with the Los Angeles Chargers, Ekeler still hauled in 55 receptions, marking the fifth consecutive year in which he's had at least 50 catches.
Whether it was Rivers or Herbert, Ekeler proved to be a go-to back in the passing game, having posted 400-plus receiving yards in six of his seven seasons.
Now, Ekeler, who's tallied 8,239 scrimmage yards and 69 total touchdowns in his career, will be catching balls from Daniels, Maye
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