Should I Draft Austin Ekeler or Zack Moss in Fantasy Football This Year?

Fantasy football is a game that’s always changing. Good players from last year could be less productive the next year, and a big part of that is players changing teams.

Two players changing teams include Washington Commanders running back Austin Ekeler and Cincinnati Bengals running back Zack Moss.

Ekeler has made a career out of his pass-catching, while Moss served as a fantastic fill-in during Colts running back Jonathan Taylor’s holdout.

Below, I’ll examine the value of each player and provide a fantasy football strategy as to who to pick in your drafts.

2024 Fantasy Outlook for Austin Ekeler

According to TruMedia, Ekeler had 179 carries for 628 yards (3.5 yards per carry), five rushing touchdowns, and caught 51 passes on 74 targets for 436 yards and one touchdown in 2023 across 14 games with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Now, Ekeler lands with the Commanders, who have Brian Robinson Jr., who had 178 carries with the team across 15 games in 2023.

Ekeler’s rushing production slipped massively from 2022 to 2023. He finished with 3.5 yards per carry. Before that, he had at least 4.2 yards per carry every season since 2019.

Since entering the league in 2017, Ekeler has racked up 440 receptions and 30 touchdowns.

He’ll still get some carries on the Commanders, but this feels like a situation where Robinson Jr. gets the carries and Ekeler gets the pass-catching work.

The Commanders have a Week 14 bye week.

2024 Fantasy Outlook for Zack Moss

Moss finished the 2023 season with 183 carries for 794 yards, five touchdowns, and 27 catches on 37 targets for 192 yards and two touchdowns with the Colts.

He missed Week 1, but from Weeks 2 to 5 without Taylor in the fold (he had just six carries in Week 5), Moss had 89 carries for 445 yards and four total touchdowns. This was massive production, including a 165-yard game against Tennessee in Week 5.

Now, Moss joins the Bengals and should see the bulk of the carries ahead of Chase Brown, a former fifth-round draft pick.

Moss didn’t play in the preseason, while Brown had five carries for 10 yards.

I fully expect Moss to be the starter with Brown mixed in.

The Bengals have a Week 12 bye week.

Who Should I Draft in 2024?

I trust Moss’ situation more, but Ekeler has the pass-catching upside.

The Commanders did trade wide receiver Jahan Doston, which should help Ekeler, but Moss should get more consistent touches. I don’t know how much I expect to see Brown.

Moss was productive when given the spotlight with the Colts. That said, the Bengals’ offensive line is slightly below average, while the Colts have an excellent line.

Moss is going only four spots later than Ekeler, so there’s little chance of obtaining both.
In PPR leagues, I think I’m siding with Ekeler. He’ll get pass-catching opportunities and the Commanders signed him to a two-year, $8.4 million deal.

If I knew Moss would be running behind a solid offensive line and would run more than 22.5 times per game (30th in the NFL in 2023), I’d be more inclined to go with him because of the consistency. But five catches from Ekeler could provide more points than Moss.