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J.K. Dobbins Injury History & Updates

Basic StatsJ.K. Dobbins's Basic Stats

J.K. Dobbins
ADP: N/A
Bye: 5
Experience: 4
Age: 25.8
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 215
40 Time: 4.37

SPARQx (Rank): 142.70 (99%)

Injury PredictorJ.K. Dobbins's Injury Guide

Low Risk

Chance of Injury in 2024

24%

% chance misses at least 2 quarters

Chance of Injury per Game

1.6%

1- 17√1-% Inj/Season

Projected Games Missed 2024

1.30

Durability

0.40

Ability to produce despire relatively minor injuries. 5 being most durable

Injury analysis powered by Draft Sharks Injury Guide, formerly SIP Logo

Injury History

Date League Injury Details
Aug 26, 2016 Non-NFL Leg Fibula Fracture Dobbins suffered a broken fibula in the season opener Aug. 26 in the Leopards’ game at Liberty Hill. He had surgery and missed his entire senior season
Dec 28, 2019 Non-NFL Pedal Ankle (high) Sprain Grade 3 Dobbins suffered an ankle injury at the end of the first half of the Fiesta Bowl against Clemson
Aug 28, 2021 NFL Knee ACL Tear Grade 3 Dobbins wound up hurting the same knee in October, 2022. He underwent arthroscopic knee surgery that month and returned for Week 14.
Aug 28, 2021 NFL Knee Meniscus Trim Dobbins missed all of the 2021 season.
Aug 28, 2021 NFL Knee LCL Tear Grade 3 Dobbins underwent surgery in early September.
Aug 28, 2021 NFL Thigh Hamstring Tear Grade 3 Dobbins mentioned the hamstring tear in an interview. It's one of several injuries that cost him time in 2021.
Sep 10, 2023 NFL Pedal Achilles Tear Grade 3 Dobbins tore his Achilles in Week 1 vs. the Texans. He had mid-September surgery.

Basic StatsJ.K. Dobbins's Preseason Player Analysis

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Bottom Line

Dobbins is working back from a September Achilles tear. It was his second significant injury as a pro, following a multi-ligament left knee injury back in 2021.

Dobbins is still only 25, but it’s fair to wonder if he’ll ever recapture early-career form. He got just $50K guaranteed on his one-year deal with the Chargers.

The good news is that he landed in a wide-open backfield under a run-loving coaching staff. If Dobbins does make it all the way back from his latest injury, he’d stand a good chance to emerge as the Chargers’ lead runner.

That makes him worth considering as a flier near the end of fantasy drafts.

What We Learned Last Year

  • Dobbins’ 2023 season ended with a torn Achilles in the third quarter of the opener. He underwent surgery on September 15.
  • It was Dobbins’ second severe injury as a pro. He tore his left ACL with associated LCL, meniscus, and hamstring injuries in August of 2021. Dobbins missed that entire season – and then missed eight games in 2022 due to more trouble with that knee.
  • Dobbins has played in just nine games over the last three seasons.
  • He’s been super efficient when on the field.
    • Dobbins carried 134 times for 805 yards (6.0 YPC) and nine TDs as a 2020 rookie.
    • He averaged 5.7 yards per carry on 92 totes in 2022.
    • His career 5.8 yards per carry ranks first among all active RBs with 200+ career carries.
  • Dobbins has not been as good in the passing game.
    • He’s averaged just 1.5 targets and 1.1 catches per game.
    • He’s caught more than two balls in just three of 24 career games.
    • His 6.6 yards per catch and 5.1 yards per target are both well below league averages for RBs.

What to Expect in 2024

  • Dobbins resumed running in early March and was cleared for football activities at the end of that month. He declared himself 100% recovered in late April – about 7.5 months after surgery.
  • Dobbins signed a one-year, $1.61 million deal with the Chargers. He got just $50K guaranteed, which means that he’s not a lock to make the final roster.
  • Dobbins joins a new-look Chargers backfield alongside former Ravens teammate Gus Edwards and rookie Kimani Vidal.
    • Edwards tallied career highs with 198 carries and 810 rushing yards last year. But he posted career lows in most efficiency metrics and turned 29 in April.
    • Los Angeles added Vidal in Round 6 of this spring’s draft. He led Troy in rushing in all four of his seasons on campus, including 2,793 rushing yards over the last two years. Vidal also totaled 92 career catches. The 213-pounder earned an 8.88 Relative Athletic Score at the Combine.
  • The Chargers have a brand new coaching staff led by HC Jim Harbaugh and OC Greg Roman. Both guys have long histories of run-heavy offenses. That includes four seasons spent together in San Francisco from 2011 to 2014. Here’s where those teams ranked in rush attempts and rush rate:
    • 2011 - 3rd, 3rd
    • 2012 - 7th, 3rd
    • 2013 - 3rd, 2nd
    • 2014 - 9th, 6th
  • It’s worth noting that dual-threat QB Colin Kaepernick started half of the 2012 season and all of the 2013 and 2014 seasons. That certainly skewed the 49ers toward the run.
  • Those 49ers RB rooms were not nearly as productive as you’d think. Here’s where those teams ranked in total RB PPR points:
    • 2011 - 20th
    • 2012 - 18th
    • 2013 - 18th
    • 2014 - 29th
  • That was largely because the RBs didn’t do much in the passing game. Here’s where the 49ers’ RBs ranked in total receptions:
    • 2011 - 30th
    • 2012 - 25th
    • 2013 - 29th
    • 2014 - 31st
  • The 2023 Chargers ranked:
    • 32nd in Pro Football Focus run-blocking grades
    • 30th in adjusted line yards
  • The team spent the fifth overall pick of this year’s draft on OT Joe Alt. He ranked second among 278 qualifying OTs in Pro Football Focus’ 2023 run-blocking grades.
  • L.A. also signed free-agent Bradley Bozeman, who projects to start at C. He ranked 17th among 32 qualifiers in PFF run-blocking grades last year.
  • The big question with Dobbins, of course, is whether he can recapture his form after a second severe injury. A 2017 study on Achilles tears in NFL players found that:
    • 26% of players never return to play.
    • Across all positions, there was a net decrease of 23% in approximate value over the three seasons following the injury.
    • RBs saw the biggest decrease in production: a 78% decrease in approximate value in the three seasons post-injury.

Recent Injury Bites View All Shark Bites »

Gus Edwards, RB LAC

4:00pm EDT 10/12/24

Gus Edwards (Ankle) Lands on IR

The Chargers have placed RB Gus Edwards on IR with his ankle injury. That means he'll miss at least the next four games. That absence makes rookie RB Kimani Vidal and RB Hassan Haskins worth stashing on fantasy rosters. Haskins has played 7 snaps to 0 for Vidal but has also tied for second-most special teams snaps among all Chargers. We'll see this week how backfield touches get spread -- behind J.K. Dobbins -- this week. Vidal remains more interesting for fantasy upside, given that we haven't yet seen him flunk out with an NFL team. Haskins landed with the Titans in Round 4 of the 2022 draft and got dumped after two seasons. He did play for Jim Harbaugh in college, though.

View all Gus Edwards Shark Bites »

Chargers RB J.K. Dobbins has participated fully in the first two days of training camp, according to ESPN's Kris Rhim. Dobbins is returning from last September's torn Achilles but is seemingly on track for the start of the 2024 campaign.

View Full Story »

Chargers RB Gus Edwards is sidelined with an undisclosed injury but is expected to be ready for the start of training camp, HC Jim Harbaugh said on Thursday.

View Full Story »

Chargers RB J.K. Dobbins said Monday that he's 100% recovered from the torn Achilles he suffered last September. "It was like a walk in the park, it was like a sprained ankle," Dobbins said. "It was very easy, because I had the knee [injury] -- the knee was pretty hard. The Achilles was, I would say, easy, just because that's my mentality. It was pretty easy to me." We'll file this under "believe-it-when-we-see-it." Full health is not the same as full effectiveness. RB Cam Akers quickly made it back from an Achilles injury but hasn't been the same runner since. Dobbins still isn't a player to invest heavily in at this point. But we'll be keeping a close eye on him this spring and summer. The Chargers' backfield will be a key situation for fantasy owners to monitor, with Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and rookie Kimani Vidal duking it out for touches.

View all J.K. Dobbins Shark Bites »

How do Injuries impact your draft strategy?

For us, it's 1/17th of the equation. Hear us out.

The Draft War Room is the only live-sync draft tool that monitors 17 crucial in-draft indicators, including injury likelihood… and adapts to show you which players to pick throughout your draft.

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