J.K. Dobbins fully healthy, ready to go in first season with Chargers: ‘There’ll be no setbacks’
As part of the Chargers’ backfield reconstruction, they brought in J.K. Dobbins, who has battled the injury bug, most recently rupturing his Achilles in Week 1 last season.
But Dobbins feels good and is ready to dispel the always-injured label.
“You got the injury-prone [label] out there, but I think the storm is over with, and I think I’m going to take off now,” Dobbins said. “There’ll be no setbacks, and this injury-prone thing will be gone out the window.”
Injuries have severely limited Dobbins following an eye-popping rookie season in 2020, when he averaged 5.8 yards per carry and totaled over 800 rushing yards. He tore his ACL and LCL and damaged his meniscus in 2021.
In total, he’s played in just nine games in the last three seasons.
“I think people all around know that it’s a high-risk, high-reward type thing,'” he said. “… But I think everyone around the league knows that whenever I am on the field, the numbers don’t lie.”
When Dobbins is on the field, he is a real treat to watch, as he makes picking up yards look effortless with excellent contact balance and lateral quickness.
Dobbins reunites with former Ravens running back Gus Edwards and offensive coordinator Greg Roman.
“He sticks with the run, and that’s the identity. You want an offense that has an identity,” Dobbins said. “You don’t want to be looking everywhere else to find your identity. You want to have it. And so I think this offense has that.”
Dobbins believes he is 100% healthy and ready to hit the practice field for training camp but is leaving it in the hands of the training staff.
“I think this organization is a great organization, and the training staff is great, and so they just want what’s best for me, and they’re taking care of me,” Dobbins said. “… But like I said, if it’s up to me, yeah, I’m out there.”
