Rountree carried the ball eight times for 12 yards and also caught all four of his targets for 15 yards in Sunday's 15-10 preseason loss to the 49ers.
Rountree was more effective than Darius Bradwell and Joshua Kelley, but only by a slim margin as the Chargers offense as a whole struggled to do anything of note. It's becoming increasingly clear the 2021 sixth-round pick has played his way onto the 53-man roster, but it's entirely possible Rountree's excellent training camp may have pushed him into the frontrunner role for the No. 3 job ahead of the aforementioned Kelley and Bradwell. Justin Jackson, the presumed backup to Austin Ekeler, has missed over a week with a groin injury and remains without a timetable for return, which only complicates the depth chart order further. At the very least, Rountree has emerged as an intriguing backup to monitor in the coming weeks.