Chargers WR Quentin Johnston scored twice in Sunday’s game against Carolina. The second-year pro totaled 51 yards on 5 catches in a blowout win.
The Chargers placed WR D.J. Chark (hip) on IR. He's out for at least the first four games of the season. Chark looked like the favorite to open the season as Los Angeles' starting outside WR opposite Josh Palmer, but WR Quentin Johnston will now get another crack at that job. We're not very optimistic Johnston will take advantage, but he's worth monitoring in tomorrow's opener vs. the Raiders. Chark can be dropped in all redraft leagues.
Chargers WR D.J. Chark (hip) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Raiders. That should give WR Quentin Johnston a shot at a full slate of snaps, although he still shouldn’t be anywhere near fantasy lineups.
Chargers QB Justin Herbert (foot) was on the field for Monday's practice. The Athletic's Daniel Popper posted video of Herbert taking a couple of half-speed dropbacks and launching deep balls.
Chargers QB Justin Herbert has been diagnosed with a plantar fascia injury in his right foot, the team announced. "Doctors have recommended approximately two weeks in a boot — followed by a graduated return to play protocol — with the expectation that he will be ready for the start of the regular season," the team said in a statement.
Thursday's starter vs. starter drills at Chargers camp found second-year WR Quentin Johnston working with the second team, according to The Athletic's Daniel Popper. The first-team trio: Ladd McConkey, D.J. Chark, and Joshua Palmer.
Daniel Popper of The Athletic says he's concerned about the Chargers having enough talent at WR. That's not a surprising worry, given that the team shed Keenan Allen and Mike Williams this offseason, while adding only second-round pick Ladd McConkey and low-level free-agent D.J. Chark Jr. So who will lead the group? "Joshua Palmer is a complete receiver poised for a career season at the top of the depth chart," Popper wrote this week. That's most noteworthy because Palmer (WR53) sits well behind McConkey (WR42) in best ball ADP.
Chargers second-round rookie WR Ladd McConkey is reportedly meshing well with QB Justin Herbert in team workouts so far. Daniel Popper of The Athletic says McConkey has played "mostly in the slot." That probably lines up with most fans' expectations but doesn't align with his college usage. McConkey spent just 29.6% of his pass snaps in the slot across three seasons at Georgia, decreasing that rate each year.
New Chargers GM Joe Hortiz talked up WR Quentin Johnston in a recent interview with Kay Adams. "When he was coming out of college, he was an elite size/speed athlete. And you saw some rawness to his game," Hortiz said. "But as big as he is, 6'3, you watch him drop his weight, getting in and out of breaks, come to balance at the top of the route, get out quickly. He can do some rare things for a player his size. ... He's a great kid, he's a great worker. Everyone here has a high opinion of him. I believe he's really gonna launch. I really do. His skillset is great, we're gonna work with him, make him better and better."
The Chargers and WR D.J. Chark agreed to a one-year deal worth “up to” $5 million," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Chark went for 1,008 yards back in 2019 but hasn't really been fantasy relevant since. He's missed 39 games over the last four seasons and averaged 48.6 yards per game. Chark finished a distant second to WR Adam Thielen with 525 receiving yards on a bad Panthers passing game last year. His 1.08 yards per route ranked 75th among 93 qualifying WRs. Chark isn't a guy you should be excited to bet on, although this is a solid landing spot with QB Justin Herbert and a wide-open WR corps. Chark, Ladd McConkey, Josh Palmer, and Quentin Johnston will duke it out for snaps this summer.
The Chargers traded up in Round 2 of the NFL Draft to select Georgia WR Ladd McConkey 34th overall. McConkey’s raw college production doesn’t jump off the page. He never reached 60 catches or 800 yards in a season. But he played in a run-leaning Georgia offense and had to battle TE Brock Bowers (among others) for targets. McConkey was super efficient, leaving school with career 75.3% catch rate and 2.54 yards per route. His career-best 3.26 yards per route last year ranked eighth among 409 WRs with 35+ targets. McConkey is devastatingly quick and a polished route runner, making him one of the best separators in this WR class. And he’s a weapon after the catch, with a career 0.25 missed tackles forced per catch – a better rate than guys like Marvin Harrison Jr. and Rome Odunze. McConkey boosted his stock at the Combine with a 4.39-second 40 time and 9.34 Relative Athletic Score. The 6’0, 186-pounder can play both outside and in the slot. He might not big a big-play producer or high-TD-rate receiver at the next level, but McConkey has the potential to rack up a bunch of receptions. Going to the Chargers presents immediate opportunity. The WR corps shed Mike Williams and Keenan Allen this offseason, leaving Josh Palmer and Quentin Johnston as the top returning players. The landing spot helps McConkey's fantasy outlook. Check out our rookie rankings to see where he lands.
The Chargers are trading WR Keenan Allen to the Bears for a fourth-round pick. That low price clearly comes because of Allen's contract. He carries a $34.7 million cap number, according to Over The Cap. Of course, we don't care about that for fantasy. Allen remained highly productive last season, finishing third among WRs in PPR points per game -- before missing the final four contests. He'll compete with D.J. Moore for the target lead in Chicago, where we're all awaiting confirmation that Caleb Williams will take over at QB. Whoever pilots the Bears offense will have a nice crew of pass-catchers, including new RB D'Andre Swift. Allen's ceiling comes down with the target competition and offense that's almost certain to be less pass-leaning than the Chargers of the past few years. Moore also takes hits to both his floor and ceiling. L.A., meanwhile, has to be a strong candidate to draft a WR fifth overall after dumping both Allen and Mike Williams. Josh Palmer is the top incumbent and looks like a better bet to seize opportunity than Quentin Johnston, who stunk as a 2023 rookie. We'll see how the situation sorts out, but losing Allen obviously hurts QB Justin Herbert. And it further fuels the expectation that the offense will lean much more toward the run under HC Jim Harbaugh and OC Greg Roman. That obviously hurts Herbert's 2024 fantasy outlook. We still believe in the QB's talent, though. So it might be a good time to check Herbert's trade price in dynasty. The whole market has already been down on him this offseason. Check our dynasty rankings to see how these moves affect the players involved.
The Chargers are releasing WR Mike Williams, according to multiple reports. It makes sense. Dumping Williams saves the team $20 million against the 2024 salary cap, which they sat about $25 million over before this move. It doesn't help Williams that he's coming off a September ACL tear. That could delay his signing with a new team -- or perhaps lead the 29-year-old to take a one-year "prove it" deal somewhere. We'll be watching the next step for Williams, who has scored on 10% of his career receptions and regularly ranked among league leaders in end-zone targets. The Chargers now sport Keenan Allen, Josh Palmer, and Quentin Johnston as their top three WRs, in an offense that figures to run the ball quite a bit more than it has since 2013. Those Chargers ran on 45.8% of offensive plays. The 10 versions since have reached 40% in run rate just twice and never exceeded 42.2%. Check our WR rankings for updates on Williams and the rest of the affected wideouts.
New Chargers OC Greg Roman told reporters recently that he wants a "balanced" offense. "We want to be able to run it when we want to run it and throw it when we want to throw it," Roman added. "If they present looks that are favorable to run it, then we want to be able to run it at a high level. Every place I’ve been, that’s kind of been the goal, to try to have that complete attack." That jibes with HC John Harbaugh saying at his introductory press conference that he wants to "beef up the run game." Both Harbaugh and Roman have extensive histories of run-leaning offenses. That'd be a big shift for the Chargers, who ranked top-5 in pass attempts in each of QB Justin Herbert's first four seasons. It wouldn't make sense for Roman to deploy a super run-heavy offense with a QB as talented as Herbert. But we're certainly expecting the Chargers to throw less this coming season than they have the last four. Herbert and his pass catchers will need to make up for the loss in volume with improved efficiency.
Chargers first-round rookie WR Quentin Johnston delivered one more garbage outing in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs. He managed just 2 receptions for 17 yards on 5 targets. That tied him for fourth among Chargers. He trailed WR Josh Palmer (10), RB Austin Ekeler (8), and TE Donald Parham (6) while tying the immortal Alex Erickson. Johnston finishes his debut season with just 36 receptions, 414 yards, and 2 TDs. He entered Sunday ranked 99th among WRs in PPR points per game. Johnston also sat just 22nd among 37 rookie WRs in yards per route, according to Pro Football Focus. He's not necessarily doomed as a fantasy prospect. But this rookie season has been bad enough to remove any optimism. We wouldn't drop Johnston from typical dynasty rosters. But you also shouldn't consider him a buy-low this offseason. If you have him and others come shopping, think about letting the potential bust go.
Chargers WRs Keenan Allen (heel) and Josh Palmer (concussion) are out for Sunday’s game vs. the Broncos. That leaves Los Angeles with WRs Quentin Johnston, Jalen Guyton, Alex Erickson, and Derius Davis. None is a recommended Week 17 fantasy starter. RB Austin Ekeler and TE Gerald Everett could see more targets with Allen and Palmer out.
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