Chargers WRs Fantasy Outlooks: Ladd McConkey, Tre Harris, Quentin Johnston, Keenan Allen

The Los Angeles Chargers’ receiving corps enters the 2025 season with familiar faces and fresh uncertainty. After Ladd McConkey’s impressive rookie campaign delivered 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns, fantasy managers now face the challenge of evaluating his value at his elevated ADP.

Ladd McConkey Fantasy Outlook

This time last year, I was all in on Ladd McConkey. The Chargers had vacated a ton of targets, and their top three leaders in that category, Keenan Allen, Austin Ekeler, and Gerald Everett, were all leaving.

That left just Quentin Johnston remaining as the staff turned over, which was not promising. Enter McConkey, who was fantastic at Georgia, ready for a heavy workload with a great quarterback. His rookie status and the OC Greg Roman offense scared off plenty, but it seemed like a pretty safe deal to me. 

He delivered with 82 catches, 1,149 yards, and seven touchdowns. He was only disappointing in that he didn’t immediately ascend to elite production, but for WR11, his value was excellent. Unfortunately, that’s where his ADP lies currently, meaning there is no value in a repeat performance. That worries me. 

The Chargers ended up passing far more than Roman is comfortable with because the run game simply was not working. McConkey became the centerpiece, but he was always meant to be a complementary weapon, not the unquestioned 1A.

Keep that football!

Ladd McConkey finds the blue paint for his first NFL TD!

📺: #LVvsLAC on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/2Px6BcGS2W

— NFL (@NFL) September 8, 2024

Everything the Chargers did this offseason was to return to that ground-and-pound approach. They didn’t add much more competition, but rookie Tre Harris alone — and the potential return of Keenan Allen — will be more than just Quentin Johnston.

Pair that with a stronger rushing attack, and I think there may be even fewer pieces of an already small pie. That doesn’t kill McConkey’s value — I think he’ll still be a very good floor play with a few big weeks. What I don’t expect is for him to exceed his current ADP and turn into a league-winner. 

– Mason LeBeau, Fantasy Football Analyst

Quentin Johnston Fantasy Outlook

You weren’t actually thinking about drafting Quentin Johnston, were you? Or did you already, and now you’re looking for any hope or validation? Unfortunately, I can’t give that to you. You have to be in a serious pinch or a very deep sicko league to draft Johnston and then consider starting him. 

In reality, maybe this is a savvy play for deep leagues. Would you have known that Johnston had three WR10-plus performances last year, including a 14-reception, 186-yard game against the Raiders? No one cared because it was Week 18, but just maybe that was the boost he needed. 

But unless you’re dumpster diving for someone who’ll get snaps, you can’t count on him. Even if he were solid, a run-heavy Chargers offense with at least two-to-three targets ahead of him won’t result in much production. 

If he gets his chance, you can’t bet on him to make the most of it. Nothing will be more frustrating than needing five points out of him, just to see him drop a Justin Herbert bomb in the end zone. Don’t do that to yourself. 

– Mason LeBeau, Fantasy Football Analyst

Tre Harris Fantasy Outlook

Drafting was a clear indication from this team about how they want to operate and how they feel about Quentin Johnston. The Chargers wanted a big-bodied perimeter threat who’ll seal off the edge in the run game. Considering his draft stock, if he’s good, he’ll get the ball. 

What’s worrisome is that the team had brought back Mike Williams to fill the exact same role, likely to ease Harris into the offense. Williams retired, and now Johnston is hurt, so there is a chance Harris gets a lot of playing time early on. However, bringing back Keenan Allen signals to me that Harris is going to be very much pigeon-holed into a non-lucrative fantasy role. 

Harris is going to be the third option in a slow, run-heavy offense and primarily see deep targets and redzone looks. Unless he converts those into a lot of touchdowns, I can’t imagine he’ll be a reliable FLEX option. I worry about Chicago WR Rome Odunze for similar reasons, but that should come with more targets. Pass on Harris, but monitor his development for a second-half emergence.  

– Mason LeBeau, Fantasy Football Analyst

Keenan Allen Fantasy Outlook

Back from the dead, Keenan Allen finds himself surprisingly fantasy relevant after spending most of camp as a free agent. Reunited with the Chargers, he could see a solid workload pretty early on. 

Going at the bottom of drafts as WR56, he is still barely being selected. Understandably, he doesn’t boast a strong ceiling, so I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to add him. However, I don’t think Allen is entirely washed yet, earning 121 targets in a crowded room for the Bears last year.

He’ll still be behind WR Ladd McConkey, much like he was behind DJ Moore, but I’m even less threatened by WRs Tre’ Harris than Rome Odunze. That leaves him to likely be a clear WR2 for Justin Herbert.

His value for what his role should be is quite good. If he has a few vintage games in him, he could even be a steal early on in the season. That said, I’d only target him if you went light on WRs throughout the draft and need some guaranteed production. Otherwise, stick with upside bets you can more easily move on from if they don’t pan out. 

– Mason LeBeau, Fantasy Football Analyst