The annual NFL Hall of Fame Game is a much-anticipated glimpse of football after the seemingly never-ending offseason that fans endure each year. This year’s matchup features the Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions, two teams that reached the postseason in 2024 but were eliminated in the first round.
Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh met with reporters ahead of the preseason opener and offered plenty of updates ahead of the preseason opener.
Will Ladd McConkey Play in the NFL Hall of Fame Game?
Despite the “Hall of Fame” billing, both teams will treat Thursday night’s game as a standard preseason opener. Coaches will prioritize evaluating rookies and fringe players fighting for roster spots.
Speaking to the media, Harbaugh confirmed that regular starters, including 2024 breakout receiver Ladd McConkey, won’t play.
“The theme will be: veteran starters, traditional veteran starters, aren’t going to be playing in the game,” Harbaugh said. He named McConkey and third-year wideout Quentin Johnston as players who will sit. Later, he doubled down while highlighting which receivers will take the field.
“I expect Omarion (Hampton) to get action. Tre Harris, KLS (KeAndre Lambert-Smith), DD (Derius Davis)… all of [our receivers] will be playing, that aren’t working through something, with the exception of Ladd and Quentin,” Harbaugh clarified.
What Can We Expect From McConkey in 2025?
McConkey sitting out was expected. After a stellar rookie campaign, the Chargers don’t need to risk one of their top offensive weapons in the preseason opener. McConkey led the team with 82 catches and 1,149 receiving yards in 2024, then shattered the league’s rookie playoff record with 197 receiving yards in a single postseason game.
LADD MCCONKEY WITH A 13 FANTASY POINT TOUCHDOWN CATCH AND RUN 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Kw701ydrwY
— NFL Fantasy Football (@NFLFantasy) October 27, 2024
Those numbers made McConkey one of the NFL’s most respected young receivers and earned him the trust of franchise quarterback Justin Herbert. Los Angeles’ decision to trade Keenan Allen before the 2024 season raised eyebrows, but McConkey proved a worthy second-round replacement.
The Chargers drafted Ole Miss standout Tre Harris in the same round of this year’s draft, but the rookie projects as a complement to McConkey rather than a rival. Harris is joined in Los Angeles by first-round pick Omarion Hampton, another player who should help take the Chargers’ offense to another level in 2025.
MORE: Ladd McConkey’s July Trade Surge Signals Breakout Year Ahead for Chargers’ Fantasy Star
McConkey topped 50 receiving yards just once in the season’s first six games, but he crossed that mark in every game after Week 8. That growth suggests more upside heading into Year 2. However, his touchdown total could take a hit with Harris and Johnston, who caught eight touchdowns in 2024, commanding red-zone looks.
Still, McConkey remains a high-volume difference-maker. With defenses stretched to cover Harris and Johnston on the outside, McConkey could thrive in the slot and create more explosive plays after the catch.
Previewing the Lions-Chargers Hall of Fame Game
Los Angeles Chargers Notes
- The Chargers won 11 games last season, with four of their six losses coming by a single score. Their arrow is believed to be pointing up as they look to win double-digit games in consecutive regular seasons for the first time since 2006-07.
- The trenches are a clear focus of this coaching staff, and this is the most natural spot for this team to develop in a significant way. Per PFSN’s Offensive Line+ grading system, Los Angeles hasn’t produced a top-20 unit in three straight seasons (2024: 26th) and Justin Herbert’s efficiency has suffered as a result:
- 2022-24 when pressured: 70.2 (18th among qualifiers)
- 2022-24 when not pressured: 106.4 (10th among qualifiers)
- Mekhi Becton signed a two-year deal in March after winning a Super Bowl with the Eagles. Philadelphia finished the year fifth in our offensive line rankings, and Becton showed versatility by shifting from tackle to guard — optionality that could prove valuable as this season wears on.
- The defense took a huge step forward in 2024 and added depth to their front in April with Jamaree Caldwell (DT, Oregon) in the third round and Kyle Kennard (EDGE, South Carolina) in the fourth round. The Chargers had the sixth-best defense in the NFL last season in PFSN’s Defense+ metric, which was a significant improvement after being ranked 23rd the previous year.
- With the division trending up in terms of offensive upside, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh has made his intentions clear on defense. The quick-read abilities of QBs in today’s game are as impressive as ever, and the numbers support that thought. In 2024, 6.4% of blitzed pass attempts resulted in a touchdown, a massive spike from the 5.2% rate in 2023. The Chargers have prioritized creating pressure and are angling toward a team that will be able to do so without having to allocate additional resources to make it happen.
- On the skill side of things, there were some impactful moves made this offseason. Najee Harris signed a one-year deal ($9.5 million), but he won’t be playing in the Hall of Fame game after suffering an eye injury on Fourth of July. However, his role was trending to more of a veteran presence than a true RB1 even before the injury. Despite handling the bulk of the workload in Pittsburgh, Harris graded outside of the top-20 running backs per RB+ in each of the past three seasons. These struggles make No. 22 overall pick Omarion Hampton the favorite to lead this backfield in touches as a rookie. Hampton is playing tonight and is one of the top players to watch.
- Hampton has an NFL-ready body and showed well over his final two seasons with the Tar Heels, showcasing not only a nose for the end zone (30 rushing scores) but also fluidity in space (67 receptions). This offense wants to grind out yardage on the ground, so Hampton will be counted on in a significant way from the jump.
Omarion Hampton Ranked in the 97th Percentile in Yards After Contact Per Attempt (4.3)
➖Age: 21 (Early Declare)
➖Size: 6’0, 220 lbsHampton’s Averages over the last 2 Seasons:
➖24 Touches Per Game
➖150.4 Yards Per Game
➖1.32 TD’s Per GameFuture Workhorse RB1 in the NFL pic.twitter.com/Dfd8kA8zIi
— Austin Abbott (@AustinAbbottFF) January 29, 2025
- When the Bolts do take to the air, Josh Palmer is no longer a part of the mix. After four years with the franchise, he inked a three-year deal with the Buffalo Bills this offseason and was replaced during the draft by Tre Harris (No. 55 overall pick). From a size/athleticism standpoint, the newcomer profiles similarly to the vertical threat he is replacing, but his production at Ole Miss paints a more optimistic picture.
- Ladd McConkey graded out as our 11th-best receiver in the NFL during his sparkling rookie season and he’ll certainly command plenty of looks, but Harris stands to be the next most looked at receiver in a room filled with uncertainty. The majority of McConkey’s production came underneath in 2024 (56.3% of his targets and 58.5% of his catches came less than 10 yards downfield), a skill set that figures to open up downfield opportunities for the 6’3” rookie.
Detroit Lions Notes
- The Lions had a franchise-best 15-2 record in 2024, but will look a little different after experiencing some turnover this offseason.
- Detroit was the only team to see both its coordinators become head coaches in the offseason, with Ben Johnson taking the Chicago Bears job and Aaron Glenn becoming the New York Jets head coach. The Lions are the fifth team since 2000 to lose both coordinators to head coaching jobs in the same offseason, along with the 2023 Eagles, 2014 Bengals, 2007 Chargers, and 2005 Patriots.
- The good news is that all four of those teams made the playoffs after losing both coordinators. The 2007 Chargers made the AFC Championship Game, while the 2005 Patriots won a playoff game before bowing out in the Divisional Round. The Eagles and Bengals both won double-digit games, but lost in the Wild Card round on the road.
- Detroit had PFSN’s No. 1-ranked unit in Offense+ last season, recording a 94.9 (A) grade. The Lions return all of their skill position starters from that group. The 2024 Lions offense featured PFSN’s:
- No. 3-ranked QB (Jared Goff – 90.9 grade)
- No. 2-ranked RB (Jahmyr Gibbs – 89.9)
- No. 3-ranked WR (Amon-Ra. St. Brown – 91.2)
- No. 10-ranked TE (Sam LaPorta – 82.3)
- The bigger question mark is on the offensive line, which lost Frank Ragnow (retirement) and Kevin Zeitler (free agency). Detroit was the No. 7 overall offensive line last season, recording an 82.8 grade in OL+. All three interior spots could see a new starter, with former left guard Graham Glasgow potentially kicking over to center and Christian Mahogany and Tate Ratledge occupying the guard spots.
- Defensively, the Lions finished with the No. 4 overall defense (81.4) in PFSN’s Defense+ metric despite a spate of injuries at the end of the season and not having Aidan Hutchinson for the majority of the year. Detroit had a top-10 weekly Defense+ grade in seven of its first 11 games before injuries caused the unit to plummet. The Lions had a 63.2 (D) Defense+ grade in the Divisional Round loss to the Washington Commanders, the unit’s worst performance of the season.
- Even in just five games, Hutchinson led the Lions with 7.5 sacks and tied for the team lead with 45 pressures. Hutchinson was the top-graded defender by EDGE+ in two weeks (91.7 in Week 1 and 90.5 in Week 3). Those were the two-highest graded games of his career to date, and four of his top 13 career games came prior to his injury.
- The secondary made a notable swap, with the Lions signing cornerback D.J. Reed to replace the departed Carlton Davis. By PFSN’s CB+ metric, the Lions got the better player. Reed was our 25th-ranked cornerback (81.7 grade), while Davis ranked 48th (77.1). In fact, Reed has graded out higher than Davis each of the past four seasons. Reed was our fifth overall CB in 2022 (89.7) and eighth overall in 2021 (88.6).
