The Los Angeles Chargers have mostly leaned heavily on their passing game to paper over other roster weaknesses since drafting Justin Herbert in 2020. However, the arrival of Jim Harbaugh has totally reshaped the roster, as the Chargers are now a defense-first team with a very young group of receivers after moving on from Keenan Allen and Mike Williams in the offseason.
With the Chargers playing on Monday Night Football in Week 7, let’s take a look at their WR room depth chart.
Ladd McConkey
The 34th overall pick out of Georgia, Ladd McConkey has quickly emerged as Herbert’s go-to option this season. He leads the Chargers in targets (32), receptions (19), and receiving yards (219).
To date, McConkey has accounted for 26.4% of his team’s targets this season, which ranks 10th-highest of any player in the NFL.
let ladd cook pic.twitter.com/Qy1dcEkEkc
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) October 18, 2024
McConkey primarily plays in the slot, as 67% of his snaps have come in that alignment this season. His 14 receptions from the slot are more than the rest of the Chargers combined (11).
Quentin Johnston
The 21st overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Quentin Johnston’s extremely challenging rookie season had some labeling the TCU product as a bust. And while the jury is still out on his long-term viability as a starter, Johnston has improved his production this season.
Within the first three weeks, Johnston had more receiving touchdowns (three) than he had his entire rookie season (two).
Quentin Johnston scores his second TD today!
📺: #LACvsCAR on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/8PCyFmqxj2— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
Johnston’s usage has changed for the better this year. Despite being a big-bodied receiver at 6’4″ and 215 pounds, his best trait in college was his run-after-catch ability.
This season, he’s seen an increase in crossing routes (9.9% as a rookie to 14.2% in 2024) and a decrease in go routes (26.3% as a rookie to 22.6% in 2024), better accentuating his strengths.
Joshua Palmer
Joshua Palmer was the consensus favorite to become the Chargers’ top receiver as the main holdover in Los Angeles’ new-look wide receiver room. However, Palmer has just nine catches in four games on the season and has been the fourth option in the passing game behind the top two wideouts and tight end Hayden Hurst.
Palmer’s best season came as a second-year pro in 2022, when he set career highs with 72 receptions for 769 yards. He has just 47 catches for 689 yards in two seasons since then, and as an unrestricted free agent after the season, seems like a candidate to leave for more playing time.
Simi Fehoko
A fifth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2021, Simi Fehoko has gotten a surprising amount of playing time. He’s played 40% of the Chargers’ offensive snaps after never playing more than 3% of the snaps in any of his first three seasons.
Granted, Fehoko is mostly there to block in bigger personnel packages, as he’s caught just three passes for 61 yards all season. The Chargers run the ball 58% of the time with Fehoko on the field, so his presence is a decent play-calling tell.
Derius Davis
Like Johnston, Derius Davis was a TCU wide receiver drafted by the Chargers in 2023 (fourth round). To date, he’s been more of a kick and punt returner and gadget play specialist, as he has more rush attempts (19) than receptions (16) thus far in his career.
Davis was a second-team All-Pro punt returner last season, leading the NFL in punt-return average (16.0) and returning one for a touchdown against the New York Jets (coincidentally, also a Monday Night Football game).
DERIUS DAVIS 87-YARD PUNT RETURN TD
📺: @espn pic.twitter.com/SscseBtaDQ
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) November 7, 2023
Brenden Rice
Better known as the son of Jerry Rice, Brenden Rice made the Chargers team after being a seventh-round pick out of USC in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Rice has yet to appear on offense, playing two games on special teams to date. Last season at USC, he ranked fourth in the Pac-12 with 12 receiving touchdowns while also adding 791 receiving yards.
IR: DJ Chark Jr.
The Chargers could soon get a boost to their WR room. Seventh-year pro DJ Chark Jr. signed a one-year deal with Los Angeles in May but has been on injured reserve all season with a hip injury suffered in August.
Chark did practice in a limited fashion all week leading up to Week 7’s Monday night game, and he could conceivably make his team debut. Chark has 212 receptions for 3,069 yards and 23 touchdowns in his first six seasons.
The Chargers are his fourth team in as many seasons.