The Chargers will start a new era at the quarterback position as Tyrod Taylor and Justin Herbert take over after Philip Rivers and the franchise mutually agreed to part ways earlier this offseason.
There are plenty of questions in regards to how the quarterback play will shape up in Los Angeles. But the team’s skill players should help elevate it, which is led by Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Austin Ekeler and Hunter Henry.
Even though the position players receive high praise by many analysts from various platforms, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell is not as high on them as the others. Barnwell ranked the Bolts’ offensive weapons as No. 16 in the NFL.
The backfield will have a slightly reconstructed look heading into the upcoming season. Returning is Ekeler and Justin Jackson. Not returning is Melvin Gordon. Coming in is fourth-round pick Joshua Kelley.
Melvin Gordon’s disastrous holdout and subsequent campaign opened up the door for Austin Ekeler, who averaged 122.5 yards from scrimmage over the first month of the season and earned an extension afterward. Ekeler was below-average as a runner as his workload increased and will need help from either Joshua Kelley or Justin Jackson between the tackles, but he was third in the NFL in yards per route run and fourth in targets per route run. He’s a valuable weapon.
The wide receiver group will feature Allen and Williams, but the depth behind them remains a mystery. The team brought in rookies K.J. Hill and Joe Reed as well as Darius Jennings. Returning is Andre Patton and Jason Moore.
Wide receiver Keenan Allen basically posted an identical line in 2018 and 2019, but Mike Williams suffered the indignity of touchdown regression past the mean. After scoring 10 times on just 43 receptions in 2018, he scored twice on 49 catches last season. Williams led the league by averaging 20.4 yards per grab, but while he jumped from 664 yards to 1,001 yards in his third season, he needed 24 more targets to get there. I’m not factoring quarterback play into this analysis, but it’s likely his numbers will drop in 2020 with the Chargers drafting Justin Herbert to replace Philip Rivers.
Henry returns as the No. 1 tight end. If he stays healthy, he could be due for a big season as he will be playing for a contract extension.
The guy who could push the Chargers up the rankings is Hunter Henry, who came back from a torn ACL, only to break a bone in his leg in the opener and miss a month. Henry was on the field for the final 11 games of the season and popped up with a 100-yard performance, but even over that time frame, he ranked eighth among tight ends in yards per game. Rob Gronkowski showed you can be really valuable despite injury woes if you’re great when healthy. I’m not sure pretty good and occasionally healthy is as compelling. Henry has a lot to play for on the franchise tag this upcoming season.
For reference, the team’s offensive weapons ranked No. 11 in 2019 and No. 10 in 2018.