According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Chargers have expressed interest in free agent receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. This comes after a report earlier in the week linking them to preliminary interest in Bengals WR Tyler Boyd.
Fowler’s report mentions that the Chargers are looking for speed at the wide receiver position. Valdes-Scantling certainly offers a deep ball skillset as he can access that part of the field. Valdes-Scantling was a Kansas City cap casualty, as he had a cap hit of $12 million entering the 2024 season.
Known for his drop against the Eagles last year, MVS doesn’t necessarily have the best hands. For his career in the regular season, his drop rate is around 10%.
However, the drop problem seems slightly overstated when looking at the data. Valdes-Scantling had a 12.5% drop rate last year with three dropped targets. But combining his 2021 and 2022 campaigns, Valdes-Scantling had just an average drop rate of 5.3% between seasons, with five drops in total. On 38 postseason targets, he has zero drops in his career.
There probably won’t be any movement regarding the Chargers signing a free-agent wideout until after the draft. However, one advantage of pursuing Valdes-Scantling is that he wouldn’t factor into the comp formula if signed right now as a previous cut.
Of the remaining receivers in free agency, you’re not relying on any of them to be an offense’s No. 1 wide receiver. However, from a speed component and stretching-the-field standpoint, MVS could fill a greatly needed role for the Chargers pre- or post-draft.