Tag: Josh Palmer Chargers

Touchdown Wire names Chargers’ most underrated player ahead of 2024 season

Josh Palmer is heading into a big year.

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar named each NFL team’s most underrated player ahead of the 2024 season. For the Chargers, Farrar listed wide receiver Joshua Palmer under this category.

Here is what Farrar had to say:

That dink-and-dunk approach has also done receiver Josh Palmer no favors. Selected in the third round of the 2021 draft out of Tennessee, Palmer is a big (6′ 1¼”, 210-pound) target who can singe cornerbacks and safeties downfield when given the chance. Last season, even under those circumstances, Palmer had seven deep catches on 14 targets for 299 yards and two touchdowns.

Some players are underrated simply because their coaches aren’t in the mood to let them show what they can do best. Hopefully, that changes for the Chargers this season.

Palmer, the 2021 third-round pick, has 143 career catches for 1,703 yards and nine touchdowns in his career.

Palmer stepped up when Keenan Allen and Mike Williams dealt with injuries in 2022, tallying 72 receptions for 769 yards and three scores across 16 games. Last season, he had a career-high 58.1 yards per game but was sidelined six games by a knee injury.

Palmer routinely creates separation for himself and makes big grabs down the field, something that he will need to continue this season as the offense looks to balance the pass and what is supposed to be a dominant run game.

Furthermore, this is the final year of Palmer’s rookie deal so it’s important that he stays healthy and produces to get an extension next offseason.

Los Angeles Chargers’ most underrated player: WR Josh Palmer

Chargers receiver Josh Palmer has great vertical ability, and hopefully, his coaches will let him show it off more often someday.

The Chargers’ risk-averse passing game over the last three years under Joe Lombardi and then Kellen Moore has driven a lot of people nuts when there’s a quarterback in Justin Herbert who would seem to have the ability to drive the ball all over the field on a no-matter-what basis.

But the tape and the metrics bear it out — last season, Herbert had just 55 attempts of 20+ air yards — to put that in perspective, Jordan Love of the Packers led the league with 90. Herbert did complete 20 of those passes, which is about the standard ratio for deep completions, but the hope is that Jim Harbaugh and new offensive coordinator Greg Roman will unleash things a bit more often.

That dink-and-dunk approach has also done receiver Josh Palmer no favors. Selected in the third round of the 2021 draft out of Tennessee, Palmer is a big (6′ 1¼”, 210-pound) target who can singe cornerbacks and safeties downfield when given the chance. Last season, even under those circumstances, Palmer had seven deep catches on 14 targets for 299 yards and two touchdowns.

Some players are underrated simply because their coaches aren’t in the mood to let them show what they can do best. Hopefully, that changes for the Chargers this season. 

Chargers rookie WR Josh Palmer talks adjustment to NFL

Chargers rookie Josh Palmer talks about what’s different from his college offense to now in Joe Lombardi’s system.

With their one of their two third-round draft picks, the Chargers selected wide receiver Josh Palmer.

During an interview with Go Vols of 247 Sports, Palmer was asked about how the jump from the college level to the NFL has been for him.

A huge thing would definitely be the playbook. Not necessarily the content, because a lot of it was fairly similar to what I experienced at Tennessee, just the verbiage is really different. But it’s a lot more attention-to-details, being attentive to your splits, knowing exactly where you have to be, getting all of your depth, knowing the quarterback’s drops, knowing how much time that you have, everything.

One of the biggest things is just the huddle. I’m not used to a huddle, because I was used to a signal at Tennessee. But the biggest difference between that is the speed of how fast they say the call in the huddle. I think that would be the hardest thing, is just listening very closely to what you have and what the play is, because they only say the play one time, so you better hear it the first time.

As the Volunteers’ leading receiver in 2020, Palmer amassed 33 receptions for 475 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games with four starts. During his collegiate career, he caught 99 passes for 1,514 yards (15.3 yards per catch) with seven touchdowns.

In Year 1, he will be in the mix for snaps. Given the fact that offensive coordinator Joe Lombard goes through a lot of different personnel packages, Palmer will have his fair share of opportunities, with potential to grow into a large role.

With his ability to separate at all levels of the field, especially vertically, Palmer could quickly become one of quarterback Justin Herbert’s favorite targets this upcoming season and beyond.

Fantasy Football: Initial projection for Chargers WR Josh Palmer in 2021

ESPN’s Mike Clay gives an early outlook for Chargers wide receiver Josh Palmer.

The Chargers brought in another weapon for quarterback Justin Herbert with the selection of former Tennessee wide receiver Josh Palmer in the third-round of the 2021 NFL draft.

Palmer will be joining a crowded wideout group that features Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, but he still presents excellent value in his rookie season, enough that he’s worth taking in your fantasy football leagues.

ESPN’s Mike Clay reacted to the first three rounds from a fantasy football perspective, where he made some initial projections and analysis for all skill players that were taken.

For Palmer, Clay’s initial projection sees him receive 37 targets for 23 receptions, 274 yards, two touchdowns in 2021.

He’s not a threat to Keenan Allen or Mike Williams in the short term, but could overtake Jalen Guyton and Tyron Johnson for No. 3 duties very quickly. That would make him a fantasy sleeper considering how good Justin Herbert looked as a rookie. Palmer will be a fine later flier in deeper leagues.

When you look at Palmer’s stat sheet from college, it’s easy to be swayed away from him as a potential target, as he failed to surpass 34 targets and 500 yards.

The reality is that the numbers don’t do the justice to reflect the type of player he is and can be at the next level.

Palmer never produced eye-popping production at Tennessee due to the fact that he played alongside two current NFL wide receivers for two seasons and the team’s ongoing quarterback problems.

Palmer, the 6-foot-1 and 210 pounder, ran mostly vertical routes in the Vol’s offense and rarely got targeted because of it. On top of that, 31% of his targets were uncatchable.

However, when he was targeted with a catchable ball, he shined against some elite college corners, including Jaycee Horn, Patrick Surtain II, Tyson Campbell, Eric Stokes and Kelvin Joseph.

Palmer was 14-of-14 in catching the “catchable balls” in those matchups, 11 of which went for first downs, four touchdowns, and 16 yards per reception, according to Pro Football Focus.

At the Senior Bowl, defensive backs had no answer for Palmer, defeating them with violent route-running and the speed to create separation. His 81% win rate was the highest of any outside receiver.

Now on a team with a competent quarterback in Herbert, Palmer should definitely be more productive in the NFL than he was in college.

In Year 1, he will be in the mix for snaps with Jalen Guyton and Tyron Johnson. But given the fact that offensive coordinator Joe Lombard goes through a lot of different personnel packages, Palmer will have his opportunities.

With his ability to separate at all levels of the field, especially vertically, Palmer could quickly become one of Herbert’s go-to targets this upcoming season and beyond.

The bottom line is take Palmer in the later rounds of your upcoming drafts and you could have yourself a diamond in the rough.

Why Chargers fans should be excited about WR Josh Palmer

Newest Chargers wide receiver Josh Palmer’s best playing days are still ahead of him.

After getting a dynamic defender in Asante Samuel Jr., the Chargers turned their attention back to the offensive side of the ball where they felt like it was only right to get a piece for quarterback Justin Herbert.

Los Angeles picked former Tennessee wide receiver Josh Palmer with the No. 77 overall selection.

When you look at his stat sheet from college, it’s easy to be swayed away from the pick as he failed to surpass 34 targets and 500 yards. But the reality is that the numbers don’t do the justice to reflect the type of player Palmer really is and can be at the next level.

Palmer, the Canada native, never produced eye-popping production at Tennessee due to playing alongside Marquez Callaway (Saints) and Jauan Jennings (49ers) for two seasons and the team’s ongoing quarterback problems.

Palmer, the 6-foot-1 and 210 pounder, ran mostly vertical routes in the Vol’s offense and rarely got targeted because of it.

But when he was targeted, he made the most of his opportunities, showing up against some elite cornerback prospects, including Patrick Surtain II and Tyson Campbell.

With adequate play at the quarterback position, Palmer opened some eyes at the Reese’s Senior Bowl. He defeated defenders with violent route-running and the speed to create separation as well as the sticky hands to catch everything thrown his way.

His 81% win rate was the highest of any outside receiver at the Senior Bowl one-on-ones, according to Pro Football Focus.

His performance in Mobile, AL helped boost his draft stock, and the Bolts saw a physical pass-catcher who possessed the long speed, route-running chops, play strength and ball skills, profiling as a high-upside wideout with big-play capabilities.

Now on a team with a competent quarterback, Palmer should easily be more productive in the NFL than he was in college.