Tag: Keenan Allen

Chargers rookie Ladd McConkey sits atop receiver depth chart

The Chargers believe they got a steal with wide receiver Ladd McConkey.

It was widely known going into the 2024 NFL Draft that the Los Angeles Chargers weren’t exactly set up at the receiver position after losing both starters Keenan Allen and Mike Williams due to trade and free agency.

After bypassing a receiver near the top of the first round fans and pundits alike were scratching their heads as to who exactly Justin Herbert was going to throw the ball to. The team seems to have answered that question just fine given the impressions that second-round rookie Ladd McConkey is making in training camp.

Many had McConkey going in the first round, and given the Chargers felt inclined to move up in the second round to nab him, it’s clear they saw him in a similar range. Now that McConkey has been lighting up training camp and making a name for himself, he finds himself at the top of the receiver depth chart in what was a tightly contested camp battle.

Of course, early camp success is not indicative that McConkey will retain his spot at the top of the depth chart, but as more and more highlights come out showing off McConkey’s unique ability to get open and explode past the catch, the more likely it is that he will be the offensive star this team needed to head into the season.

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Sights and sounds from Chargers training camp: Day 5

A quick roundup of the highlights from Day 5 of Chargers training camp, the first practice in pads.

The Chargers continued training camp on Monday after having Sunday off, marking the fifth day and the first day in pads.

I will have training camp coverage with updates from practice below, courtesy of media members and fan posts.

https://twitter.com/ImJustTheFellow/status/1817980878884426021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keenan Allen said he bonded with Caleb Williams over everyone’s favorite friendship-destroying game

Caleb Williams and Keenan Allen are risking their entire friendship.

Everyone knows that Monopoly is a game only fun in theory. Sure, it’s great to own Park Place and the Boardwalk and instill a luxury tax, but is it ever worth the cost of alienating your friends and family?

(Note: If you’re winning, yes. Of course it is. That’s loser talk.)

This is a fine line Keenan Allen and Caleb Williams are already walking as Chicago Bears teammates.

READ MORE: Why the Bears shouldn’t fear the Hard Knocks curse

During his first training camp press conference, Allen described how he and Williams bonded during the Bears’ minicamp earlier this summer. After hanging out during the pre-draft process, the veteran star receiver said he built more chemistry with his rookie quarterback by watching the NBA Finals and, gulp, playing Monopoly Deal.

Oof. It’s almost like they’re trying to eventually hate each other:

I’m not even remotely joking when I say I hope little stories like this serve as a Bears springboard. Any iteration of Monopoly can be a friendship-destroyer, but maybe, just maybe, this will help Williams and Allen make sweet music together as a quarterback-receiver duo in the fall.

Call it a hunch, but we’ll see more of this terrific friendship highlighted during Hard Knocks in August.

2024 Schedule Swings: Receivers

Which receiver gets a far easier schedule for 2024? Who experiences the worst drop in schedule strength?

The schedule strength for receivers is typically the least accurate compared to running backs and quarterbacks because two to four wideouts and a tight end are regularly used per team, and each varies in how they mix them.

That means comparing the schedule strength between 2023 and 2024 is also harder to apply to individual players. Only the extremes are likely to matter.

The average fantasy points allowed by defenses to receivers last year were applied to each offense’s schedule to determine their true schedule strength of last year and the same values are applied to their 2024 schedule. This includes considering both home and away venues separately for each defense.

The resulting fantasy point advantages are compared between years and the difference is their “swing points.”  The higher the Swing Points, the better their schedule is compared to last year. 

This analysis is very close to that for the quarterbacks, but a few differences stem from relying on running backs as receivers on some teams, as that skews the pass distribution.

See Also: Quarterbacks | Running Backs 

Best schedule swings

Drake London, Kyle Pitts (ATL) – This is all good news for a franchise that was among the worst in passing for the last couple of seasons. Refreshing with Kirk Cousins, a new pass-intensive scheme and now the most improved schedule from 2023 and it all is looking up for the Falcons.

Diontae Johnson, Adam Thielen (CAR) – Bryce Young was the first player drafted in 2023, but he had little help in any direction for a franchise that owned a minimal amount of passing weapons, a one-year offensive scheme that flopped and a bad schedule. A new set of coaches, upgrades with Diontae Johnson and Xavier Legette, and a vastly upgraded schedule should all make a positive difference and get the Panthers’ passing offense on track.

DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze (CHI) – The Bears already have an embarrassment of riches with receivers DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, and Cole Kmet. They drafted the top quarterback in the 2024 class and get a nice improvement in schedule. The only downside here is trying to feed all those options.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta (DET) – The Lions already had one of the best passing offenses and now enjoy a solid rise in outlook with the No. 3 best schedule for receivers. With the offense already dedicated to piling up the receptions for St. Brown and LaPorta, the schedule only serves to make them even more reliable.

Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy, David Njoku (CLE) – The Browns offense needed a break and 2024 should allow the receivers to meet their potential with Deshaun Watson healthy and well-versed in the offense and the schedule finally well above average.

Marvin Harrison Jr., Trey McBride (ARI) – The rookie Harrison and McBride already look like locks for a high volume of targets and they get a healthy Kyler Murray back. Throw in one of the top schedules after only average in 2023, and the needle is pointing up for the Arizona receivers this year.

About the same schedule strength

The bad news is that the Jaguars, Bengals, Dolphins, and Broncos all repeat their ultra-tough schedule strengths from 2023. Can they remain better than their schedule?

Worst schedule swings

Malik Nabers, Wan’Dale Robinson (NYG) – The Giants were already challenged with yet another shaky year of Daniel Jones and now the schedule is working against them. It is enough to drop Nabers another tick and hope he can survive a tough rookie campaign.

Quentin Johnson, Joshua Palmer (LAC) – The Chargers already swapped out coaches and dedicate their offense to running the ball more. And they stripped out all veteran talent from the wideouts. And they rely on what appears to be one of the weakest receiver units in the NFL. And now their receivers get to go against the worst schedule. Justin Herbert is an elite quarterback, but everything with the 2023 Chargers screams that a down year is about to happen.

Marquise Brown, Rashee Rice, Travis Kelce (KC) – This is less worrisome with an upgraded set of receivers and Patrick Mahomes playing in the same pass-happy scheme. If any team can weather a bad schedule swing, it is the Chiefs.

Mike Evans, Chris Godwin (TB) – The Buccaneers take a dive down from their previous No. 5 schedule strength for receivers but their scheme has a huge portion of the targets funnel through Evans and Godwin. They may not equal last year, but shouldn’t fall far thanks to volume alone.

Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp (LAR) – Nacua blew up with a historic rookie season and Kupp is always dangerous weapon when healthy.  This slide doesn’t help but the duo is one of the best in the league. They should still deliver even with the increased competition.

Bills’ Keon Coleman earns Keenan Allen, Mike Evans comparisons (video)

The #Bills would take those:

Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman has yet to play a snap in the NFL. He’s already earned some big-time comparisons.

While a second-round rookie and not one of the first players from his position off the board at the 2024 NFL draft, Coleman’s name has been connected to the likes of some established NFL vets and names people will know. Keenan Allen and Mike Evans were tossed out there.

Allen, now on the Bears, has six Pro Bowls on his resume. Evans, still with the Buccaneers, has five of his own Pro Bowls, along with two second-team, All-Pro selections and a Super Bowl title.

The comparisons were made during a recent segment on The Herd with Colin Cowherd show which can be found in the clip below:

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Vikings snubbed in PFF’s perfect NFC North team selections

In somewhat of a surprise, the Minnesota Vikings were completely left out of PFF’s perfect NFC north team.

We’ve officially entered summer, which means we’re right at the tail end of the NFL’s dead period. Training camps will be starting soon, and before you know it, we’ll have some real football to talk about. Pre-season football, roster cut-down day, and free agent signings from said cut-downs will all lead up to the first kickoff of the 2024 NFL season.

But we’re not there yet, so we’re still in the preview—and in this case, hypothetical—phase of the offseason. With that in mind, the team at PFF has been going division-by-division and building their “perfect” team out of units from the teams in each division.

For their perfect teams, the PFF crew has chosen to take a “room by room” approach, choosing one unit as a whole rather than selecting individual players. The Minnesota Vikings are noticeably absent from the selection process for their NFC North team.

It makes sense that PFF wouldn’t take the Vikings quarterback position, instead opting for Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers. Given the Vikings’ running woes last season, it also makes sense not to take their running backs—even with the addition of Aaron Jones—and indeed, PFF opted to take the Detroit Lions’ room and their 1-2 punch of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.

Things may get a little surprising with PFF’s choice of a wide receiver room. Rather than taking the tandem of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, they opted to go with the crew the Chicago Bears have built with the additions of Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze to pair with D.J. Moore. You can’t help but think the uncertainty Minnesota has at the WR3 was the determining factor there.

Rounding out PFF’s perfect NFC North team, they chose the Lions offensive and defensive lines, the Bears linebackers, and the Packers secondary units, leaving the Vikings completely unrepresented.

For better or for worse: Evaluating Chargers offense ahead of training camp

A quick rundown of each position on offense and whether the Chargers are better, worse or neutral at that spot.

The Chargers lost some key starters from last season but added a few in correspondence via free agency and the draft.

But how do they compare from the end of the 2023 regular season to now?

Let’s break it down by position, starting with the offense.

Quarterback

Offseason moves: Re-signed Easton Stick.

Summary: The Chargers are locked in with Justin Herbert. Herbert is coming off a down year, as he was hit with injuries to both hands, with his throwing hand being season-ending. Another year, another offense for Herbert, marking his fourth in five seasons in the league. Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman want to run the football, so it’ll be enticing to see how they design this offense to accomplish that and allow Herbert to flourish as a passer. They brought back Stick to serve as Herbert’s backup. Stick was the backup with zero experience as a starter until last season when Herbert was sidelined with his finger injury. Stick went on to start the final four games and finished with 1,129 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception while adding 144 rushing yards and a score on 27 carries.

Verdict: Same

Running Back

Offseason moves: Lost Austin Ekeler (signed with the Commanders). Signed Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins (previously with the Ravens). Drafted Kimani Vidal (sixth-round pick)

Summary: After playing with the Chargers for seven seasons, Ekeler departed and eventually reunited with former head coach Anthony Lynn, who is now Washington’s running backs coach. With the vision of the offense pounding the rock and wearing defenses on the ground, Los Angeles went out and got guys familiar with Roman’s gap/power scheme. Edwards is coming off a year where he set career highs in rushing yards (810) and touchdowns (13). Dobbins has struggled to stay healthy, but his most productive season came under Roman in 2020 when he rushed for 805 yards, nine scores and 6.0 yards per carry. Vidal was productive at Troy, rushing for 1,661 yards and scoring 14 touchdowns on 295 carries.

Verdict: Better

Wide Receiver

Offseason moves: Traded Keenan Allen (Bears). Lost Mike Williams (signed with the Jets). Drafted Ladd McConkey (second round), Cornelius Johnson and Brenden Rice (seventh round). Signed D.J. Chark (previously with the Panthers).

Summary: Once a strength of the Chargers, now the wide receiver room lacks top-end talent after the losses of Allen and Williams. Joshua Palmer has the most experience in the group, and he is expected to take a big step in his contract year. McConkey, who Los Angeles traded up for to get in Round 2, is expected to be a significant contributor in his rookie season. He and Herbert have already started to develop a rapport. The team is hopeful that Quentin Johnston can shake off his rough rookie campaign and provide the offense with a legitimate yards-after-the-catch threat. Chark hasn’t had a productive season since 2019 with the Jaguars when he earned Pro Bowl honors. He offers elite speed to serve as a vertical threat. Johnson and Rice will compete for roster spots.

Verdict: Worse

Tight End

Offseason moves: Lost Gerald Everett (signed with the Bears). Signed Will Dissly (previously with the Seahawks) and Hayden Hurst (previously with the Panthers).

Summary: In two seasons as a Charger, Everett was vital in the passing game with his yards-after-the-catch ability and clutchness on money downs. They found their replacement for Everett with Hurst, who played under Roman for two seasons in Baltimore. Hurst offers the upside as a receiver but can also block. In a new offense where blocking tight ends are integral, they signed one of the best in that department in Dissly. The offense hasn’t had a good blocking tight end since 2020. Parham returns for another season and should be reliable in the red zone with his 6-foot-8 frame.

Verdict: Better

Offensive line

Offseason moves: Lost Corey Linsley (likely to retire). Drafted Joe Alt (first round)

Summary: The Chargers felt the loss of Linsley throughout last season when he was sidelined with his heart issue. Filling Linsley’s void was arguably the most critical offseason move. They did so with Bozeman, who has seven years of starting experience and is familiar with Roman’s scheme, having played under him for four seasons. Los Angeles struck gold with Rashawn Slater. They hope they do the same with Joe Alt, who will start opposite Slater. Alt should make a difference in the run game from Day 1. Now it’s just a matter of how he holds up against NFL pass rushers. With Alt sliding in at right tackle, Trey Pipkins will move inside to right guard. Despite never playing the position, Pipkins has the athleticism, length and football IQ to make the transition seamless.

Verdict: Slightly better

2024 record prediction: Chicago Bears

We take a look at the Chicago Bears and attempt to project where they will end up at the end of the season.

I cannot recall a time where there was more hype surrounding a team coming out of the draft with a number one overall pick. Granted, it was not the Chicago Bears own pick but rather one they picked up in a trade with the Panthers, which ultimately turned into the new hope of the windy city in Caleb Williams. Can Matt Eberflus steer the ship the right direction and take his new look offense to the playoffs?

The Chicago offseason was one of the most aggressive ones in the NFL with general manager Ryan Poles understanding he needed to set up his rookie quarterback with the best possible chance to succeed. Adding receivers Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze through a trade and the draft sets up Chicago with one of the best receiving trios in the league from day one, pairing that duo with stand out receiver DJ Moore. Adding running back D’Andre Swift to an already talented running back room is only going to help establish an offensive identity with the help of new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. On defense Chicago locked up their own extremely talented cornerback in Jaylon Johnson and added the likes of Kevin Byard in free agency to help lock down the deep portions of the field. This defense should be sneaky good under Eberflus.

This Chicago Bears team is set up to put up fireworks offensively and the already field a pretty talented defense that got way better towards the end of last season. If Caleb Williams is as good as everyone thinks he is, this team is going to make a playoff push in one of the most stacked divisions in football.

Record prediction: 9-8

Why training camp is extra important for Bears’ offense

With a new offensive scheme and new impact players, training camp will be even more important for the Bears offense.

The Chicago Bears are one of the most intriguing teams heading into the 2024 season. This is a squad that hasn’t had success on the field in a few years, but they are coming out of a potential great rebuild. If they do things the right way, they might be able to find some playoff success in the coming years.

Heading into training camp, there is a lot that needs to happen for this team to find success in 2024. Not many people think they are full-blown Super Bowl contenders yet, but most believe they can be in the mix for a playoff berth if everything goes right.

Training camp is especially important for the offense this year. Not only are they learning Shane Waldron’s new offense, but they have several new players who are considered impact guys. That starts with quarterback Caleb Williams, as well as receivers Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze, running back D’Andre Swift, tight end Gerald Everettt and offenisve linemen Coleman Shelton and Ryan Bates.

Finding chemistry, especially in a new offense, is a big key during the early stages of camp. All of these guys are going to be playing together for the first time.

Out of them all, Williams has the most pressure to succeed, even as a rookie. He’s already the franchise quarterback, and he hasn’t taken a single snap in the NFL yet. Although he was incredible in college, there is going to be a learning curve. Chicago did a good job bringing in a lot of talent to help support him, but it could take some time to get going in training camp.

If everyone stays healthy and gains that aforementioned chemistry during camp, it will bleed into the preseason. At that point, the Bears might be able to find a way to be a good team once the regular season starts. There are a lot of points to be scored.

Caleb Williams, Bears receivers planning throwing sessions before training camp

Before training camp next month, Caleb Williams and Bears receivers will get together for a few throwing sessions.

The Chicago Bears have wrapped their offseason program following the conclusion of mandatory minicamp earlier this month. Now, they get a six-week break before returning to Halas Hall for training camp next month.

While the Bears will be on summer break, the offseason training doesn’t stop. Wide receiver DJ Moore told 670 the Score that rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and Bears wideouts will be getting together two or three times over the next few weeks for throwing sessions leading into training camp next month.

Williams got the opportunity to throw to his full complement of receivers for the first time during mandatory minicamp, which included Moore, Keenan Allen and fellow rookie Rome Odunze. Now, he’ll continue to build that rapport with his new cast of weapons before an important training camp kicks into gear.