The Chargers don’t have Keenan Allen anymore. Mike Williams is also gone. Some new receiver, it seems, is going to have to rise up to relevancy in that offense.
They’ve got Quentin Johnston and Joshua Palmer coming back, and I expect they’ll be adding a significant receiver in the draft. If they select a wide receiver near the top of the second round, that may be the pass catcher who’s selected earliest in most dynasty drafts (if they select one in the first round, then definitely so).
As a first-round pick who was selected before Jordan Addison and Zay Flowers, Johnston was a disappointment as a rookie. Some would say a huge disappointment. Palmer (pictured) has at least had nominal NFL success, but he hasn’t been great. It’s not guaranteed that either of these receivers will ever ascend to being players of much note.
Working in their favor, they’ll be working with a young, up-and-coming quarterback. Justin Herbert can really sling it.
On the downside, the Chargers have brought in Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman to run things, and they have a history of relying heavily on the run. They’re more about trying to grind out victories, rather than putting up big passing numbers.
Below see the best wide receivers from the last 10 teams coached by these guys. (Harbaugh and Roman worked together in San Francisco from 2011-14; Roman later was the offensive coordinator for the Bills for 2 years and the Ravens for 4 years.)
None of those teams, of course, had a passer quite like Herbert. But Harbaugh at Michigan just had J.J. McCarthy, who’ll be a top-10 pick next week, and McCarthy didn’t average 200 passing yards in either of the last two years. I think they’ll be dialing back Herbert, with the offense having a completely different personality.
Of those previous 10 Harbaugh-Roman offenses, only six of them had a wide receiver who ranked in the top 30 (using PPR scoring). Nobody ranked higher than 15th. So if we’re setting an over-under for the placing of the best finishing Chargers receiver in the upcoming season, I would think low 30s for now.
| HARBAUGH & ROMAN'S BEST WIDE RECEIVERS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2013 | Anquan Boldin, S.F. | 85 | 1,179 | 13.9 | 7 | 246.0 | 15 |
| 2012 | Michael Crabtree, S.F. | 85 | 1,105 | 13.0 | 9 | 250.3 | 15 |
| 2014 | Anquan Boldin, S.F. | 83 | 1,062 | 12.8 | 5 | 219.6 | 19 |
| 2015 | Sammy Watkins, Buff. | 60 | 1,047 | 17.5 | 9 | 218.8 | 20 |
| 2021 | Marquise Brown, Balt. | 91 | 1,008 | 11.1 | 6 | 228.3 | 21 |
| 2011 | Michael Crabtree, S.F. | 72 | 874 | 12.1 | 4 | 186.0 | 27 |
| 2020 | Marquise Brown, Balt. | 58 | 769 | 13.3 | 8 | 183.0 | 36 |
| 2019 | Marquise Brown, Balt. | 46 | 584 | 12.7 | 7 | 146.4 | 46 |
| 2014 | Michael Crabtree, S.F. | 68 | 698 | 10.3 | 4 | 162.2 | 46 |
| 2015 | Robert Woods, Buff. | 47 | 552 | 11.7 | 3 | 120.2 | 57 |
| 2022 | Devin Duvernay, Balt. | 37 | 407 | 11.0 | 3 | 116.1 | 61 |
| 2022 | Demarcus Robinson, Balt. | 48 | 458 | 9.5 | 2 | 105.8 | 67 |
| 2016 | Robert Woods, Buff. | 51 | 613 | 12.0 | 1 | 118.9 | 67 |
| 2021 | Rashod Bateman, Balt. | 46 | 515 | 11.2 | 1 | 103.5 | 70 |
| 2012 | Mario Manningham, S.F. | 42 | 449 | 10.7 | 1 | 99.3 | 72 |
| 2019 | Willie Snead, Balt. | 31 | 339 | 10.9 | 5 | 95.1 | 76 |
| 2012 | Randy Moss, S.F. | 28 | 434 | 15.5 | 3 | 89.4 | 77 |
| 2015 | Chris Hogan, Buff. | 36 | 450 | 12.5 | 2 | 93.6 | 77 |
| 2014 | Stevie Johnson, S.F. | 35 | 435 | 12.4 | 3 | 96.5 | 78 |
| 2020 | Willie Snead, Balt. | 33 | 432 | 13.1 | 3 | 94.2 | 85 |
| 2016 | Marquise Goodwin, Buff. | 29 | 431 | 14.9 | 3 | 90.1 | 85 |
| 2021 | Devin Duvernay, Balt. | 33 | 272 | 8.2 | 2 | 83.2 | 88 |
| 2016 | Sammy Watkins, Buff. | 28 | 430 | 15.4 | 2 | 83.0 | 91 |
| 2011 | Kyle Williams, S.F. | 20 | 241 | 12.1 | 3 | 65.3 | 94 |
Harbaugh and Roman have gotten more success out of tight ends, with Mark Andrews and Vernon Davis combining for six seasons with top-10 numbers. But Los Angeles doesn’t currently have an Andrews-Davis type of tight end.
| HARBAUGH & ROMAN'S BEST TIGHT ENDS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | PPR | Rk |
| 2021 | Mark Andrews, Balt. | 107 | 1,361 | 12.7 | 9 | 301.1 | 1 |
| 2022 | Mark Andrews, Balt. | 73 | 847 | 11.6 | 5 | 190.5 | 4 |
| 2013 | Vernon Davis, S.F. | 52 | 850 | 16.4 | 13 | 215.0 | 4 |
| 2019 | Mark Andrews, Balt. | 64 | 852 | 13.3 | 10 | 209.2 | 5 |
| 2020 | Mark Andrews, Balt. | 58 | 701 | 12.1 | 7 | 170.1 | 6 |
| 2011 | Vernon Davis, S.F. | 67 | 792 | 11.8 | 6 | 181.7 | 8 |
| 2016 | Charles Clay, Buff. | 57 | 552 | 9.7 | 4 | 136.2 | 16 |
| 2015 | Charles Clay, Buff. | 51 | 528 | 10.4 | 3 | 121.8 | 18 |
| 2012 | Vernon Davis, S.F. | 41 | 548 | 13.4 | 5 | 125.8 | 20 |
| 2022 | Isaiah Likely, Balt. | 36 | 373 | 10.4 | 3 | 91.3 | 27 |
| 2019 | Hayden Hurst, Balt. | 30 | 349 | 11.6 | 2 | 76.9 | 34 |
| 2014 | Vernon Davis, S.F. | 26 | 245 | 9.4 | 2 | 62.9 | 35 |
| 2012 | Delanie Walker, S.F. | 21 | 344 | 16.4 | 3 | 73.4 | 35 |
| 2019 | Nick Boyle, Balt. | 31 | 321 | 10.4 | 2 | 75.1 | 36 |
| 2011 | Delanie Walker, S.F. | 19 | 198 | 10.4 | 3 | 57.3 | 40 |
| 2022 | Josh Oliver, Balt. | 14 | 149 | 10.6 | 2 | 40.9 | 51 |
—Ian Allan