How Chargers Look With Current Wide Receiver Rotation
After ditching top wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, the Los Angeles Chargers' wide receiver corps has been significantly depleted ahead of this month's wide receiver-heavy NFL draft. Extension-eligible vet Joshua Palmer is probably WR1 for now. LA's former top first round draft pick in 2023, rookie Quentin Johnston, had an uneven start.
Last year, Palmer notched 143 catches from LA quarterbacks in exchange for 1,703 yards, plus nine touchdowns.
Another rookie wide receiver, Derius Davis, was actually an All-Pro Second Teamer, but that was more as a result of his play as a return man with the Bolts' special teams unit. LA had selected the wide receiver out of TCU with the No. 125 pick in the fourth round of the draft.
Simi Fehoko is Los Angeles' other rostered wide receiver. The 6'4" Stanford product barely played for LA after signing on midseason in September. He did suit up in six games, but was only the subject of two targets, catching one reception for nine yards.
The loss of Allen, especially, is a big one.
Despite being in his relative pro football dotage at age 31, Allen still submitted perhaps his best season ever in earning his sixth Pro Bowl honor. Nevertheless, in what sure looks like a cost-cutting move, Los Angeles flipped him to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a fourth round pick in this year's draft. LA waived Williams.
Johnston, at least, has major upside.
"Quentin is still young," ESPN's Jordan Reid told Eric Smith of Chargers.com. "He was a rookie [in 2023] so they'll give him more opportunities to prove he was worthy of a first-round pick."
LA has nine picks (as of this writing) in this month's NFL draft, which is chock full of wide receiver options. We can only assume the team's wideout room will look significantly different next fall.
