Ladd McConkey Injury Could Open Door for Brenen Thompson, Omarion Hampton vs. Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey's injury woes going into Week 2 against the Las Vegas Raiders continue to hang over the franchise.

Sounds dramatic, but the Chargers should rightfully be in a bit of a panic mode after dropping a game to the Arizona Cardinals.

During that contest, McConkey led all Chargers players with 82 yards and a score on five catches…despite leaving the game early with a rib injury that could sideline or limit his snap counts in future games.

The silver lining, though, is that Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel has had all week to draw up a gameplan that emphasizes some of the other talent on the offense around Justin Herbert.

And talent? The Chargers’ depth chart certainly has that.

Ladd McConkey injury impacts Week 2 vs. Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey — Ladd McConkey | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As a disclaimer, McDaniel’s offense wasn’t exactly encouraging during the loss to the Cardinals. But it’s fair to chalk it up to first-game blues for a new system with a mix of the usual Week 1 shenanigans.

McDaniel has ways to work around a McConkey absence. Think about running back Omarion Hampton. He only gained 43 yards with a score on a 3.6 per-carry average over 12 attempts against Arizona.

But another week means more reps together for the new offensive line. And as Hampton showed last year as a rookie, he tends to heat up when fed more touches.

There’s also Quentin Johnston, Tre Harris and others at wideout.

One of the “others” is rookie Brenen Thompson, the fourth-round pick with 4.26 speed hand-picked by McDaniel himself.

The rookie wasn’t shy about voicing his displeasure about what happened last week, either, during a game in which he played 10 snaps and got zero targets.

"There was a lot on tape we should've been better at, could've been better at,” Thompson told Chargers.com’s Omar Navarro. “Everybody has a chip on their shoulder in that sense that we should've been better in all aspects."

In the old days, the Week 2 game against the Raiders has the makings of one in which Herbert is constantly running trying to prop up the entire offense because McConkey isn’t out there creating space.

But these are the new days, and McDaniel’s in town to prevent that sort of thing. He’s got the weapons to do it, too, so in a funny twist, it wouldn’t be that shocking to see the Chargers look even better on offense this week despite McConkey missing or even being on a reduced snap count.

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