Mike McDaniel’s New Rookie WR Weapon Could Have Unexpected Role for Chargers

The Chargers have some big plans for a key rookie Mike McDaniel himself targeted.

Brenen Thompson | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Chargers made fans wait to see what they would do at wide receiver for new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. 

Those Chargers hit free agency and let McDaniel steer the ship. They revamped all three spots on the interior of the offensive line. They added tight end Charlie Kolar. They got running back Keaton Mitchell. They even went and signed fullback Alec Ingold. 

But the Chargers made McDaniel and fans wait until the NFL draft for a wide receiver. 

McDaniel got his guy, though, with Brenen Thompson, a rookie earning DeSean Jackson comparisons. 

And Thompson could have a pretty unexpected role right out of the gates. 

Mike McDaniel’s draft pick Brenen Thompson set for notable role?

Brenen Thompson | Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Thompson doesn’t figure to have a major presence in Justin Herbert’s base offense. 

The Chargers do, after all, have Ladd McConkey, a first-round investment in Quentin Johnston, a second-round one in Tre Harris, and a breakout tight end with Oronde Gadsden. Keep Kolar and change-of-pace back Mitchell in mind, too. 

But Thompson’s big role could come on special teams, as it turns out. 

Just ask Chargers special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken, who says even a lack of reps so far won’t stop someone from getting a chance back there. 

"Then maybe you can turn on the offensive tape: how are their ball skills, how strong are their hands, how they track the ball. It's not that you can say, 'Oh, he definitely can do it.' But more, 'He's got the skillset to project to be able to do it.' That's what you're looking for," Ficken told Eric Smith of Chargers.com.

This would be unexpected for Thompson, in the sense that he only returned just one punt in college. 

If all goes well, he could do it full-time in the NFL. 

Granted, Thompson will have to learn on the fly and beat Derius Davis, a 2023 fourth-rounder who excels in the role. No easy task. But it’s hard not to see Thompson’s tape, his 4.26 speed and wonder if he might not be able to make a competition of it. 

No doubt Thompson will get base-offense usage here and there. Maybe he’ll stretch the field. Maybe he’ll get small routes and screens meant to almost emulate a special teams return. But by far his biggest path to the field as a rookie might be on special teams, so it’s one of many interesting things to track as we get into the summer months soon. 

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