Fantasy Football Stock Watch: Ladd McConkey Takes a Backseat in Chargers WR Room
In this story:
The NFL is filled with unperforming assets through four weeks of the season. It is frustrating, I know, but that is the game that we play. Ja'Marr Chase, AJ Brown, and Brian Thomas Jr all feature struggling wide receivers. The one we will cover today is Chargers wideout, Ladd McConkey. Are better days ahead? Are they not? Why is he struggling? These are all questions that I will answer for you today regarding the 2nd year starter.
Ladd McConkey: 2025 Stats
The Chargers are really a whole new look offense in 2025. With the addition and breakout of Keenan Allen, they are thriving and it has come at the cost of Ladd McConkey's value.
In 2025, McConkey has a 19% target share — 3rd best on the team. He also has a respectable 16 Catches for 174 Yards, but zero touchdowns. In contrast, McConkey had a 25% target share in 2025. His red zone stats this year include just a 8% target share (0-for-1). In 2024, that stat for McConkey was a 29% red zone target share.
Why is McConkey Struggling?
The offense is very clearly working to a new gameplan in 2025. McConkey is not a red zone threat. He is a good player, but not a vertical threat so much as some others. The players that are more threatening are Keenan Allen and Quentin Johnston.
Johnston is really coming into his own as a premier NFL receiver. He leads the team with a 25% target share and 4 Touchdowns. His ADOT? 15.3 Yards. Johnston is averaging 84 Yards per Game and has 38% of red zone targets, just awesome stuff from the once criticized rookie.
Allen is also eating into McConkey's workload in a hefty fashion. The team lost Mike Williams to free agency and thus, signed their old friend. Allen looks like his old self this year with a 24% target share and 3 Touchdowns. The Chargers have seven touchdowns this season, all to Johnston and Allen. Keenan is also the team leader in red zone targets at 42%.
Our Fantasy Sports On SI Rankings so show some optimism in McConkey as we list him as the WR24 in Week 5. He is still a must-start.
Stock Watch: Ladd McConkey
Don’t panic on your WRs yet! 🚨
— Fantasy Guides (@fantasy_guides) October 1, 2025
Here’s where some ranked through 4 weeks last year vs final finish:
📉 Drake London – WR23 → WR5
📉 Terry McLaurin – WR25 → WR7
📉 JSN – WR28 → WR9
📉 Davante Adams – WR36 → WR11
📉 Ladd McConkey – WR37 → WR13
Which WR makes the leap this… pic.twitter.com/Y5GOaGmWZU
McConkey is very clearly struggling in favor of his two counterparts. This would give me some concern going forward. As this offense is humming, it is hard to expect them to switch it up a ton. However, the current output of McConkey seems too low for his skill level. Reasonably speaking, he should have an uptick going forward. The best tell tale in the fact that McConkey has played the most snaps of any Chargers receiver.
McConkey was drafted in the 2nd round of most fantasy football drafts. I would not expect him to meet that value. However, he should maintain to be a solid WR2. The game script will begin to favor him in due time, I would truly believe that. The touchdown opportunity will maintain to be his largest downside. The team is going to continue to not fix what ain't broke and that is Johnston, Allen, and Omarion Hampton owning the red zone work. I would project McConkey to end up with 4-5 touchdowns on the season.
More Fantasy Sports On SI News:
Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.