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Tyron Johnson. Age 24, 6-1, 196. Played 1 season at LSU then transferred to Okiehoma State. As a junior in 2018 he had 854 yards receiving, a 15.9 avg, and 7 TDs. He also scored 1 TD rushing. He bounced around the practice squads of Houston, Buffalo and Carolina in 2019 and was released by them all. The Bolts signed him the PS in December and he signed a futures contract later that month. He started 2020 on the PS. Was elevated for the Tampa game. When I heard his name called as the guy who caught the first bomb from Herbert I shouted out "who the f*ck is that?" Though I think I had read his name earlier in the day as being elevated to the roster, it didn't register in my memory. He has 4.36 speed (OSU pro day).
Jalen Guyton. Age 24, 6-1, 212. Played 1 season at Notre Dame, then transferred to North Texas. As a junior in 2018 he had 805 yards receiving, a 14.9 avg, and 6 TDs. In 2019 he was signed as a UDFA by the Cowboys and was released but not signed to their PS. He was signed to the Chargers PS in October. Made the final roster this year. Caught his first NFL pass in game 1 from Taylor. Was on the receiving end of Herbert's first TD pass v. the Chiefs. Caught his 2nd TD pass Sunday v. the Bucs - the recipient of Herbert's 2nd bomb of the day. He has 5 receptions in 4 games, 2 of them for TDs. He leads the team in TD receptions and TDs scored. He ran a 4.39 40 at his pro day, but I've read in other places he is a bit faster than that.
Donald Parham. Age 23, 6-8, 240. We know a bit about Parham, he was the best TE in the short-lived XFL and he created some buzz when the Chargers snagged him in April. His TD catch from Herbert Sunday made him the first former XFL player to score in the NFL. He also became the first Stetson player to score a TD in the NFL. As a senior in 2018 at Stetson he had 85 receptions for 1,319 yards and 13 TDs. He averaged 9.4 receptions per game. He led all FCS (Div 1-AA) schools. In 2019 he was undrafted and spent time on the practice squads of Detroit and Washington, but was released from both. He was drafted by the Dallas Renegades of the XFL in the 9th round. In 5 games he had 24 receptions for 307 yards and 4 TDs. He had 2 TD grabs in one of his games, and emerged as a star of the young league before it shut down. In high school he was a basketball standout and didn't get serious about football until college. He has good speed for his size: 4.68 at his pro day.
What to make of these three youngsters? Well, one thing that impressed me is how good each of them looked when they were making big plays, I mean no dropsies, no close calls. They made sure-handed grabs of the balls Herbert sent their way. Maybe that's more of a tribute to Herbert and his ability to hit every blade of grass on the field with uncanny accuracy. But each of them showed poise in pretty big situations.
Guyton is beginning to emerge as a bonafide option as a No. 3 option, a WR with playmaker abilities that can get behind a defense with speed, something the offense has missed since Tyrell Williams left. I am optimistically excited about his potential, and he seems to be developing a rapport with Herbert.
Parham - he's going to be difficult to keep off the game day roster, don't you think? I'm sure he's not impressing anybody with his blocking, he has more of a WR body than a TE. But neither Anderson nor Green can create the mismatches Parham does. They are going to need to give Herbert (or Taylor) all the help they can, the run game is going to suffer for awhile without Ekeler. The offense is going to be driven by the passing game.
Johnson - was that one play just a fluke, successful because he was an absolute unknown? He was activated for the game rather than Reed for a reason. (What does that say about Reed?). After that one big play, if they demote him back to the PS, is there a risk he is signed by another team? I guess if they think he has a future with this team, the would add him to the roster and cut Jason Moore.
Herbert sure does impress making big plays with guys who have little or no NFL experience, with whom he probably has very few reps with in practice. Envisioning Herbert having two guys with 4.3ish speed, in addition to KA and MW, and having a 6-8 red zone target in addition to 6-5 Henry, it makes the mind reel.
Jalen Guyton. Age 24, 6-1, 212. Played 1 season at Notre Dame, then transferred to North Texas. As a junior in 2018 he had 805 yards receiving, a 14.9 avg, and 6 TDs. In 2019 he was signed as a UDFA by the Cowboys and was released but not signed to their PS. He was signed to the Chargers PS in October. Made the final roster this year. Caught his first NFL pass in game 1 from Taylor. Was on the receiving end of Herbert's first TD pass v. the Chiefs. Caught his 2nd TD pass Sunday v. the Bucs - the recipient of Herbert's 2nd bomb of the day. He has 5 receptions in 4 games, 2 of them for TDs. He leads the team in TD receptions and TDs scored. He ran a 4.39 40 at his pro day, but I've read in other places he is a bit faster than that.
Donald Parham. Age 23, 6-8, 240. We know a bit about Parham, he was the best TE in the short-lived XFL and he created some buzz when the Chargers snagged him in April. His TD catch from Herbert Sunday made him the first former XFL player to score in the NFL. He also became the first Stetson player to score a TD in the NFL. As a senior in 2018 at Stetson he had 85 receptions for 1,319 yards and 13 TDs. He averaged 9.4 receptions per game. He led all FCS (Div 1-AA) schools. In 2019 he was undrafted and spent time on the practice squads of Detroit and Washington, but was released from both. He was drafted by the Dallas Renegades of the XFL in the 9th round. In 5 games he had 24 receptions for 307 yards and 4 TDs. He had 2 TD grabs in one of his games, and emerged as a star of the young league before it shut down. In high school he was a basketball standout and didn't get serious about football until college. He has good speed for his size: 4.68 at his pro day.
What to make of these three youngsters? Well, one thing that impressed me is how good each of them looked when they were making big plays, I mean no dropsies, no close calls. They made sure-handed grabs of the balls Herbert sent their way. Maybe that's more of a tribute to Herbert and his ability to hit every blade of grass on the field with uncanny accuracy. But each of them showed poise in pretty big situations.
Guyton is beginning to emerge as a bonafide option as a No. 3 option, a WR with playmaker abilities that can get behind a defense with speed, something the offense has missed since Tyrell Williams left. I am optimistically excited about his potential, and he seems to be developing a rapport with Herbert.
Parham - he's going to be difficult to keep off the game day roster, don't you think? I'm sure he's not impressing anybody with his blocking, he has more of a WR body than a TE. But neither Anderson nor Green can create the mismatches Parham does. They are going to need to give Herbert (or Taylor) all the help they can, the run game is going to suffer for awhile without Ekeler. The offense is going to be driven by the passing game.
Johnson - was that one play just a fluke, successful because he was an absolute unknown? He was activated for the game rather than Reed for a reason. (What does that say about Reed?). After that one big play, if they demote him back to the PS, is there a risk he is signed by another team? I guess if they think he has a future with this team, the would add him to the roster and cut Jason Moore.
Herbert sure does impress making big plays with guys who have little or no NFL experience, with whom he probably has very few reps with in practice. Envisioning Herbert having two guys with 4.3ish speed, in addition to KA and MW, and having a 6-8 red zone target in addition to 6-5 Henry, it makes the mind reel.
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