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Keenan gone. Mike gone. Also gone are Gerald Everett and Austin Ekeler. These four players were Herbert's most popular targets the past two seasons.
Under contract at WR are Josh Palmer, Quentin Johnston, Derius Davis and Simi Fehoko.
Under contract at TE are Will Dissly, Hayden Hurst, Donald Parham and Stone Smartt.
Under contract at RB are Gus Edwards, Isaiah Spiller, Elijah Dotson and Jaret Paterson.
I believe that Palmer is a solid depth WR. He is not a #1, I'm not sure he is #2 material. We don't know if QJ is going be better in 2024 or if he is a bust. We don't know what Derius Davis is capable of, if he is anything more than a good kick returner who can catch occasional bubble screens. I don't believe Fehoko will make the roster.
Dissly in six years with Seattle averaged 237 yds receiving and 2 TDs per season. Hurst slightly more than that in six seasons with Balt and Carolina. They are blockers. Parham may not even make the team, ditto Smartt.
Edwards does a lot of things well, but receiving is not one of them. In five seasons in Balt, he had 30 catches for 374 yards. He has never caught a TD pass in the NFL.
What are we going to do?
Well, I'm a big fan of what Green Bay has done, the receiving corps they have built for Jordan Love, who is a rising star after his first year as a starter.
The Packers have put together a dynamic quartet of young WRs for Love, four recent draft picks, two each in 2022/23. Love topped 4,000 yards passing and threw 31 TD passes in 2023, but none of his receivers topped 1,000 yards.
Love's top receiver was Jayden Reed, a 2023 2nd round pick who as a rookie had 793 receiving yards along with 8 TD catches. WR Romeo Doubs, a 2022 4th rounder, had 674 yds receiving and 8 TD catches in 2023. Dontayvion Wicks, a 2023 5th rounder, had 581 yds and 4 TDs. And Christian Watson, a 2022 2nd rounder, had 422 yds and 5 TDs.
The Packers drafted two TEs last year. Luke Musgrave in the 2nd and Tucker Kraft in the 3rd. Musgrave had 352 yds, 1 TD; Kraft 355 yds, 2 TDs.
I don't know if the Chargers can have this kind of success building a receiving corps through the draft. But I like the idea of it. One advantage of have a WR corps that is not dominated by one standout elite WR, is if that WR gets injured the passing offense doesn't take a bit hit.
I think Palmer can be a solid piece of a similar type of WR corps. QJ? I think the jury is still out, but I think there is a decent chance he will evolve into a solid WR. If so, that's two pieces. I don't know if DD can be the type of WR who can be a 30-40 catch guy for 500 yds and 5 TDs.
My feeling is the Chargers will have to draft two WR and a TE in April to build a solid corps of pass catchers around Herbert.
I'm a bit uneasy about have such a young corps or receivers without an established veteran. But the Packers got it done last season with two rookie WRs, two rookie TEs and two 2nd year WRs around a 1st year starter at QB.
Under contract at WR are Josh Palmer, Quentin Johnston, Derius Davis and Simi Fehoko.
Under contract at TE are Will Dissly, Hayden Hurst, Donald Parham and Stone Smartt.
Under contract at RB are Gus Edwards, Isaiah Spiller, Elijah Dotson and Jaret Paterson.
I believe that Palmer is a solid depth WR. He is not a #1, I'm not sure he is #2 material. We don't know if QJ is going be better in 2024 or if he is a bust. We don't know what Derius Davis is capable of, if he is anything more than a good kick returner who can catch occasional bubble screens. I don't believe Fehoko will make the roster.
Dissly in six years with Seattle averaged 237 yds receiving and 2 TDs per season. Hurst slightly more than that in six seasons with Balt and Carolina. They are blockers. Parham may not even make the team, ditto Smartt.
Edwards does a lot of things well, but receiving is not one of them. In five seasons in Balt, he had 30 catches for 374 yards. He has never caught a TD pass in the NFL.
What are we going to do?
Well, I'm a big fan of what Green Bay has done, the receiving corps they have built for Jordan Love, who is a rising star after his first year as a starter.
The Packers have put together a dynamic quartet of young WRs for Love, four recent draft picks, two each in 2022/23. Love topped 4,000 yards passing and threw 31 TD passes in 2023, but none of his receivers topped 1,000 yards.
Love's top receiver was Jayden Reed, a 2023 2nd round pick who as a rookie had 793 receiving yards along with 8 TD catches. WR Romeo Doubs, a 2022 4th rounder, had 674 yds receiving and 8 TD catches in 2023. Dontayvion Wicks, a 2023 5th rounder, had 581 yds and 4 TDs. And Christian Watson, a 2022 2nd rounder, had 422 yds and 5 TDs.
The Packers drafted two TEs last year. Luke Musgrave in the 2nd and Tucker Kraft in the 3rd. Musgrave had 352 yds, 1 TD; Kraft 355 yds, 2 TDs.
I don't know if the Chargers can have this kind of success building a receiving corps through the draft. But I like the idea of it. One advantage of have a WR corps that is not dominated by one standout elite WR, is if that WR gets injured the passing offense doesn't take a bit hit.
I think Palmer can be a solid piece of a similar type of WR corps. QJ? I think the jury is still out, but I think there is a decent chance he will evolve into a solid WR. If so, that's two pieces. I don't know if DD can be the type of WR who can be a 30-40 catch guy for 500 yds and 5 TDs.
My feeling is the Chargers will have to draft two WR and a TE in April to build a solid corps of pass catchers around Herbert.
I'm a bit uneasy about have such a young corps or receivers without an established veteran. But the Packers got it done last season with two rookie WRs, two rookie TEs and two 2nd year WRs around a 1st year starter at QB.
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