Fantasy Football AFC West Team Preview: Los Angeles Chargers
Fantasy Football AFC West Team Preview: Los Angeles Chargers
Hello and welcome back to your next Fantasy Football AFC West Team Preview. The focal point of this article is the Los Angeles Chargers. They are a team mixed with young and older talent, but solid talent nonetheless. Not only are the Chargers playing in a new city, Los Angeles, but they have also hired a new coach in former NFL running back, Anthony Lynn.
The Chargers finished second in the AFC West with a record of 9-7 behind their division rival Kansas City Chiefs. Defensively, they gave opponents fits, allowing the second least amount of points scored throughout the entire season at 272. They decided to use their first round pick on an extremely talented safety out of Florida State, Derwin James.
If the Chargers defense can be anywhere near what they were last season, the AFC West could prove to be a solid battle in the upcoming season. They get a healthy Mike Williams from the start, and a few new toys on defense to work with. The Chargers spent their first four picks upgrading the defense.
We at FantasyCPR are here to provide you a comprehensive look at the depth of each NFL Team from the perspective of fantasy football manager. So let’s take a look at a team that will not only battle it out in the AFC West, but will try to earn the support of fans while sharing a city with the Los Angeles Rams. Los Angeles really has a lot to look forward to, so please enjoy!
Fantasy Football AFC West Team Preview: Quarterback
A common mistake people make in their leagues is ruling out a quarterback because they aren’t one of the young up and comers. Everyone wants to draft the next Deshaun Watson or Carson Wentz. However, in order to get one of those guys, you likely have to reach.
Rivers may be 36 years old, but what he lacks in arm strength (and form), he provides great accuracy and consistency. If you are superstitious, knock on wood here, but he has not missed a game since 2006. He has thrown for 4,000+ yards in nine out of the last ten seasons and had 26+ touchdowns in all ten of those seasons.
At first glance, you think okay he had Antonio Gates helping him along the way which is fine and dandy. He loses Gates, and now then loses Hunter Henry for the season. But how soon we forget that Mike Williams out of Clemson was a red zone machine. He’s healthy and ready to show why he was picked 7th overall in 2017.
The Cradle Jones college story is an interesting one. Ohio State was stuck playing with the 3rd string quarterback, which is usually a teams downfall. In this case though, Jones turned out to be very effective, with a JaMarcus Russell type arm. He carried “THEEEE” Ohio State Buckeyes to and thru the 2014 National Championship.
He made the mistake of sticking around college for another year and eventually getting benched seven games into the season. He was still drafted in the 4th round in 2016, but has not amounted to much since that benching.
Geno Smith on the other hand had a very successful college career, including a senior year of 42 touchdowns and only six interceptions. The problem with a lot of the West Virginia talent is the learning curve to a pro-style offense. When Smith played there, they used an air raid type offense.
He struggled in his first two seasons as the starter for the Jets with 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions in his rookie year. He followed that up with a 13 touchdown and 13 interception season. Eventually, he would lose his starting spot, and hasn’t earned it back since. Now with a new team, Smith will look to compete with Cardale Jones for the role of wondering if Rivers will ever miss a game.
Fantasy Football AFC West Team Preview: Running Back
Melvin Gordon had a very odd rookie season in 2015. One that was not indicative of his ridiculous college production. He had 184 rushes, 641 rushing yards, 33 receptions, 192 receiving yards, and NO touchdowns! Fantasy owners were concerned. If you managed to look past the no touchdowns in his rookie year and grabbed him the next year, you likely laughed in the faces of your opponents.
His second season he saw an increase in rushes, and he nearly eclipsed 1,000 yards. Gordon also had eight more receptions and 12 total touchdowns. Phew! At some point he had to score a touchdown. Low and behold, this was not fluke as he followed that with a third season as one of the most productive backs in the league. He had just over 1,100 yards with eight rushing touchdowns, and 58 receptions leading to four more touchdowns.
This offseason, Gordon is working with one of the all-time great running backs, and former Charger Ladainian Tomlinson. This has to mean he’s working on his receiving skills, as LT was known to be a dual-threat running back. That is great news for PPR leagues if you are considering Melvin Gordon.
Ekeler was a surprise last year, and a formidable pick up in deeper leagues. We know the team utilizes their running backs in the passing game well, as they always seem to have a guy like Darren Sproles or Danny Woodhead on the squad. Now we are looking at Austin Ekeler to fill that role.
In his rookie season, he was not given much of an opportunity to rush the ball behind Gordon. However, he did have a role as a pass catcher with 27 receptions and three receiving touchdowns. He has ideal running back size at 5’11” and 200 LBS.
The former Northwestern product was a very effective running back in the Big Ten. He is a great fit for the Chargers with his ability to catch passes as well. Jackson surpasses 1,000 rush yards all four years, and caught 44 passes his senior year. He helped bring the Northwestern football program to three consecutive bowl games.
Fantasy Football AFC West Team Preview: Wide Receiver
Last season I picked Keenan Allen in my auction re-draft league. I knew Allen had stud potential, but feared that he’d once again sustain a season ending injury, crippling not only himself, but less importantly my fantasy team. He did not start out as anything more than average.
Once week 10 hit though, something clicked and he went three consecutive games with double-digit receptions and at least one touchdown. Even more importantly, he proved to owners that he can make it through an entire season. Allen finished 5th in receptions with 102 and 3rd in yards with 1,393.
The 7th overall pick out of Clemson, Mike Williams looked poised to join Keenan Allen as a heavy hitting 1-2 punch. He suffered a back injury that held him out for the first five games of the season. It was unfortunate that he was unable to build trust with Philip Rivers, which showed in their inability to connect on the field.
Williams is a huge target who experienced great success as a red zone target in college. With an offseason and preseason to build rapport with Rivers, we could see a nice uptick in statistics. If he fills the role as the Chargers go-to red zone target, he could provide your team with easy points with touchdowns, even if the yardage and receptions aren’t elite.
Tyrell Williams had a great 2016, proving that he can be an effective receiver in the NFL. He had 1,059 yards and seven touchdowns. Williams did not quite have the success last season, but still had a fairly large role in the Charger’s offense. He had 43 receptions, 728 yards and four touchdowns.
Benjamin had a very similar season to Tyrell Williams in 2017. They both finished with four touchdowns and 60+ receptions. There is likely to be a pretty big competition for a role in this offense. It is hard to tell who will win the spot and they could both end up with a decent role on the team. In fantasy terms, this does not help Benjamin’s value, or Tyrell Williams.
Fantasy Football AFC West Team Preview: Tight End, Kicker, D/ST
Things were looking up in San D, I mean, Los Angeles at tight end with up and comer Hunter Henry. He looks like the real deal if you play in a dynasty format. However, he already suffered a season-ending injury and someone has to replace him.
More from FanSided
- USWNT vs. Vietnam: Key takeaways before they take on the Dutch
- NFL rumors: 49ers trending toward contract drama with defensive star
- Steelers avoid any camp drama with latest roster move
- MLB Rumors: Potential Braves reunion, Lance Lynn no-trade clause and Orioles deadline intentions
- Caesars, BetMGM and PointsBet Promo Codes Give $1,850 Bonus for ANY World Cup or MLB Game!
Insert Virgil Green into the void left by Henry. He is not an overly exciting player, but we should know by now that Phillip Rivers utilizes his tight end as well as any other quarterback in the NFL. He helped turn Antonio Gates into a likely future hall of fame. Green has been in the league since 2011, and has only exceeded 20 receptions once in his entire career. If he stays healthy, he should be able to earn a career high in both receptions and yards.
The Youngnhoe Koo experiment did not work out for the Chargers last season as they cut him after only four games. They set up 2018 with former Eagles kicker Caleb Sturgis to battle it out with former 2nd round pick Roberto Aguayo. If you watched Hard Knocks, you had the opportunity to watch the awkward scenario that coaches and players must go through each year as Aguayo got cut. You then likely laughed at the Buccaneers for drafting him in the 2nd round.
D/ST
Joey Bosa may be young, but he already instills fear in his opponents. He is relentless in his attack of the quarterback. They were one of the top defenses last season, and brought in former Jaguars coach Gus Bradley to run the defense. They played fast, and proved to be a problem for opposing offenses. Add in the hard-hitting Derwin James, and we may see this defense take another step in the right direction.
Next. Denver Broncos Fantasy Football Preview. dark
Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for all the latest DFS news and Fantasy Football advice as we get you set for the starts of the NFL season!