NFL Power Rankings: Projecting the best receiver groups in the league
By Nick Villano
19. Los Angeles Chargers
Top 3: Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Joshua Palmer
This is one that could look bad because of how low the Los Angeles Chargers are, but there's so much that could go wrong with this unit. Keenan Allen is 31 years old, and last season was the first time he failed to catch at least 97 balls in six seasons. The last time he did, he only played one game that season. He's still listed as Justin Herbert's number-one option, but are we seeing the start of a decline?
Mike Williams is the hope of this offense. The big-play maker led the team in receiving, but that was just 895 yards. He averaged 14.2 yards per reception. That's pretty good, but it's not great for the type of receiver Williams is. He should be knocking the tops off of defenses. Instead, he was bottled up way too often.
The Chargers dealt with way too many injuries at receiver last year. They lost seven games from Keenan Allen, four games from Williams, and one game from Joshua Palmer. Even when they were healthy, they didn't look the same.
Still, this is a very talented unit. Chargers first-round pick Quentin Johnston looks to gain a larger portion of the receptions as the season goes on. Right now, he's marked as fourth on the depth chart. He should be much higher by year's end, possibly even ahead of Allen.