Ladd McConkey

McConkey's college career at Georgia was defined by efficient production on a limited quantity of routes and targets. He never even came close to 400 routes or 100 targets in a season, but he averaged at least 9.3 yards per target and 2.08 yards per route each year while serving as Robin to TE Brock Bowers' Batman. As much as there's no shame in taking a backseat to Bowers, it's fair to have doubts about a guy that reached 500 receiving yards in a season just once and maxed out at 762 (2022, in 15 games). The rest of the profile looks promising, with McConkey having adequate size (6-0, 186) and running a 4.39 40 at the 2024 Combine. Things also went well for him in April, with the WR-deficient Chargers picking McConkey 34th overall. He now has a chance to be an instant-bake No. 1 receiver for a top-10 QB, albeit in a Chargers offense that has sent strong, repeated signals about wanting to run the ball a lot (namely the hiring of OC Greg Roman and jettisoning of WRs Keenan Allen and Mike Williams). The competition at WR is almost laughably weak, consisting of fourth-year pro Joshua Palmer and 2023 first-round pick Quentin Johnston. Maybe the Chargers know something we don't and are confident McConkey and Johnston can get it done. If not, Herbert will spend his age-26 season on a team trying to win with running and defense despite having mediocre talent on defense and a subpar group of RBs. Read Past Outlooks