W
hen it comes to football in Los Angeles, expectations are high going into 2025. Not only are the Rams expected to compete for the NFC West title once again, but an 11-6 season from the Chargers in 2024 has Bolt Nation ready for more. And with a young team, the best is still yet to come.
In last year’s draft, the Chargers struck gold with their second round draft pick in Ladd McConkey. In his rookie season, McConkey quickly became the team’s No. 1 receiver and finished with 112 catches for 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns– becoming a favorite target for Justin Herbert. And heading into the new season, McConkey is getting a lot of praise, ranked at No. 19 in Pro Football Focus’s top 25 players under age-25.
Assessing McConkey’s Ranking
Ranked just above Jacksonville Jaguars star, Brian Thomas Jr., McConkey is the fourth highest rated wide receiver on the list, coming in behind Puka Nakua, Malik Nabers and Drake London. But what really helped McConkey’s ranking was how high his grades were in the major receiving categories– receiving grade, overall grade, and WAR.
“The gap between McConkey and fellow 2024 rookie Brian Thomas Jr. is razor thin, but McConkey ultimately gets the edge after ranking second among all rookie receivers in PFF receiving grade (85.0), PFF overall grade (84.3) and PFF WAR (0.47) — all just ahead of Thomas,” PFF writer, Jonathan Macri said. “McConkey even led all rookies in yards per route run (2.59) and ranked in the top five among all players at the position in 2024.”
Even though it was expected that McConkey would contribute right out of the gate for the Chargers– losing both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams that offseason, nobody expected McConkey to be that good that fast. By the time the season had ended, McConkey had logged 112 catches for 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns in 16 games played, shattering the expectations people had for him prior to the season.
McConkey’s Role in 2025
Even with the Chargers adding a handful of new receivers this season, McConkey is the clear cut No. 1. In fact, McConkey has solidified himself as one of the most important players on the offense with his performance expected to dictate just how far this year’s team can go. Since McConkey joined the Chargers, head coach Jim Harbaugh has not shied away from giving him the utmost praise.
“I watch the film of Ladd and he reminds me of Steve Smith in the way he goes up for one of those contested balls. They both have the ability to almost look one way and then catch it a few feet the other way,” Harbaugh said.
As a rookie, McConkey had three 100-yard receiving games during the regular season, with his best game of the season coming during the team’s 17-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 1, when he caught nine passes for 117 yards on 12 targets. In the team’s wildcard playoff loss to the Houston Texans, he led the team with nine catches on 14 targets for 197 yards and a touchdown.
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