I
t’s still early but the Los Angeles Chargers look like contenders to begin the 2025 NFL season. 2-0 and winning two straight divisional matchups, the Chargers have looked much improved from their 11-6 season from 2024 and are determined to achieve their goal of reaching the Super Bowl and bringing a championship to Los Angeles.
Despite investing a lot this offseason on improving their roster, the Chargers entered the season with major questions at wide receiver. Ladd McConkey emerged as the clear cut No. 1 option but after him, depth was relatively thin. Quentin Johnston is on the rise, but drop issues have prevented him from reaching his full potential. But since the season has started, the Chargers receiver corps has gone from being the team’s achilles heel to being a strength.
Chargers Wide Receivers Look Very Good
The Chargers drafted rookies Tre Harris and KeAndre Lambert-Smith to pair with Johnston and McConkey while also bringing back Mike Williams in free agency. But after Williams retired at the start of training camp, the Chargers re-signed former star Keenan Allen. At age 33, Allen was expected to take on more of a supporting role but has been an integral part of the offense since returning, with 12 catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns through the first two games. McConkey and Johnston have been dominant as well, helping the Chargers form one of the league’s best passing offenses thus far.
Combined, Allen, McConkey and Johnston accounted for 13 catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns in the Chargers win over the Las Vegas Raiders in week two. The Chargers are the only team with three wide receivers ranked top 25 in yards so far this season and when they face the Denver Broncos in week three, they will rely heavily on their receivers to help them start 3-0 for the first time since the 2002 season.
“Last year we had some growing pains as a whole from top to bottom,” McConkey said to ESPN. “Just trying to match, trying to figure out our roles, figure out who we’re going to be. And now I feel like we’ve kind of homed in on that. We’re all playing more confident, we’re having fun.”
Last Season Proved the Chargers Needed to Improve at WR
The Chargers were flying high in 2024. After a disappointing 2023 season, the Chargers hired a new regime in head coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz– improving their fortunes greatly when they went 11-6 in 2024. But the season quickly came to an end in the AFC Wild Card round, when the Chargers lost 32-12 to the Houston Texans. The issue that was highlighted the most in the loss was the team’s lack of depth at receiver, with McConkey totaling nine catches for 197 yards and a touchdown but all the other receivers combining for just 14 yards.
But so far this season, the Chargers receiving corps has been among the league’s best and in an AFC West that is as cutthroat as ever, this is a good season for the Chargers to have receiver success.
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