2025 Team Previews: Los Angeles Chargers

** = target in drafts at this ADP

Relevant Players

Relevant Players

**Ladd McConkey, WR (ADP: 26, WR11): When last season’s vaunted crop of rookie WRs was endlessly talked about, rarely was McConkey ever mentioned alongside the likes of Malik Nabers, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Rome Odunze. And yet, McConkey was arguably the best of the bunch in 2024. He was easily the Chargers’ No. 1 receiver, catching 82 passes for 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns. And his success wasn’t merely the product of outright volume, nor was he spammed short targets as a slot-only player. McConkey was a full-field weapon who might already just be one of the NFL’s elite players.

McConkey’s success rates vs. man (75.8%, 83rd percentile) and zone (81.8%, 78th percentile) easily clear the bar for elite level pass-catchers, but his work against press was astounding. He beat press 84.8% of the time, a 98th percentile mark, and his entire route tree was green with the exception of slants. That’s odd, but probably something he will improve on. Remember, he was still a rookie last year! McConkey absolutely murdered defenses on digs and outs, and while he didn’t run a ton of nine routes he was successful on 71.4% of them, which in turn makes him a monster on curls (82.4%), which he ran a lot more often.

McConkey’s not a big guy, which doesn’t affect his play at all, but can add a little injury risk to his evaluation. Aside from that, he’s a blue chip WR1, and with one of the NFL’s elite QBs throwing him the ball I think there’s some value here.

Omarion Hampton, RB (ADP: 34, RB15): Hampton’s value has skyrocketed as the summer has gone on. Part of this is standard rookie hype as Draft Day draws closer, but fellow RB Najee Harris injuring his eye with fireworks and missing camp has helped. If we knew for sure Hampton was LA’s lead back in Week 1, the sky’s the limit. He didn’t quite have the raw numbers of Ashton Jeanty, but pop on some Hampton film and you’ll see a prospect that has every tool necessary to be a dominant bell cow RB1 in the NFL. I actually felt as if Hampton’s film might’ve been better than Jeanty’s and he’s now trending toward being the lead back.

Hampton proved his ability to handle a ton of work, logging 250+ carries in back-to-back seasons as a junior and senior. He was incredibly productive last year, surpassing 2,000 yards from scrimmage and scoring 17 total touchdowns. Hampton averaged 6.4 yards per touch, and last year upped his receiving production to 38 receptions, 373 yards and two receiving scores. This guy is the total package, and he’ll be running behind a line that projects to be great, even though they lost their best player in Rashawn Slater. Because Harris’ injury is still shrouded in some mystery, we can’t for sure say that Hampton is just the guy now. That’s why I’m holding off on calling him a full blown value, but I will say I have zero issues with this ADP. Rookie RBs make big impact every season, and Hampton was my favorite rookie RB on film in a loaded class.

Interesting Sleeper(s)

**Justin Herbert, QB (ADP: 111, QB14): Herbert’s been a middling fantasy QB for three straight seasons, but I refuse to give up on him as an elite option. The disappointment is more than built into his ADP at this point, and his upside remains electric. We know that we want 4,000+ yards from pocket passers, which Herbert did for each of his first three seasons, and we want 30+ touchdown passes, which he delivered in Years 1 and 2.

The Chargers have one of the league’s elite offensive lines, and losing left tackle Rashawn Slater for the year certainly dents the upside of this line, there’s still a lot of talent there and a premier LT in place. He also has a bona fide WR1 in McConkey, and a returning veteran who, while older, is still open all the time in Keenan Allen. Just two seasons ago Allen put up wild numbers for an “older” WR, and it was with Herbert. Everything’s in place for Herbert to put up huge stats, and we know he is capable of them in the right conditions because we have already seen it. It’s up to Jim Harbaugh to unleash him, and Harbaugh’s a great coach. He’s going to use a stud QB, and we saw him do just that last year when the running game fell apart. When I see Bo Nix going in the Top 10 at the position I just chuckle and think about how exciting it is to not do that and just draft Herbert instead more than 30 picks later.

**Keenan Allen, WR (ADP: 151, WR54): Allen is back, and people aren’t properly excited for this based on the ADP. Allen’s numbers dived last season, and he’s undoubtedly a ways off from his peak. With that said, he’s back in a familiar environment, reunited with a QB who supplied him with 150 targets in 2023, and who helped him to a 108-catch, 1,243-yard, seven-touchdown campaign.

Last season needs to be thrown away for Allen. He was on a confused offense, with a raw as hell rookie QB and playing in roles that didn’t suit his current skill set. Allen can still get open with the best of them, but he was playing far too much on the outside, when his downfield juice is gone. Allen is now an elite safety net, someone who can still get open in a phone booth and allow Herbert to move the chains whenever necessary. McConkey’s prowess allows Allen to primarily play in the slot, and the Chargers have some bodies they can throw on the outside at the X spot. Allen is entering Year 13 of an illustrious career, and needs to have his role be more defined now. In LA, he has that and he’ll be a big value at this very very cheap ADP.

Notable Players

Najee Harris, RB (ADP: 116, RB41): This offseason hasn’t been good for Harris. I’ve always felt like Harris was a victim of expectation; he came into the league with the promise of being a dominant bell cow, and his receiving numbers got him there as a rookie. But as time went on, we began to learn that Harris was not a particularly explosive player and more of a solid one who relies on volume for fantasy production. In Pittsburgh, he got that volume and the majority of the touchdown opportunities.

Once Hampton was drafted, Harris’ ceiling was lowered dramatically. Hampton is no passing downs only back, the Chargers used significant draft capital to pick him, and now Harris is missing valuable reps with a new team because of foolishness with fireworks. It is still possible that Harris eats a chunk of Hampton’s opportunities, but it seems very unlikely now that he opens the year as the starter, and Hampton’s massive talent advantage over Harris will be noticeable.

The Chargers love to run the football, so Harris will start the year with some standalone value if he’s healthy. But it’ll be short-lived, in my opinion, as Hampton will probably prove to be too good to be taken off the field often. Harris’s role will likely recede and he’ll become a high-value handcuff.

Tre’ Harris, WR (ADP: 164, WR58): Harris’ playing time prospects rose significantly when Mike Williams hung up his cleats. Harris has a prototype X receiver build, and the Chargers just so happen to have a glaring hole at X receiver. His stats at Ole Miss – 60 receptions, 1,030 yards, seven touchdowns – bode well, but that isn’t everything. He has some refining to do if he wants to deliver high end fantasy value, but at Ole Miss he ran a bunch of nines and curls and he did really well on those routes, as well as slants, which he won at an 85.3% clip. He was beating man at 73.2%, a 74th percentile number, and press at 72.2%, a 78th percentile mark and Reception Perception notes he was winning 75% of his contested catch chances.

Right now, this skill set tells me that Harris will be on the field a bunch, he will have major highlight moments with Herbert, but probably be too inconsistent as a rookie to be a weekly start. Love him in dynasty, like him in deep keeper formats, and he’s worth a late dart throw if you’re willing to cut bait early if he doesn’t pop.

Quentin Johnston, WR (ADP: 239, WR74): Johnston is a man without a role. He’s so big and fast that the Chargers will figure out ways to get him on the field, and he did score eight touchdowns last season, but he remains far too sloppy to be their primary flanker or slot, and he struggles too much vs. man coverage to be the main X. He definitely made strides from a rookie season that seemed like it might send him spiraling out of the NFL, but he still was in the 5th percentile vs. man coverage, and 24th percentile vs. zone. He was awesome on slants (83.3%), but so are a lot of players. With Allen likely a locked-in slot, and McConkey set to toggle between all three roles, Johnston’s playing time is probably too limited to draft even as a flier.

Tyler Conklin, TE (ADP: 299, TE37): Conklin is lowkey better than most realize, but he’s not good enough to be a weekly TE. I wouldn’t be afraid to fire him up as a spot start in a very plus matchup though. The Chargers passing slice for him will be small, but I can see him having 1-3 spike weeks against TE sieves.

KeAndre Lambert-Smith, WR  (ADP: 331, WR104): Lambert-Smith is a very interesting player who would probably be even more interesting on another team. He’s a burner who can sting teams big time down the field, as evidenced by a ridiculous 72.7% win rate on nines, which he ran 13.6% of the time at Auburn. He’s not a very refined route runner at all though, and his success rate vs. zone was almost identical to his success rate vs. man…which isn’t great. He  can be very valuable in real life to a rocket-armed QB like Herbert, but he’s a bit of a project when it comes to being a full-time cog in this offense. With this depth chart, he isn’t going to get the reps he needs as a rookie without a lot of injuries so aside from dynasty formats I think he’s a wait-and-see in season vs. a dart throw draft pick.

Oronde Gadsden, TE (ADP: 319, TE40): Gadsden is a physically very talented prospect who had high-end production at Syracuse – 73 receptions, 934 yards, seven touchdowns – for a TE. He has a solid vet in his way in Conklin, plus a very defined pass-catching hierarchy that makes the vision for success blurry. Don’t draft Gadsden, but take notice if he surprises early with some big performances.

Handcuffs

Kimani Vidal, RB (ADP: 350, RB96): Vidal is still around, and he might be the actual handcuff to Hampton if Najee Harris isn’t ready to start the season.