Chargers WR Keenan Allen caught 8 of 10 targets for 69 receiving yards in Sunday night’s win over the Bears. The veteran continues to be the No. 1 option in the Los Angeles offense and should be treated as such in every game moving forward, including Week 9 vs. the Saints. Beyond Allen, the most interesting takeaway is the increased involvement of WR Quentin Johnston. The rookie saw season-highs in targets (6), catches (5), and receiving yards (50). Part of this uptick can be attributed to his teammate Joshua Palmer missing a decent portion of the second offensive drive due to aggravating his knee injury. Still, Palmer ultimately returned and played on a normal complement of snaps. Johnston has been off to a slow start in 2023, but this performance should be enough for managers in deeper leagues to consider adding the first-year wideout off the waiver wire.
Chargers WR Keenan Allen hauled 7 of 11 targets for a team-leading 85 receiving yards and 1 TD in Week 6’s loss vs. the Cowboys. His teammate Joshua Palmer also had a solid game, finishing with 4 catches and 60 yards in the contest. Fantasy managers wondering if there would be a post-bye week spike in usage for rookie WR Quentin Johnston were sorely disappointed. The former TCU standout saw just 2 targets and failed to record a catch on Monday night. Looking under the hood a little bit, Johnston only played on 47.2% of the Chargers' offensive snaps in the contest, per PFF. It’s a long season, but the immediate signs are pointing toward Palmer being the stronger fantasy candidate. We’ll see if this holds true in Week 7 vs. the Chiefs.
Chargers WR Mike Williams has been diagnosed with a torn left ACL and will miss the rest of the 2023 season, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The timing of the injury at least gives Williams a good chance to be ready for the start of the 2024 campaign. He turns 29 in about a week and is officially signed with the Chargers for next season. But his contract currently carries a $32.5 million cap hit. Williams will need to restructure that deal to remain with the team. His absence for the rest of this season leaves behind big opportunity. Williams averaged 8.7 targets on a 21.3% share through three games. WR Josh Palmer is the better immediate bet for production with Williams out. But first-round rookie WR Quentin Johnston is the higher-upside longer-term bet. WR Keenan Allen, RB Austin Ekeler (once healthy), and TE Gerald Everett should also see a bit more volume without Williams.
Chargers WR Keenan Allen racked up 20 targets, 18 catches, and 215 yards in Sunday's win at Minnesota. He even added a 49-yard TD pass to WR Mike Williams in the third quarter. Allen claimed 42.6% of QB Justin Herbert's pass attempts, in a game Williams left late with an injury. Allen looks like a weekly must-start as long as he remains healthy. Williams tallied 7 receptions and 121 yards on 8 targets, which ranked a distant second. WR Josh Palmer posted a 4-66-1 receiving line on 7 targets. He'll be worth claiming off the waiver wire in many fantasy football leagues this week, if Williams appears to be in danger of missing the Week 4 home date with the Raiders.
Chargers WR Keenan Allen found the end zone twice in Sunday's OT loss vs. the Titans, totaling 8 receptions on 10 targets for 111 yards. Allen's 31.1 PPR points are a strong contender for this week's No. 1 at the WR position. Teammate Mike Williams also had an effective game, leading Los Angeles with 13 targets and posting 8 catches for 83 yards. We'd anticipated a pass-happy approach for this Chargers' offense under new OC Kellen Moore in 2023, and this week was an example of why fantasy managers should be excited to start this duo in lineups weekly. Week 3's matchup vs. the Vikings should present another excellent spot for solid production for both Allen and Williams.
Chargers QB Justin Herbert finished Week 1 with just 228 passing yards and 1 TD. A short-range toss to TE Donald Parham accounted for his only passing score. Herbert added a second score on a QB sneak, but there wasn’t much to speak of otherwise. Keenan Allen led the way with 6 grabs for 76 yards. Mike Williams — who left briefly for a concussion check — tallied just 45 yards on 4 catches. And Round 1 rookie Quentin Johnston mixed in for only 9 yards on 2 receptions. Overall, a slow start isn’t a total surprise given the presence of new OC Kellen Moore (plus a talented Miami defense). Keep expectations high for Sunday’s matchup at Tennessee.
Chargers WR Keenan Allen "has been the focal receiver in [OC] Kellen Moore’s offense during camp," The Athletic's Daniel Popper writes. Moore has been moving Allen all over the formation, and QB Justin Herbert "has trusted Allen to go up and make a play on contested balls." Injury is the only thing that can stop Allen from turning in a big 2023 fantasy season in this high-scoring Chargers offense.
Chargers WR Keenan Allen says he is splitting his time between lining up inside and outside in training camp. That's different from his role under OC Joe Lombardi the past two years. "I was stuck in the slot all the time," Allen said Tuesday, according to Alex Insdorf of Chargers Wire. Indeed, Allen spent 62.6% and 64.3% of pass snaps in the slot the past two years. That followed four years of rates from ranging 49.2% to 54.3%. It sounds like we should expect a return to that range. That should help his average target depth at least a little. Allen also saw his yards per route dip to 1.81 over the past two years vs. 2.09 for the previous four. Just another reason you should chase pieces of the Chargers offense in your drafts. See where Allen and crew sit in our fantasy football rankings.
The first half of Chargers WR Keenan Allen's 2022 season was wrecked by a hamstring injury. But he was a fantasy football stud over the second half. Allen led all WRs with 60 catches over his final eight games and ranked second to only Justin Jefferson with 83 targets. Allen scored the third most PPR points at his position over those eight contests. He's now finished as a top-13 WR in PPR points per game in six straight seasons and has shown no signs of decline, ranking 12th among 80 qualifying WRs in both Pro Football Focus receiving grade and yards per route run last year. Even with the addition of first-round rookie WR Quentin Johnston, Allen looks like a rock-solid WR2 pick in fantasy football drafts. See exactly where he lands in our WR Rankings.
Chargers WR Keenan Allen suggested the team will attempt more deep passes under new OC Kellen Moore. “Obviously, Justin [Herbert] has a cannon,” Allen said. “Mike [Williams] goes deep. He has a new guy named Quentin Johnston. He can go deep. We’re probably going to be going deep.” Justin Herbert wasn’t particularly aggressive last year. Only 9.7% of his attempts traveled 20+ air yards, while his average depth of target (aDOT) sat at just 7.0 yards. But given the arrival of Johnston and a solid O-line, Herbert should be someone you’re targeting in fantasy drafts.
The Chargers selected TCU WR Quentin Johnston with the 21st pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Johnston goes 6’3, 208 pounds but plays smaller. That’s not necessarily a knock. He’s one of the most impressive after-catch receivers we’ve seen come into the league in recent memory. He combines good agility and burst with plenty of physicality with the ball in his hands. Johnston averaged a huge 8.9 yards after the catch at TCU last year. He’s also a weapon on deep balls, leaving school with a career 19.0 yards-per-catch average. But Johnston struggles more than you’d expect in tight coverage. He converted just 42.7% of his contested opportunities over three college seasons, according to PFF, including just eight of 23 (34.8%) last year. His hands are inconsistent (10.7% drop rate last year). And his route running needs work. Johnston certainly isn’t the safest WR prospect – but he might have the highest fantasy ceiling in this year’s class. Landing in a Justin Herbert-led offense only helps. Just keep 2023 expectations in check, as long as Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are healthy. Current projections land Johnston in WR4/5 range.
The Chargers have restructured WR Keenan Allen's contract, shaving $8.9 million off his 2023 salary cap number, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. That's big for two reasons: 1) The team opened the offseason with one of the league's worst cap situations. 2) That plus Allen's contract had driven speculation the Chargers would cut or trade him. You can now bet on that not happening. And that makes Allen a strong value in current best ball drafting. His ADP has sat in WR3 range since 2023 drafting began. Even with big-time injury issues last year, Allen still finished the season 12th among WRs in PPR points per game and 13th in half-PPR. L.A. also restructured WR Mike Williams' contract to save another $5.5 million in cap space.
The Athletic's Daniel Popper considers WR Keenan Allen 1 of the Charger's most likely salary cap casualties. (L.A. is currently about $23.5 million over the projected 2023 salary cap.) Allen missed 7 games and most of 2 others with hamstring trouble this past season and turns 31 in April. But he averaged 10.4 targets, 7.5 catches, 84 yards and .5 TDs over 8 healthy regular-season games. And he ranked 12th among 96 qualifying WRs in yards per route run. Allen would draw plenty of interest on the open market if he is released. His departure would be a significant boost to WR Mike Williams and especially WR Josh Palmer. Palmer averaged 7.3 targets, 4.6 catches and 49 yards across 8 games with Allen out or limited this past year.
The Chargers are set to hire Kellen Moore as their new OC, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. Although we just learned that Moore was done in Dallas on Sunday, the Chargers had been working on this hire "for a while," per Rapoport. It's a great get for QB Justin Herbert and Co. Moore helped the Cowboys to top-11 finishes in both points and total yards in 3 of his 4 seasons -- with the only exception being 2020, when QB Dak Prescott missed most of the year. That included a 1st-place finish in both points and yards in 2021. Moore's Dallas offenses were balanced to run-leaning in terms of Pass Rate Over Expected, although he certainly seems willing to adjust his play calling to the personnel. Moore also deploys a fast-paced attack, with the Cowboys ranking top 4 in both pace and situation-neutral pace in all 4 of his seasons.
The Chargers have fired OC Joe Lombardi, according to NFL Network. Lombardi piloted Los Angeles to top 9 finishes in total yards in each of the past 2 seasons, despite dealing with a bunch of injuries to offensive linemen and skill-position players. But his scheme simply didn't accentuate QB Justin Herbert's arm talent, as evidenced by his 7.6 and 6.4 intended air yards per pass attempt marks over the last 2 years. That 6.4-yard mark this past season ranked 31st among 33 qualifiers. We'll see who the Chargers tab to replace Lombardi -- but the change is more likely than not to be good news for Herbert's fantasy value.
Chargers WR Keenan Allen finished Saturday's Wild Card game with 6-61 on 13 targets. The massive workload represented a 30.2% target share. It also meant that Allen, 30, finished his 10th pro season with 9 straight games of 5+ catches. He’s currently under contract for 2 more seasons.
Playing without WR Mike Williams, Chargers QB Justin Herbert completed 25-of-43 passes for 273 yards and 1 score. The Chargers settled for 2 short range FGs in the first half — 1 after Herbert missed Keenan Allen in the end zone — which kept Jacksonville’s comeback hopes alive. In the second half, the Chargers went: punt, FG, missed FG, punt. Following the loss, we’ll see if the Chargers retain HC Brandon Staley (and OC Joe Lombardi) for another season. Regardless, Los Angeles needs to find a speed threat to compliment Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.
If the Bengals beat the Ravens -- and they're currently 7-point favorites -- in the early slate of games on Sunday, the Chargers will clinch the AFC's #5 seed and have nothing to play for vs. the Broncos in the late slate. And it sure sounds like there's a chance that HC Brandon Staley will rest starters in that case. "Once we find out about that game, then we'll make the appropriate decisions moving forward," Staley said Wednesday. The Chargers are notably 2.5-point underdogs right now, suggesting the oddsmakers are at least baking in some chance of starters not playing. We'll continue to keep an eye on the situation, but guys like QB Justin Herbert, RB Austin Ekeler and WRs Keenan Allen and Mike Williams carry elevated risk in Week 18 fantasy lineups.
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