Ladd McConkey was a revelation as a rookie, dominating as the Los Angeles Chargers’ WR1 out of the gate.
As a rookie, McConkey led the Chargers with 1,149 receiving yards and 82 catches, and added seven touchdowns. No other L.A. player reached the 750-yard mark.
McConkey spent the bulk of his time operating out of the slot (65% of his snaps, per Next Gen Stats), but offensive coordinator Greg Roman suggested that this year, the Chargers would like to move him around more to create mismatches.
“Ladd was such a — not a surprise – but he was such a weapon,” Roman said on a recent episode of the Chargers Weekly Podcast. “I mean, just so dependable. We were able to do things with Ladd in Year 1 that you generally don’t do with a guy until Year 3 or 4. His football IQ, a lot of different things that give him options to get open and stuff like that, graduate-level stuff, as I like to call it. We’re really looking forward to growing in that department, too, because our receiving corps right now, compared to this time last year, it’s night and day.”
Given the makeup of the wideout corps, McConkey still profiles as the prominent slot receiver, with Quentin Johnston, Mike Williams and second-rounder Tre Harris as the top options on the outside. However, Roman noted that moving McConkey around more will ensure defenses won’t easily be able to double him.
“We’re gonna move him around,” Roman said. “The guy’s got some serious talent and a serious will to get it done. Even in the playoff game, look at his production in the playoff game. He’s a guy that we’re just gonna continue to grow with. But when they double Ladd, you’ve got to play the percentages. The ball needs to go somewhere else. … So, that’s gonna open up opportunities for everybody else, and we’ve got to take advantage of those.”