Most of the Chargers wide receiver spots are well-accounted for and have been since the Draft. Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Quentin Johnston, and Josh Palmer are all locked in. Fourth-round rookie Derius Davis most likely is as well. Barring a flame-out from Davis, that leaves only one receiver spot up for grabs. There is more than one candidate making a play for that spot; including one returning favorite and one unexpected contender.
Battle for Final Chargers Wide Receiver Spot Remains Tight
It’s worth noting that so far in the Brandon Staley era, the Chargers have not kept more than five wide receiver spots on the team at a time. That may continue to be the case, but when there is as much competition as there is, that may well change – especially when one of the contenders is a returning favorite.
Jalen Guyton
Guyton is the main contender for a WR6 (or maybe WR5) spot. His utility is mostly limited to being a speedy deep threat that can take the top off a defense – but he’s also one of the only receivers that can reliably do this. Williams and Palmer don’t reliably get enough separation, and the latter isn’t fast enough for that. Allen gets separation but does not have the breakaway speed. Johnston is more known for his speed after the catch than before it. That leaves Davis, who was drafted for his kick return abilities, but he definitely has the speed.
Unfortunately, Guyton spent most of 2022 injured after tearing his ACL in Week 3 – and in the final year of his contract, too. He finally got brought back shortly before the Draft; despite that, they went ahead and drafted Davis anyway, who may turn out to have a similar skill set. This is one reason why I believe it’s more likely the Chargers could keep six receivers this year, because it seems unlikely that they would’ve signed Guyton a week before the Draft if they just planned to draft someone else who could take his spot.
However, Guyton has begun training camp on the PUP list, which doesn’t help matters for him. That further opens the door for someone else to make an impression.
John Hightower
A somewhat unexpected contender that emerged in training camp is John Hightower. He was on the practice squad last year but was never activated. Before that, he was with the Philadelphia Eagles for two years; in that time, he nabbed 10 passes for 167 yards.
He has broken out this training camp and become a frequent target of Justin Herbert during that time, with multiple touchdown catches in camp – multiple touchdowns in one day, even. He has the size to make plays at 6’2 and has the speed to make plays after the fact as well, as seen in the video below.
Herbert with a rocket to John Hightower! ⚡️⚡️⚡️ pic.twitter.com/OUUzdnlotT
— Jason Delgado (@JasonDelgado78) July 29, 2023
Of course, sometimes training camp and preseason hype sometimes does turn out to be just that and not go anywhere in the end. Last year’s camp/preseason darling was Michael Bandy, and ultimately he did not make much of an impression after that. Of course, something else that should be taken into consideration is the switch in offensive coordinators; Kellen Moore may be able to make better use of Hightower’s talents than Joe Lombardi would have (granted, that’s a low bar). The point is, this is the breakout candidate as of right now; time will tell whether anything comes of it.
Darrius Shepherd
This is a less likely candidate, but he’s had a good start to training camp as well. After a couple of years with the Green Bay Packers, he spent the last couple of years with the spring leagues – USFL and XFL – and made plays, especially in the latter. He was named XFL Special Teams Player of the Year. Given that they drafted Derius Davis to be the new kick returner, that may make a tough hill to climb for Shepherd; but having ability in special teams may still help put him in contention for a spot. At worst, it should help put him in line for a practice squad spot.
Everyone Else
Pokey Wilson was the hyped undrafted free agent that fans were excited about, but so far he has not made much of an impression in training camp. There’s still time for him to do something, and going off the FSU highlights, the skill is there. But he will need to start showing more soon, otherwise he won’t be in the conversation for a roster spot.
Keelan Doss is another name that has done well in training camp so far; however, he is a perennial practice squad player, so excitement about him should be cautioned. Still, it’s more competition, and that’s always a good thing.
Main Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
