The Los Angeles Chargers have been in trade talks for what feels like the entire season, with multiple reports showing the Chargers interest in adding a receiver to their roster. Going into the season after losing Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, it was quite obvious the lack of juice at receiver was going to be apparent.
The Bolts traded up in the second round of the 2024 NFL draft to select, Ladd McConkey. This was to help supplement the loss of two great receivers, but even with the selection fans were still requesting another addition for this offense and superstar Quarterback, Justin Herbert.
Now heading to the mid-way mark of the NFL season, McConkey has played great, but injuries coupled with the already lack of talent in the receiving room have led the Chargers to struggle to create offense. Should the Chargers trade for a receiver, even after the ascension of McConkey?
Ladd McConkey’s Breakout Game
The Chargers faced off against the New Orleans Saints at home, a matchup that the Bolts were expected to win. Exactly that happened, with an odd score of 26-8. The spectacular play of Herbert and his rookie weapon, McConkey were the main driving factors behind this win. Isn’t it funny when Herbert gets help, the Chargers are more likely to win a football game?
Herbert set an all-time career high in overall PFF grade, with a 95.3. This is the third-highest grade recorded across all quarterbacks through the entire season.
This game was the HIGHEST PFF graded performance of Justin Herbert's career at 95.3. The previous best was 92.7 vs. Green Bay last season. https://t.co/oQe3H8n4Bg
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) October 28, 2024
111 of Herbert’s 279 yards and both the touchdowns went to the rookie out of Georgia, McConkey. That is 39.7% of Herbert’s passing yards, to one player. A rookie at that.
McConkey showed off his contested catch ability, yards-after-catch capability, and his mastery in creating separation throughout the entire game. Did not matter who was covering him, or where he lined up; he was unstoppable.
Ladd McConkey's Week 8 film is sweet. You really see all of the skills (route running, stemming off routes to make an easy target, ball-tracking, YAC) that made him a great prospect translate to the NFL.
And I think you really see Herbert's immense trust in him on display on… pic.twitter.com/d4QHWQmM9G
— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) October 28, 2024
This breakout game now begs the question: Should the Chargers consider trading for a wide receiver, even after McConkey’s impressive performance?
The Argument For The Chargers To Trade For a Receiver
Reviewing the Chargers Receiving Room: Lack of Dynamism
When you look at the Chargers receiving corps, it is filled with a bunch of #3 type of players.
- Joshua Palmer is a reliable receiver, who can separate but one who has battled through injury and lacks explosive speed to create that dynamism needed in the offense.
- Ladd McConkey has shown to be a great threat down the field, but can he shoulder the entire load for a receiving room as a rookie?
- Quentin Johnston cannot get open deep and has struggled through injury, but has shown promise this season as a yards-after-catch threat.
- DJ Chark can be the threat that opens up the deep part of the field but still has yet to play this season for the Chargers.
- Simi Fehoko has performed much above expectation in his limited opportunities, but his style of play is a possession receiver who is an asset in the blocking game.
- Brenden Rice has been a non-factor in his rookie season, with his only notable moment being a miscommunication he had, led to a penalty on offense.
- Derius Davis is a gadget return-man type of player who has dealt with injury and has shown little as a true receiver.
- Jalen Reagor has been an up-and-down addition to the Chargers, showing an ability to make plays down the field, but his previous stops allow major cause for concern, and showed he is extremely replaceable.
All of the names listed should not stop you from adding a true #1 receiver. These are all building blocks to a great offense, but a true #1 receiver could be a (big) missing piece toward offensive excellence.
Current Offensive Rankings
There are plenty of reasons why the Chargers rank 23rd in the league in passing yards per game, however, the majority of the struggles have stemmed from the lack of playmakers in the receiving room.
The Chargers currently have the 18th-ranked receiving grade across all 32 teams, doing so while having the benefit of a superstar at quarterback and a strong running game… leading to a very strong argument that trading for a receiver should be the top priority for General Manager, Joe Hortiz.
Future Outlook/Flexibility
If the Chargers were to trade for a receiver, say, Mike Williams, they would be able to allow him to play this season, and move on from him afterward as his contract expires at the end of this season.
Say Williams plays well for the Chargers, they can choose to bring him back and allow him to supplement the offense further. If he does not play well, he can leave the Chargers and sign elsewhere, likely giving the Chargers a compensatory selection.
This pretty much means you can trade for a player, allow him to help your offense this season, then let him go and get something in the ballpark of what you gave up back, just a single season later. Pretty smart investment in my book.
The Argument Against The Chargers Trading For a Receiver
Draft Pick Compensation Given Up
When trading for anything, you are looking at a big risk. You are giving up precious draft capital to gain a player who needs to learn a whole new playbook, get adjusted to new teammates, a new city, and a new coaching staff.
That takes time. Look at the Davante Adams trade as a major example of this.
When said player is caught up to speed, you are relying on them to become the same player you hoped to get when giving up capital. This does not always happen, and at times, can lead to big problems for a team who is trying to either elongate or follow through on their “window of opportunity.”
If Hortiz were to trade for a big-name receiver like Tee Higgins that would take a day-two selection, and disallow the Chargers to have the means to draft a young rookie next season that could very well make a great impact.
As the saying goes, high risk, high reward.
Cutting a Possible Valuable Future Asset
The simplest, yet plausible reason for not trading for a receiver is knowing that you will have to cut someone on the roster to make room for said player.
Although this does not sound like the end of the world, the Chargers wide receiving room is set up in a way that you will be cutting someone who is valuable. They also cannot afford to simply not cut a receiver and cut another position. That would leave them with eight receivers on the roster.
The most likely player to be cut if a receiver was traded for was seventh-round selection, Brenden Rice. Sure, he was just a seventh-round selection, but he was touted to go as early as round three in the 2024 NFL draft. With strong NFL bloodlines, a prominent name, and plenty of potential, he would likely be picked up on waivers.
This would leave the Chargers without both seventh-round receivers they drafted just this year.
Conclusion
To put it simply, this is much more of a nuanced discussion than the majority of Chargers fans want to admit. There are definitely positives and negatives to decide from, and luckily for the Bolts, it is in the hands of impressive General Manager, Joe Hortiz.
With the trade deadline coming up, we will see what Hortiz ends up deciding shortly.
Main Image: Gary A. Vasquez – USA Today Sports
