If you don’t follow NFL Drafts very closely and/or are not a Los Angeles Chargers fan, the name Mike Williams might confuse you. You might wonder if this is the receiver drafted back in 2010 who played mostly for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers trying to make a comeback. This is actually the third receiver drafted in the last 15 years named Mike Williams. This one was drafted just last year. And he is likely to be pivotal regarding the success of the Chargers offense during the 2018 season.
Success for Los Angeles Chargers in 2018 Could Depend on Mike Williams
Recapping the Chargers Receiving Depth Chart
Before last season, the Chargers receiving attack looked pretty solid. Keenan Allen was still a question mark at the time health-wise, but Tyrell Williams was coming off a 1,000-yard season. Travis Benjamin was a solid slot/speedster option, and Mike Williams had just been drafted as a top ten pick. And Hunter Henry and Antonio Gates together made for a nice tight end duo.
Fast forward to the beginning of this off-season, and things still looked promising. Tyrell had been exposed as more strictly a speedster option, but Allen was coming off a career year. Gates had been let go, but Henry was the second favorite target of Philip Rivers. And with Allen and Henry getting most of the targets, it helped open things up for Tyrell and Benjamin. As for Williams? Well, more on that later. But things still looked hopeful. Then everything changed when Henry got hurt.
The Void Left by Hunter Henry’s Injury
As many will likely recall, Henry tore his ACL early during OTAs. This leaves that Chargers offense in kind of a bad position. They still have Allen, but they are now without a solid number two target, as Tyrell did not show he was capable of being that second go-to guy in 2017. Benjamin is essentially the same; good for pulling down deep passes and not much else.
As of this writing, the Chargers still have not signed anyone to replace Henry for the year. This is rather surprising given that the only tight end left on the roster who has even caught a pass before is Virgil Green. They have apparently had talks about bringing Gates back, but nothing has happened yet. Now, even if they do bring him back or bring in a new face, that person would probably still not fully replace Henry. As mentioned earlier, he was probably going to receive the second most targets behind Allen. And outside of tight ends, there are no other receivers who are currently solid red zone threats. This is where the second-year receiver Williams comes in.
Mike Williams Needs to Shake Off the Rookie Season
On paper, Williams could be a solid red zone threat. During his final season at Clemson, he caught 11 touchdowns. He’s one of the tallest receivers on the team at 6’3″. However, that did not translate into success for him during his rookie year. This was in part due to injuries; he did not even see the field until Week Six. He finished with only 11 catches for 95 yards and no touchdowns. To be fair, the Chargers coaching staff did not seem to be in a rush to make him a mainstay of the offense. But one still normally expects more from the seventh overall pick in their rookie year.
Now, Allen is obviously the main go-to of the Chargers offense. But it helps to be able to spread the ball around with at least one other reliable target (preferably more). Besides having a better name out at tight end, the Chargers need Williams to become that second reliable target. Especially in the red zone, if they are not able to get a strong tight end lineup going this year.
Now to be clear, it is not impossible that the Chargers may turn out just fine regardless. The defense looks formidable, so the passing offense may not even need to be spectacular on a week-to-week basis. And who knows? Maybe the other Williams (Tyrell) will have a bounce-back year out of necessity. But the path to the playoffs this year would be a lot easier for them if the second-year receiver Williams would just have a breakout season instead, regardless of who ends up out there at tight end.
