{"id":99993,"date":"2020-12-18T13:19:44","date_gmt":"2020-12-18T18:19:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=99993"},"modified":"2020-12-18T13:19:44","modified_gmt":"2020-12-18T18:19:44","slug":"tyron-johnson-backup-chargers-wide-receivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2020\/12\/18\/tyron-johnson-backup-chargers-wide-receivers\/","title":{"rendered":"Tyron Johnson Among Backup Los Angeles Chargers Wide Receivers That Produced in Win"},"content":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> star rookie quarterback Justin Herbert<\/strong><\/a> had to put a bit more on his shoulders than usual on Thursday Night Football against the Las Vegas Raiders<\/a>. He\u2019s been the primary reason they\u2019re competitive. And in the game against the Raiders, he not only had to deal with more suspect play-calling from Anthony Lynn<\/strong><\/a> and *two* misses from struggling kicker Michael Badgley<\/a><\/strong> in the final five minutes of regulation — he also had to deal with a depleted wide receiver corps for the first time.<\/p>\n

Both Keenan Allen<\/a><\/strong> and Mike Williams<\/a><\/strong> were quite questionable coming into the game. They were active, but on a snap count and ultimately only had three catches between them. Herbert still had Hunter Henry<\/strong><\/a> at tight end, but beyond that, he had to rely more on the backups. And fortunately, they did not disappoint much \u2013 if at all \u2013 as they helped Herbert bail out the Chargers for a 30-27 win in overtime to push them to 5-9 with a second straight win.<\/p>\n

Tyron Johnson Among Los Angeles Chargers Wide Receiver Backups That Produced in Week 15 Win<\/h2>\n

Tyron Johnson<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

While the primary #3 wide receiver for a while has been Jalen Guyton<\/strong><\/a>, another receiver who has been primarily a deep threat has started getting more looks even before the Thursday night game. Tyron Johnson \u2013 another undrafted receiver like Guyton \u2013 had brought in a few 50+ yard passes of his own. But he never had more than two catches in a game. But unexpectedly in the Week 14 game against the Atlanta Falcons<\/a>, he suddenly started getting more looks and brought in six catches for 55 yards and a touchdown.<\/p>\n

While Johnson didn\u2019t get quite as many looks in the Thursday night game, he still was productive. He brought in three catches for 61 yards and a touchdown on a 26-yard bullet from Herbert. Given his sudden bump in looks and production, he\u2019s becoming an interesting player to watch as he\u2019s proving he\u2019s not just a one-trick pony.<\/p>\n

Jalen Guyton<\/h3>\n

Jalen Guyton is the one backup receiver of the bunch that viewers are most likely to be familiar with. He\u2019s had a decent year as a deep threat and has made a few plays elsewhere on the field as well. And he was the most targeted wide receiver on the night with six looks (only Henry had more targets overall). He brought four of them in for 91 yards. It was actually a mildly mixed performance because he dropped a pass on third down in the first half. But he also brought in the 53-yard pass in overtime that set up the Chargers at the two-yard line, where after a few failed attempts Herbert sneaked it in himself for the game-winner.<\/p>\n

K.J. Hill<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

K.J. Hill is probably the biggest pleasant surprise here. This year\u2019s seventh-round pick initially looked to be a possible front-runner for the #3 wide receiver spot but didn\u2019t have the big-play ability that Guyton and Johnson did \u2013 which is what Anthony Lynn was looking for \u2013 so he got buried on the depth chart instead. The result has been him only having four catches all year up to this point, and even being a healthy scratch once or twice.<\/p>\n

But on Thursday night, he brought in all three of his targets for 39 yards \u2013 and thus was arguably the most efficient wide receiver on the night, even if he didn\u2019t have as many looks. One of them was a 25-yard play where he was rather open, while the other two were shorter slot-type catches. With both Guyton and Johnson doing well right now, it\u2019s a little more understandable if Hill isn\u2019t making his way up the depth chart just yet. But he proved he should be getting a few more looks in a game.<\/p>\n

Last Word<\/h3>\n

Obviously, the bulk of the credit for this game falls on Herbert\u2019s shoulders, who bailed his team out big time and on primetime. But these ball-catchers deserve some credit too. Even when Herbert\u2019s throwing dimes, they\u2019ve still got to catch it, especially when the top two options are barely available. And aside from that one Guyton drop on third down, they did just that (and Guyton made up for it later anyway).<\/p>\n

While we\u2019ve been seen promising things from at least two of these three guys lately, it\u2019s still good to see that they can produce if they have to become more primary targets. And a relief, given that we were not entirely sure before the season started if there would be a dependable third option at wide receiver. Herbert won the game and impressed everybody watching, but the unexpected depth of the Chargers wide receiver corps was on display too.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>