The Los Angeles Chargers added a prime weapon to their offense last season.
Ladd McConkey didn’t need much time to prove why some scouts deemed him one of the steals of the draft, and that’s a lot to say from a class that also featured the likes of Malik Nabers and Marvin Harrison Jr.
It didn’t take long before he developed a strong chemistry with Justin Herbert, and he grew into a bigger role as the season progressed.
When asked about him, Chargers’ offensive coordinator Greg Roman raved about his football IQ, adding that it allowed him to do things that most wide receivers would’ve needed years to do:
“Ladd [McConkey] was such a — not a surprise – but he was such a weapon,” Roman said. “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.”
McConkey was a master at picking up yards after the catch.
He finished his rookie season with a whopping 82 catches for 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns.
His ability to find cracks and gaps in the defense and keep adding more yards after the reception made him one of the most entertaining rookies to watch in his first year in the league.
The Chargers were the most run-heavy they’ve been since they drafted Herbert, and while that took a toll on his usually impressive numbers, they boasted an efficient and promising offense.
Now, in the second year of the Greg Roman era, the offense should be even more balanced with Omarion Hampton also there, and that should open up more lanes for McConkey to do his thing in the open field.
It wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see him top the 1,300-receiving-yard plateau as a sophomore.
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