Los Angeles Chargers still have major need at key position

Travis Wakeman

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Los Angeles Chargers still have major need at key position image

The Los Angeles Chargers are a team that certainly seems headed in the right direction after a disastrous 2023 season. The team has a new head coach and a franchise quarterback who is seen by many as one of the best in the game. 

The team just had a strong draft as well and looks like a team that could have a big bounce-back season in 2024. What would be the biggest remaining hole on this roster? Despite all of the attention paid to the wide receiver position, the team still needs that go-to guy. 

That guy has been Keenan Allen for quite some time. But the team chose to send him to the Chicago Bears this offseason. Mike Williams left via free agency. That left Quentin Johnston and Joshua Palmer as the top holdovers from last season. Neither of those players is a No. 1 wide receiver, at least not right now. 

 

ESPN's Aaron Schatz put together a list of every team's biggest remaining roster hole and he also identifies the wide receiver position. 

Could the Chargers be a team that spreads the wealth around with Herbert and can get away without that marquee wide receiver? Sure, and that would be a Harbaugh thing to do. But when you have a gunslinger like Herbert under center, it makes the offense even more dynamic to have that game-breaker on the outside. 

Johnston, a first-round pick last season, could become that guy, but he seems just as likely to end up on Harbaugh's bad side. That would leave things to the rookie Ladd McConkey or recent free-agent signing D.J. Chark to slide into that role.

The Chargers would have had this hole filled for many years to come by drafting Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze with the No. 5 overall pick but opted for Joe Alt instead. That was a Harbaugh-style selection. The team will just have to hope it doesn't regret letting one of those top-flight rookie wide receivers get away. 

Travis Wakeman

Travis Wakeman Photo

Travis Wakeman has been covering the NFL since 2012 when he started with Bleacher Report. After reporting about the Broncos there until 2016, he joined the FanSided network as a site expert covering the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers while simultaneously covering the Broncos at Broncos Wire when that site launched. He then took over the Broncos site at FanSided in March 2020 and covered the team there until spring of 2024. A lifelong Broncos fan and fan of the game, Travis is filled with sometimes useless NFL knowledge, but it always serves him well in any trivia contest. You can follow him on Twitter/X @traviswakeman10.