Bolts From The Blue
Ladd McConkey brings 4.39 speed with elite route-running to a shallow wide receiver room.
The Chargers sent pick No. 37 and No. 110 to the Patriots for No. 34 and No. 137 in order to trade up for Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey.
After the team moved on both Mike Williams and Keenan Allen this offseason, the Chargers needed to add at least one or two bodies to the position group that featured just four signed wideouts entering this year’s draft. McConkey has been a pivotal player for the Bulldogs who most recently won the CFP National Championship during the 2022-2023 season. That pedigree, along with his elite athleticism, is likely what got the Chargers interested interested in the first place.
The Chargers used their first-round pick last year on Quentin Johnston. He did not have an inspiring rookie season and questions remain about whether or not he is capable of being the team’s WR1 in year two. The thing is, McConkey is definitely NOT a bonafide WR1 in the making which means QJ or Joshua Palmer will likely have the shot at being the face of the wideout room to begin the year.
But what does McConkey truly bring to the table? Well, for starters, he runs a 4.39 in the 40. Secondly, he is one heck of a route-runner. Just check out this highlight below:
McConkey can shimmy and shake with the best of them. He showed out in front of scouts at the Reese’s Senior Bowl and it seems like that performance helped him land just outside the first round this year.
While the stats aren’t what you’d expect from a receiver taken this high, McConkey played in a Bulldogs offense that spread the ball around constantly which meant no one was going to pad the stats sheet by the end of the year. He missed a handful of games in 2023 which caused him to record a career-low 30 receptions for 478 yards and a pair of touchdowns. When the Bulldogs won the title the previous year, he recorded 762 yards and seven scores on 58 receptions.
Starting with Harbaugh and Hortiz’s very first draft with the Chargers, it already looks like the Tom Telesco wide receiver archetype is a thing of the past. At 5’11 and sub-190 pounds, McConkey is one of the smallest wide receivers the Chargers have selected in the past decade. It’s also undeniable that the skillset coveted for the offense has changed, as well. McConkey’s ability to rack up yards after the catch will play a big role in the Chargers’ west coast offense that will set him up for YAC chances early and often. The run-first approach will force defenses to play more Cover 1 single-high looks which then puts McConkey in more one-on-one situations, an area he ranked among the 85th percentile in terms of separation, per Pro Football Focus.
