Will Ladd McConkey Shake Off The Sophmore Slump?
Fantasy

Will Ladd McConkey Shake Off The Sophmore Slump?

Ian Hartitz analyzes the Los Angeles Chargers WR room, and whether Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston could be ready for breakout campaigns.

Published

The Chargers have been known for great WR duos, dating back to the Air Coryell days with Charlie Joiner and John Jefferson making life miserable for NFL secondaries in the late 1970s and '80s. As recently at five years ago Keenan Allen and Mike Williams topped 1,100 yards in the same season. Could Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston be on the cusp of becoming the next great WR duo for the Chargers? Ian Hartitz breaks it down as part of his Los Angeles Chargers Team Preview.

Are both Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston primed for big seasons?

I could see it. Ladd McConkey had 1,346 receiving yards in 17 games (including playoffs) as a rookie. That's the sixth most among ANY rookie in the Super Bowl era! Sure, the encore wasn't quite as cool (821), but there's at least some context there …

  • McConkey dealt with a strained calf throughout training camp. He returned and never actually missed a game due to injury, but we did see separate bicep, calf, ankle and foot injuries added to his practice report throughout the season.
  • Whether you want to blame Herbert or the offensive line: The balls being thrown McConkey's way simply weren't quite as accurate in 2025. We can see this in the difference in catchable target rate (71% vs. 79%).
  • ESPN's open rating, meant to quantify separation ability, didn't seem much of a falloff from McConkey (14th in 2024, 12th in 2025). The real difference was failure to secure more targets due to the newfound presence of Herbert's old friend Keenan Allen (still a free agent).

So we're pretty confident that McConkey is, in fact, a really good football player, though keep in the back of your mind that he’s battling a hamstring issue more than a month from training camp. We believe in Herbert as a passer. We think McDaniel is a great offensive mind. We think—especially with Allen out of the picture for now—there's an opportunity for Ladd to breeze past 100 targets. That sounds like a pretty good bargain at a low-end WR2 cost!

Of course, there is the possibility that McConkey doesn't work as his own offense's top-scoring wide receiver again.

Enter: Quentin Johnston, whose 12.2 PPR points per game were good for the 23rd highest mark among wide receivers and far superior to McConkey (11.3, WR35) and Keenan (10.8, WR37). The 2023 first-rounder has often been criticized for dropping everything thrown his way, but in reality, Johnson's total drops (11, tied for 33rd) and drop rate (5.2%, 69th among 110 qualified receivers) over the past three seasons don't really stand out relative to the rest of the position.

What we do have is a 24-year-old talent—QJ is only 2 months older than Ladd!—who has improved his counting numbers and efficiency metrics in every season of his career. The twitched up 6-foot-2, 208-pounder looks overwhelming for defensive backs of most shapes and sizes when everything is clicking.

Oh yeah, there was also this little quote from McDaniel on Johnston …

“I think he's a guy that has some traits in his game that are similar to some very powerful, explosive, productive receivers that I've had in the past, namely like Julio (Jones) and Andre (Johnson), and so we're pushing him.”

Once again, I'm in! Can you tell I feel like this Chargers offense might be the breakout group of 2026? I'm the highest Fantasy Life ranker on QJ (WR43, nobody else has higher than WR49) and believe he's a priority target at his affordable WR42, pick 88.5 ADP.

Also note: The Chargers got Tre Harris a bit more involved as the season went on, but the 2025 second-rounder ultimately never reached 55 yards in a game and scored just one touchdown. The departure of Allen should promote Harris to WR3 status, although the team's focus on adding big tight ends and FB Alec Ingold in free agency is probably a good signal that we shouldn't expect a ton of 11 personnel here in 2026 … There's also the possibility that fourth-rounder Brenen Thompson gets involved early. McDaniel, again, went to bat to get this pick done, telling the Chargers war room that he would take his shirt off if they drafted Thompson. The pint-sized (5-foot-9, 164 pounds) speedster (4.26-second 40-yard dash) is far from just an undersized gadget—the Mississippi State product led the f*cking SEC in receiving yards last season!—but anything close to a full-time role feels like wishful thinking as long as Ladd, Johnston and these tight ends are healthy.

Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. Ladd McConkey
    LaddMcConkeyQ
    WRLACLAC
    PPG
    9.0
    Proj
    176.7
  2. Quentin Johnston
    QuentinJohnston
    WRLACLAC
    PPG
    10.7
    Proj
    131.8
  3. Tre Harris
    TreHarris
    WRLACLAC
    PPG
    3.2
    Proj
    62.9

Published