Three Chargers players I hope I’m right about

Keenan Allen

Prior to the 2013 draft, many considered Allen to be a first round talent. However, thanks to concerns teams had about his health, he fell to the third round where the Chargers wisely and luckily drafted him. He went on to have one of the best rookie seasons by a wide receiver in the history of the NFL. Just last year he averaged 90.6 yards per game before he was injured and missed the remainder of the season. Earlier this offseason, I predicted that Allen would set the Chargers single-season franchise reception record.

Hunter Henry

The consensus top tight end in this year’s NFL Draft, Henry is an exceptional talent. It took him nearly a week to drop a pass in training camp. He impressed running routes, catching everything, and blocking. Tight ends rarely excel as rookies. The transition to the NFL is usually too much. Henry, however, looks like he will be ready from day one. Antonio Gates is still obviously atop the depth chart at tight end, but this season the offense should feature many two-tight end sets thanks to Henry’s ability to feature in both the running and passing games. His volume likely won’t be too jaw-dropping, but his efficiency certainly could be.

Melvin Gordon

Last year, Gordon would have found his way onto a list of players I hoped to be wrong about. And unfortunately, I would not have been wrong. He was even worse than I feared he would be. This year, however, I believe he has taken a huge step forward. His decision-making looks significantly improved. He is seeing the hole and hitting it with confidence. Ken Whisenhunt is not asking him to do things that he cannot do. He is being allowed to play to his strengths and those strengths look to be greater than in his rookie year. I fully expect that he will have an excellent sophomore campaign. Hopefully, I’m right about him again this year.