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“Heroes”
Keenan Allen
In September, I listed Keenan Allen as a round 5 receiver who would outplay his draft position. He was being drafted in the 7th round as the 24th overall receiver. As Charger fans know, Keenan Allen is one of the best when he’s healthy, and while he is 8th in yards (7th if you don’t include Tyreek Hill’s extra game), and 10th in receptions, he has only found paydirt once. Despite this, he is ranked as the 16th highest scoring wideout in the league, and if Philip Rivers can start to play like his old self, you should start to see some more red-zone targets go his way.
Assessment Grade: B+
Antonio Gates
I was dead wrong. Antonio Gates is the 34th ranked TE this season. He has obviously very little left in the tank, and with Hunter Henry really emerging as a bonafide superstar at the position, it leaves Gates in the dust. He has averaged 19 yards a game, and only has one TD through 6. Anthony Lynn is just too good of a coach to allow Hunter Henry to sit on the bench while a guy well-past his prime wastes a spot on the field.
Assessment Grade: F-
Younghoe Koo
Okay, I get it. I was as dumb as the Chargers coaching staff when they decided that the unproven Younghoe Too was better than the solid, yet unspectacular Josh Lambo. Hey, Nick Novak is probably a viable starter, right?? Guys???
Assessment Grade: F-
Tyrell Williams
This one is still TBD. He’s currently 48th in the league in scoring with 287 yards and 1 TD. I had him projected as the 49th overall receiver (barring injury), but if someone goes down, he’ll be the first to see increased reps. Honestly, he doesn’t hold much value at the moment with Keenan Allen and Hunter Henry tearing it up, and especially with Mike Williams integrating more each week. He is not worth the bench spot, but if someone gets injured (Keenan Allen or Hunter Henry), you better run to your computer for that waiver request.
Assessment Grade: C
“Zeroes”
Melvin Gordon
After a few weeks, it looked like I was right. The last few weeks, however, Gordon has proved me dead wrong. He’s fourth in scoring, in a 3 way tie for 1st with 7 all-purpose touchdowns. Over the last two weeks, he has scored 55.30 points, which places him miles above the top 3. He is trending up, and despite Anthony Lynn’s insistence that he would use a committee in the backfield, Gordon has 127 touches, compared to 22 for Branden Oliver, and 15 for Austin Ekeler. He was being drafted behind David Johnson (injured-out for season), Le’Veon Bell (5th in scoring), and LeSean McCoy (25th in scoring). I’d say I was wrong.
Assessment Grade: D
Hunter Henry
Again, it looked like I was right, as through the first three weeks, he had two no-show games, and one solid game. While he hasn’t exactly gone off, he’s been solid through the last three weeks, posting scores of 7.60, 10.20, and 9 points. He’s currently ranked as the 8th TE in the league, putting him in the low starter position, but having 15 targets over the last two weeks (compared to Gates’ 4) after 11 in the first 4 (compared to Gates’ 17), it looks like the coaching staff has figured out he should be the starting TE for the Chargers.
Assessment Grade: D
Because the Chargers can never be predictable, I can’t say I really hit anything with 100% accuracy. To quote Ben Roethlisberger, “maybe I don’t have it anymore.”