It's easy to understand the love for Hunter Henry. In his rookie season, the Los Angeles Chargers' tight end hauled in eight touchdowns over 15 games, five of which came in the team's final seven contests. It doesn't all mean he's free of the risks at this position.
Antonio Gates is back with the team again, one touchdown short of the all-time record among tight ends. While the offseason included plenty of talk that Henry would surpass Gates, their preseason usage tells a different tale.
Henry's talent will force usage, but Gates isn't going away. First-string snap count through 2 games: Gates 19, Henry 15. Out of 26 total. https://t.co/yfzrdRx5cC
— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) August 21, 2017
This continued Gates presence was apparent last year, as well, with Gates out-targeting Henry in the red zone, 19 to 16. Both converted those targets into seven touchdowns, making it clear how valuable this position would be if it were a singular human being. That's just not the case right now.
To make it all worse, the team also added Keenan Allen back into the fold, meaning there are fewer targets up for grabs outside of the red zone. This lowers each players' weekly floor, and they cannibalize each others' ceilings. It's bordering on a no-win situation.
There will be games in which Henry snags a pair of touchdowns, looks like he's the guy to own, and then fails to do much the next time out. The same will likely be true with Gates. Unless one of the players is removed from the equation for one reason or another, both of them may be hard to trust on a weekly basis.