ADP: Undrafted
The loss of Hunter Henry opens up some opportunity in the Chargers' passing game, and Tyrell Williams might be the man for the job.
Keenan Allen saw 159 targets last year, eighth-most in the league, and is the unquestioned number-one target for Philip Rivers. It's pretty wide open after that. Melvin Gordon was second on the team in 2017 with 83 looks, and Williams came in third with 69 targets.
Mike Williams, the team's first-round pick in 2017, will surely see more than the 23 targets he got during a woeful and injury-plagued rookie season, but he didn't do much last year -- catching 11 of 23 looks for 95 scoreless yards -- to make us think he's a lock for the number-two role behind Allen.
Tyrell, on the other hand, is a big-time athlete who has proven he can make splash plays, recording yards-per-catch clips of 15.3 and 16.9, respectively, over the last two years.
| Season | Targets | Catches | Yards | Touchdowns | Fantasy Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 119 | 69 | 1,059 | 7 | WR13 |
| 2017 | 69 | 43 | 728 | 4 | WR38 |
While he's been a useable fantasy asset in each of the last two seasons, it's those 2016 numbers we should be particularly interested in as he put up a standard-league WR13 campaign the year in which Allen tore his ACL in Week 1. Henry's absence isn't the same as losing Allen, so we shouldn't be expecting Tyrell to see 119 targets. But Henry and Antonio Gates combined for 114 looks last year, and all the Chargers have at tight end right now is Virgil Green, a blocking specialist who has never gotten more than 37 targets in a season.
There's volume up for grabs here.
Yes, the Bolts have invested signifcant draft capital in Mike Williams, and that definitely matters. But Tyrell is a proven playmaker -- and fantasy producer -- who should have a meaningful role in what our models think will be the seventh-best offense in 2018.
There's a lot to like about that, especially when it's this cheap.