The Player
Any invested dynasty player knows the name Ladarius Green. We've been anointing him while anticipating the sudden decline of Antonio Gates.
And to be sure, the physical tools Green has at the tight end position are rare and worth the price of admission. His unbelievable 2013 season saw him average 22.1 yard per-catch and score three touchdowns on just 16 receptions. The sample size was small, but the pace was unreal and would have put him far ahead of Julius Thomas as the top tight end in our metrics in 2014.
According to Net Expected Points (NEP), our our in-house metric that compares a player's production to league expectation level, Green had a Reception NEP per target of 1.10 in 2013, far better than Julius Thomas' league-leading 0.97 this past season. You can read more about NEP in our glossary.
In 2014, Green actually improved his catch rate by 17.38 percent, although his Reception NEP per target came down to a still respectable 0.72. It demonstrates his immense talent, but the small sample size make it difficult to project how he would do in a full-time role.
As an athlete, however, he compares more to a plus-sized wide receiver than a tight end. Here are his combine measurables and the players he most resembles.
| Name | Hght | Wght | 40 yd | Bnch | Vert | Broad | 20 ss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladarius Green | 6' 6" | 238 | 4.53 | 16 | 34" | 124" | 4.47 |
| Dorial Green-Beckham | 6' 5" | 237 | 4.49 | 13 | 33½" | 119" | 4.45 |
| Kelvin Benjamin | 6' 5" | 240 | 4.61 | 13 | 32½" | 119" | 4.39 |
| Plaxico Burress | 6' 6" | 231 | 4.59 | 33" | 115" | ||
| Jordan Cameron | 6' 5" | 254 | 4.53 | 23 | 37½" | 119" | 4.03 |
| Mike Evans | 6' 4¾" | 231 | 4.53 | 12 | 37" | 4.26 | |
| Greg Olsen | 6' 6" | 254 | 4.51 | 23 | 35½" | 114" | 4.48 |
| Jared Cook | 6' 5" | 246 | 4.49 | 23 | 41" | 123" | |
| Vincent Jackson | 6' 5" | 241 | 4.46 | 23 | 39" | 129" | 4 |
While blocking may not be his strength, he is a consistent mismatch for defenses, with the size to dominate defensive backs and the speed to run away from linebackers.
The Opportunity
It seems like every year the Chargers talk up the idea of utilizing Green more in the passing game. And yet it never really happens, in large part due to how dominant Gates has been as a feature player.
With Gates suspended for the first four games of the 2015 season, the Chargers now have no choice but to propel Green into the starting lineup, and there is a non-zero chance he takes this job and plays himself into a large role in this offense.
If a commitment is made to include Green in the weekly game plan, this is a player with the talent to produce top-five weeks at the tight end position. With Gates not getting any younger, perhaps 2015 is finally the season where Green becomes a primary weapon in this Chargers offense. This is a player worth taking a flier on late in drafts.