Los Angeles Chargers DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

The Los Angeles Chargers selected University of Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey with the No. 34 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on Friday. The Chargers moved up to take McConkey by trading their 37th and 110th selections of the 2024 NFL Draft with the New England Patriots in exchange for the 34th and 137th picks. The 22-year-old is viewed as one of the best route runners in this wide receiver class, and the Chargers had a dire need at wideout after moving on from Mike Williams and Keenan Allen this offseason. Although McConkey's numbers over the last three years aren't all that impressive (119 receptions for 1,687 yards and 14 touchdowns), it's worth noting he battled injuries as a senior, and he dominated at the NFL Combine. With Quentin Johnston struggling to make an impact as a rookie, McConkey could make a run to be Justin Herbert's go-to target.

In recent weeks, both the New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings reached out to the Los Angeles Chargers to see if they had any interest in trading quarterback Justin Herbert, according to league sources. The answer they got very quickly was "a flat no." Not only do the Chargers love Herbert, but they also would have had to take on a $63.5 million salary cap charge in 2024 at a time they have $32.3 million of cap space. Meanwhile, the Patriots took QB Drake Maye third overall and the Vikings took QB J.J. McCarthy 11th overall in the first round of this year's NFL draft. There's still a lot to like about the 26-year-old Herbert, but it's hard to ignore the fact that he lost Austin Ekeler, Keenan Allen and Mike Williams this offseason and is now in a run-first offense under new head coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman.

University of Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey has seemingly been rising up draft boards since his impressive showing at the 2024 NFL Combine, and he is now favored to be a first-round pick, according to DraftKings Sportsbook's odds. DraftKings gives the 22-year-old -105 odds to be one of the first 32 players off the board. In three seasons with the Bulldogs, the speedster collected 119 receptions for 1,687 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed 13 times for 216 yards and four scores. He also averaged 13.3 yards per punt return on 21 attempts. He's a dynamic and versatile weapon with real route-running juice, so WR-needy teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, and Buffalo Bills could be interested in pushing the draft button on him late in the first round on Thursday.

University of Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey is visiting with the Atlanta Falcons on Friday, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. He also recently met with the Cleveland Browns. McConkey didn't have the most prolific college career, but he posted 119 receptions for 1,687 yards and 14 touchdowns in 39 career games. He's also a dynamic weapon in the backfield, compiling 216 yards and four touchdowns on just 13 rushing attempts. After running a sub-4.4 forty-yard dash at the 2024 NFL Combine, he could be selected as early as the late first round. Atlanta could use more speed in the new-look Kirk Cousins offense, so it will be interesting to see if they make a move to keep McConkey in the state of Georgia to begin his NFL career.

The Los Angeles Chargers re-signed exclusive-rights free-agent kicker Cameron Dicker to an undisclosed deal on Tuesday. The Chargers placed a tender on Dicker on March 8 and he finally signed it. The 23-year-old will return to LA in 2024 after making 31 of his 33 field-goal tries and all 35 of his extra-point attempts in 17 games last year. In his rookie season in 2022 with the Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles, Dicker went 21-for-22 on field goals to lead the league with a 95.5 field-goal percentage while also making all 24 of his extra points in 11 games. He finished the 2023 campaign as the No. 10 fantasy kicker and should be in play as a top-10 kicker once again as long as he doesn't lose the primary kicking job for the Chargers in training camp this summer.