Chargers Receiver Grades: Mike Williams and Dontrelle Inman
Mike Williams
Coming into the year, Mike Williams was expected to take over as the No. 2 receiver on the depth chart when Williams departed to the Oakland Raiders. It’s fair to say the results to that experiment so far have been slightly underwhelming.
The main issue for Williams at this point is health, as he’s already suffered a knee injury in Week 1 that he played through and now is dealing with a back injury that kept him out vs. Miami. When he’s on the field, Williams makes some spectacular plays, like his beautiful grab against the Detroit Lions in Week 2.
Williams’ season, like a lot of Chargers currently, will come down to health. Everyone saw him break out in his sophomore season and knows he’s incredible in both the red zone and going up for the deep ball. So far Williams has been himself, averaging 19.6 yards per reception.
If he can get healthy and stay on the field throughout the remainder of the season, there’s potential to see him challenge the numbers of his tremendous 2018 campaign.
Grade: B+
Dontrelle Inman
No one really expected Dontrelle Inman to be on the Chargers as recently as a month and a half ago. But when Josh Gordon was reinstated by the NFL, Inman’s reps came down, and he and the New England Patriots both mutually agreed there wasn’t really a spot for him on the team. After some hard lobbying by Rivers, Inman returned to the Chargers near the end of August.
After a muted first three weeks, Inman had a great performance in Week 4 with fellow receivers Williams and Benjamin out. Inman’s relationship with Rivers is fully developed and the quarterback trusts him on a lot of routes.
Unfortunately, he may be out for a while now with a quad injury. Much like the situation Williams is in, it all comes down to health and ability to stay on the field. Should this be more of a short term injury, the Chargers can survive. It’s simply terrible that he gets injured like this right when he was starting to get hot.
Grade: B