Chargers prospects: Wide receivers to watch for

The Chargers are likely to pick somewhere between 15-25 this year, so here are a few options in the first round that could fall anywhere to the 12th pick or lower.

There are some guys that have the potential to go in the top 15, such as Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy or Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb. This class, however, is absolutely loaded with talent out wide.

You’ll hear the argument later of why the Chargers shouldn’t even consider a first-round receiver, as they have issues in the trenches, but for the sake of this article, we’ll start with wide receiver Laviska Shenault.

Laviska Shenault

Shenault is a wide receiver out of Colorado that might be one of the better all-around receivers in the class. Immediately what jumps out to you when watching the tape is how similar he looks to Oklahoma State’s James Washington.

Shenault is taller, but the build is very similar. Shenault stands at 6-2, weighing in at 220 pounds, and he plays as big as he is. He runs through tackles, he is elusive for his size and quick on his feet, and he plays with a toughness and power that you don’t typically see from a receiver that runs routes as smooth as he does.

Overall, Shenault is closer to the level of Lamb and Jeudy than people think, and if he falls to the Chargers in the first round, it would be enticing. Enticing, but not needed. Could the Chargers take Shenault? Most likely, but they probably shouldn’t due to other positions of need.

Jalen Reagor

This one makes far more sense for the Chargers if they do elect to take a wide receiver in the first, which again, doubt it. However, the Chargers lost Williams in free agency, and have painfully attempted to make Travis Benjamin the deep threat. It hasn’t worked, and this offense is sorely missing Williams. Badly.

Chargers fans grew accustomed to watching Williams take off for a 75-yard touchdown in multiple games on the first drive, and this year instead have seen three and outs that make you pull your hair out.

Reagor is the true definition of speed. Pure speed. If Hollywood Brown was the speedster of last year, then Reagor is the god of speed this year. A 5-11, 195-pound receiver out of TCU, Reagor hasn’t shown much in the route running area but has shown tremendous balance, elusiveness, and of course that speed that keeps being brought up. The man is an athletic freak.

Maybe even better is that he doesn’t shy away from contact at the point of the catch, reminding you a lot of Tyreek Hill, willing to take the hit or climb the ladder to make the tough grab. He has fantastic hands, putting on a show every game with either one-handed grabs, tough physical high points, or simple screens that he can take to the house.

Overall, while a wide receiver should not be what the Chargers aim for in this draft, you won’t hear a complaint in the world if they elect to take Reagor. Especially if free agency brings in a lineman or two. Reagor would just be too valuable for what Rivers and the Chargers attempt to do on offense, and would be by far the fastest player the Chargers have maybe ever had.

Henry Ruggs III

You can say similar about Ruggs of what was said about Reagor above. Ruggs is a playmaker on every level of the field. He runs routes better than Reagor, while Reagor has a better nose for the football while it is in the air.

Still, strictly talking Ruggs, if he didn’t play for Alabama, his stats would be ridiculous. He is sharing the ball with three other starting receivers and still puts up a solid stat line. You didn’t hear this from here, but the guy we will talk about in rounds 2-3, from the same Alabama team, is better.

These are your potential first-round guys, and as said above, if the Chargers aren’t taking Reagor, they best not be taking any of the three, they just aren’t good fits due to what the Chargers already have on the field, and even Reagor is a massive stretch.

The Chargers should be looking for linemen here unless some miracle happens between now and the 2020 draft.