LA Chargers: Day three wide receivers to target in the 2020 NFL Draft

After trading up into the first round, the LA Chargers were left without any day two picks. With at least four day three picks incoming, which wide receivers are available?

The LA Chargers didn’t have any two picks on Friday, so they still have some critical needs to address going into day three. One of those needs to address is the third wide receiver. The team will have to take one, as it’s more a matter of when than if.

Keenan Allen and Mike Williams need a third receiver who is able to make an impact now. While Andre Patton and other Chargers have shown glimpses of promise, they’re not on the verge of breaking out yet. An athletic, speedy receiver is what the Chargers should be going for in rounds four through seven.

Donovan Peoples-Jones

The most intriguing option of the day three is Donovan Peoples-Jones. With the record amount of receivers taken in the first two days, it’s somewhat surprising that he’s still available.

Peoples-Jones was one of the best receivers in the country when he was coming out of high school. He was a five-star recruit. Unfortunately, he never quite hit the production that scouts were looking for at Michigan. His route running can be a bit mediocre at times in terms of his top-end speed.

While there are some slow-moving parts of Peoples-Jones’ game, he is still an athletic freak. He’s 6’2″ and is able to comfortably get out of breaks. I’m not sure if Peoples-Jones will end up playing the outside due to some of his physical limitations, but he’d fit the Chargers very well in a slot role.

While his college production was underwhelming, it still makes sense to take him with his height, speed, and route running. Plus, Michigan’s offense hasn’t exactly been a well-oiled machine over the last few years with Shea Patterson. If it comes down to production or tape/physical attributes, it makes sense to go with the latter for Peoples-Jones based on the situation.

K.J. Hill

When evaluating K.J. Hill, many take points off of his draft stock because of the lack of a vertical game. In the NFL, he may be limited to a slot receiver. Fortunately, that’s just what the LA Chargers need.

Hill’s game reminds me of Anquan Boldin. He’s not going to beat you with a ton of speed, but he’s great in space and can escape to the second level with a few breaks. Hill caught 201 passes for 2,332 yards in his time at Ohio State. His hands are awesome as well, as he can make tough catches look easy with his catch control.

As said earlier, Hill probably isn’t beating many cornerbacks deep with crazy separation. He’s best when using his creativity and wits in the open field. That’s kind of exactly what the Chargers need. Williams is going to go up for those 50-50 balls.

He already became much better in efficiency on those types of passes this year. With Williams and Allen going for the occasional deep ball, that will require defenses to play back as Hill gets the ball with plenty of open field to rumble through.

Quartney Davis

Quartney Davis has a lot of skill in the slot. His footwork is pretty impeccable and he’s able to make great plays out of consistently quick releases off of the line of scrimmage. Davis also might be the king of yards after the catch. With fairly great body control, Davis is able to get past defenders in open space pretty well.

Davis likely has some pretty good value as well. The Chargers can wait on him as a deeper depth target than Peoples-Jones or Hill. The late fifth or early sixth round is where Davis will probably find a decent home in the NFL.

A lot of receivers came off the board for the LA Chargers in the second and third rounds, but there are still some quality targets. Peoples-Jones is an athletic freak who just never was quite in the right situation in college. Hill can be a very solid slot receiver with great redzone potential. Davis could be the pick if the Chargers want to wait a little bit longer to fill more urgent need.s