LA Chargers: Comparing Tyrod Taylor’s 2017 Bills to the 2020 Chargers
By Jason Reed
Comparing the LA Chargers and 2017 Buffalo Bills weapons:
Buffalo Bills:
Tyrod Taylor had some weapons in the 2017 season, but not many. In previous years he had better receivers such as Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods, but the weapons that he had offered to him in 2017 were not great.
He had a Pro Bowl running back alongside him in LeSean McCoy, which absolutely helped Taylor. McCoy had over 1,100 rushing yards and 400 receiving yards in 2017.
Tight end Charles Clay was Taylor’s number one target in 2017, hauling in 49 receptions for 558 yards. His top-three receivers, in terms of targets, were Zay Jones, Deonte Thompson and Jordan Matthews.
LA Chargers:
The Chargers are exponentially better in terms of weapons than the 2017 Bills, that aspect of the narrative is absolutely correct.
The Chargers have a top seven wide receiver in Keenan Allen, a top 10 pass-catching tight end in Hunter Henry and a top three pass-catching running back in Austin Ekeler. In terms of a WR/TE/RB combo, the Chargers are one of the best teams in the league.
They also have a great deep-threat option in Mike Williams and there is some potential in the rest of the receiving corps with rookies K.J. Hill and Joe Reed.
Hypothetically, the rookie receivers could be a bit of a letdown in their first season and the pass-catchers behind Henry at tight end are not great. However, even if both of those positions do not reach their potential, the Chargers’ 2020 weapons are still significantly better.