LA Chargers Week 14 Overreactions: Receivers to help Justin Herbert?

The Los Angeles Chargers made fewer mistakes at the end of the game than the Atlanta Falcons on the way to a win, 20-17.

The Los Angeles Chargers made plenty of mistakes in Week 14 against the Atlanta Falcons, including a particularly egregious run call at the end of the first half. However, the Chargers were able to take advantage of three Matt Ryan interceptions to get a win on a late Michael Badgley field goal.

Here are some overreactions from the Week 14 win.

Overreaction #1: The Los Angeles Chargers need to spend an early pick or give a large contract to a new receiver

As a whole, the Los Angeles Chargers offense had a fairly good day against the Atlanta Falcons. This does not apply to all of the Chargers’ offense, particularly the wide receiver group.

Against the Falcons, the Chargers receiving group struggled, particularly after Mike Williams was lost to an injury. While there were only a few drops, there were very few snaps in which the Chargers players were able to create any separation outside of Keenan Allen.

Against some defenses that would be understandable, but the Atlanta Falcons have one of the worst passing defenses in the NFL.

In response, some fans have said that they are open to spending the first-round pick on a receiver such as Ja’Marr Chase or spend big in free agency.

Given the Chargers struggles at receiver beyond Keenan Allen, would such investment in this position be worth it?

In short, no.

The last two drives by the Chargers demonstrate why that is the case.

Even though the Chargers were without Keenan Allen (back), their only good option to create separation, they were able to effectively move the ball down the field (outside of an interception that occurred on Keenan Allen’s only snap and target of those drives).

How were they able to move the ball down the field without their key separation-creating receiver?

They did so in two ways. First, Tyron Johnson did it with speed. The Los Angeles Chargers have two cheap options in Tyron Johnson and Jalen Guyton. They are not great at creating space, but they have the speed to get open deep and create separation for others by forcing defenders to move deep with them.

Secondly, the Chargers had decent pass blocking in those drives that gave Justin Herbert time to find receivers that were open enough to get the ball.

With decent speedy options like Johnson and Guyton to make space for receivers underneath, improvement along the offensive line is more important than getting another receiver to create separation.

While the Chargers will certainly need another receiver soon, Mike Williams is locked in for another year. There are simply too many bigger holes on the roster at other places to spend big, either in cap space or draft capital, on a receiver.

Verdict #1: Overreaction