LA Chargers: 3 players who were misused by the coaching staff in 2020

2. Joe Reed

The way that the LA Chargers handled Joe Reed in the 2020 season was extremely frustrating. The team drafted one of the best special teams wide receivers in the draft who also had never dropped a 20-yard pass in his collegiate career.

Reed is really good with the football in his hands in making players miss in the open field as well. He is obviously not someone who is going to run between the tackles, but he is someone who can make plays happen.

We saw this in a very small sample size this year — a small sample size that included a touchdown. Reed was good just about every time he touched the ball and even had the pivotal kickoff return in Week 1 that led to the team’s only touchdown.

Yet despite all this the Chargers did not use him in the second half and there were times where he was not even active. Personally, I just don’t see the point in drafting a specialist/utility player like Reed if you are not going to use him in his rookie year at all.

Yes, there is potential in the future and that is what I am holding out on. But you can find players like Reed late in every draft. There obviously were other needs on the roster that could have been addressed.

I am glad they picked Reed because I like him as a prospect, but that does not change the fact that they misused him in his rookie season.