Despite all of their struggles throughout various parts of their roster this season, one thing that has been a serious bright spot for the Los Angeles Chargers has been their receiving core led by Quentin Johnston, Ladd McConkey and Keenan Allen.
Yet, the same cannot be said for the Buffalo Bills, who signed former Charger Joshua Palmer to a three-year, $29 million deal this offseason and, in the process, have learned a lesson that Chargers fans knew long ago: that Palmer's production never lives up to the hype.
Palmer, 26, spent the first four years of his career in Los Angeles as a rotational receiver, at times flashing a unique athletic skill-set and strong hands at the catch point. Yet, as Bills fans get their first full glimpses at him in action, they are slowly experiencing the same disappointment that Chargers fans are accustomed to.
Joshua Palmer has never lived up to Chargers fans' expectations and is failing to do so in Buffalo.
In fairness, Palmer was an excellent wide receiver within his role when he was in Los Angeles. Through the 58 games he played with the franchise, he recorded 182 receptions on 282 targets, averaging 12.6 yards per reception and taking in ten touchdowns.
Where the problem lay, however, was in fans' lofty expectations for him, especially as he posted strong performance after strong performance in training camp. Despite the hype that constantly surround him, the production never fully came, and time and time again fans of the Chargers would learn the same lesson.
In the same way, a strong start to the season with Buffalo, combined with the hype surrounding the addition of a receiving threat for superstar quarterback Josh Allen, made Palmer's arrival to Buffalo just as hyped as his seasons in Los Angeles were.
Yet, in his first five games with the Bills, Palmer has posted just 12 catches for 174 yards, 61 of which game in their season opener against the struggling Baltimore Ravens defense.
While the Bills' receiving core is not bereft of talent, with Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir and Elijah Moore on their roster, they do in fact lack the major playmaker that many teams have, and Palmer's continued development would go a long way toward deepening their receiver rotation.
Therefore, although a number of things have already gone disastrously wrong this season for the Chargers, their fans can at least be thankful that they did not pay Palmer like a top-40 receiver.