The Los Angeles Chargers offense, to this point in the season, has been more than frustrating.
Even ignoring the expectations many had of Mike McDaniel's ability to turn this unit into one of the league's most lethal, things have simply been bad. The running back rotation, while viable, seems to be without balance or variability, and the Chargers' run game as a whole has suffered from the lack of movement gained by the interior offensive line. The passing game, meanwhile, has been simultaneously overwrought and unimaginative. Los Angeles simply doesn't have the receivers at its disposal to gain the necessary separation in the deeper parts of the field, leaving Herbert dialing up short, anticipatory passes that have, more often than not, failed to connect for this team.
You can't blame these failures entirely on Los Angeles' injury woes, either—although they certainly haven't helped.
Ladd McConkey has been limited virtually from the start of the season with either his rib or foot injury. KeAndre Lambert-Smith went down in Week 1 with a hamstring injury and can not return from the IR until at least next week. Quentin Johnston is officially ruled out of the Week 5 matchup with a chest injury.
At best, the Chargers will be left with two viable receivers against Denver—McConkey and Tre' Harris. Brenen Thompson, who remains out with a quadriceps injury he suffered in Week 2, certainly isn't Los Angeles' biggest concern here.
But even when the offense gets whole again, he's the type of player that could sneakily fill a major need for this unit.
The Chargers need Brenen Thompson (and the rest of their receivers) back at full strength ASAP
If the receiving corps was whole, it's unlikely that Thompson would be playing a major role. After all, we saw him go for just one reception and three targets across his first two weeks in a Chargers uniform.
In an ideal world, this passing game would center around McConkey, Johnston, and Harris. McConkey would be able to serve as Los Angeles' primary underneath, YAC-focused threat out of the slot, while Harris and Johnston would run a variety of routes and continually threaten the defense in the intermediate and deeper parts of the field.
Instead, Herbert has largely struggled to connect with McConkey on those anticipatory throws, and Johnston has had both route-running and catch-point difficulties this season that have neutralized a large portion of the Chargers' deep throwing game. Harris has looked good, but that's simply not enough to keep this offense afloat.
Los Angeles, then, is in desperate need of an extra receiver, in complement to McConkey and Harris, who has the speed and the route-running nuance to help carve out opportunities in the intermediate portions of the field. If Thompson were healthy, he could absolutely be playing that role.
He has the pure speed—having posted a 4.26-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine—to be a constant threat to the defense if McDaniel were willing to use him in that light. But he also clearly has the catch-point abilities, as evidenced by his college production and his limited preseason reps, to function as more than just a speed threat. Having a receiver like him to drag across or send down the field on certain plays could help open up opportunities for McConkey and Harris on in-breaking routes.
It doesn't necessarily need to be Thompson. But the Chargers clearly don't have enough with just McConkey and Harris working for this offense. They need an additional threat, and with Thompson perhaps returning as soon as next week from his quadriceps injury, it's incumbent upon McDaniel to figure out how to utilize him in that role.
While Thompson certainly isn't the savior this offense has been waiting for, his skill set has almost certainly been missed in his absence.
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