Joshua Palmer never reached his full potential with the LA Chargers. The 2021 third-round pick had many great moments in the powder blue but he never elevated himself into being the WR1 that Chargers fans thought he could be.
Still, Palmer played well enough during his four years with the Chargers to warrant a serviceable pay day in free agency from the Buffalo Bills. Palmer signed a three-year, $29 million contract with the Bills while the Chargers replaced him with second-round pick Tre' Harris.
There's a lot of excitement around Harris in Los Angeles, but there is even more excitement around Palmer is Buffalo. Palmer has reportedly been a "magnet" for Josh Allen during training camp and already has his new quarterback raving about him to the media.
"His separation with his feet. His body language. His catch radius is one of the best I’ve ever been around"Josh Allen on Joshua Palmer
Josh Allen sounds like Chargers fans of old talking about Joshua Palmer
This all sounds similar to the things that were said about Palmer by Chargers fans (and Justin Herbert, for that matter) while Palmer was still with the Bolts. Year after year the hype around Palmer grew as it looked like he was going to take that next step.
To be fair, Palmer has the skillset to develop into a respected top target in the right kind of offense. He never had a chance to really shine his first three years in the league playing behind Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. Once the wide receiver room was his for the taking, Greg Roman became the offensive coordinator and Ladd McConkey became the top target out of the slot.
There is a flip side to this hype, though. Chargers fans know all too well that Palmer is an excellent practice player and that does not always translate to gamedays. That is not to say he isn't talented, but the best version of Palmer shows up far more on the practice field.
Palmer had several great moments in the powder blue, but he also had moments where he became an afterthought in the Chargers' offense. It did not matter how well Palmer played in practice, this variability was always there.
All that being said, the stars are still aligned for this to be the most productive season of Palmer's career. The Bills' wide receiver room is wide open and Palmer has one of the few quarterbacks in the NFL better than Herbert throwing him passes.
More importantly, he plays in an offense that thrives in the passing game and will lean on it more than the Chargers did last season with Roman calling plays. Buffalo is ripe with opportunity, so this may be the time Palmer finally makes the transition from great practice player to great player, period.