The Los Angeles Chargers, after shuffling the final pieces, ultimately decided to carry six wide receivers onto the initial 53-man roster in 2026.
As much as it may have seemed like it over the summer, that was never a guarantee. McDaniel's propensity for multiple tight-end sets and for non-traditional personnel groupings often means decreased snaps for the wide receiver room as a whole. He carried less than six receivers in three of his four seasons with the Miami Dolphins, and with Derius Davis looking to defend his role as the team's return man, it wasn't clear whether there would even be a spot for a WR6 on the roster.
But second-year playmaker KeAndre Lambert-Smith ultimately acquitted himself in the preseason, and his fate may very well have been sealed after his four-reception, 58-yard outing against the Houston Texans.
The battle doesn't stop there, though, for the young receiver.
He should, theoretically, be able to expand upon the 12 targets and five receptions he saw last season in Greg Roman's limited passing scheme. But with Brenen Thompson in the mix and Tre' Harris looking to establish himself as a bona fide starter in Los Angeles, it's going to take a lot more than just one solid preseason game for Lambert-Smith to carve out a role in McDaniel's offense.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith needs to do the dirty work in 2026 if he wants to get on the field
The hierarchy within the Chargers' receiving corps is largely set heading into the season. While Ladd McConkey has the versatility to play any of the wide receiver spots, he'll likely operate as the primary cog of the air attack out of the slot. McDaniel wants to take advantage of YAC opportunities in the shorter and intermediate parts of the field, and McConkey has the skill set to be uniquely weaponized in that approach.
Tre' Harris and Quentin Johnston meanwhile, will likely split the bulk of the outside receiver snaps— with Johnston beginning the season as the Chargers' primary X-receiver and Harris being used in a more versatile, slot/outside role.
At a baseline, this leaves both Lambert-Smith and rookie receiver Brenen Thompson without a path to significant snaps in McDaniel's offense.
The good news (for both players) is that McDaniel likes to make use of all of the weapons in his arsenal. Although he focuses his offensive attack on his best playmakers—think Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle in Miami—a rising tide raises all ships, and Thompson and Lambert-Smith will, at the very least, be used sporadically as downfield threats to help stretch the defense vertically.
The problem for Lambert-Smith is that, right now, Thompson has a clearer path to claiming that role. Lambert-Smith took nearly 80% of his snaps in the preseason on the outside, and that's likely where he's best maximized as a pass-catching threat. Thompson has the versatility to play out of the slot— not to mention his blazing speed that has evidently appealed to McDaniel since the pre-draft process.
If Lambert-Smith is going to find his way onto the field more consistently during his sophomore season, he's going to need to follow the path Harris did last season under Roman—block, run his routes with consistency, and perform whatever function McDaniel needs him to within the offense. He doesn't necessarily need to surpass Thompson as a downfield threat, but he certainly hasn't yet proved that he's worth granting consistent snaps to during the regular season.
The potential is there—Lambert-Smith simply needs to command enough offensive attention to be able to start unlocking it in his sophomore season.
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