NFL Rumors: Chargers to lose out on Tyler Boyd to the Titans (and it is a good thing)

The LA Chargers drafted three wide receivers in the 2024 NFL Draft and there is still room for more. With the Bolts having salary-cap space to spend there being several notable free-agent wide receivers, general manager Joe Hortiz is exploring the market in the search for an upgrade that can help the team's depth.

The receiver who has been tied the most to the Chargers after the draft was Tyler Boyd. There was previously reported interest in Boyd before the draft which led the team to meet with Boyd on Wednesday.

However, that interest didn't ultimately amount to anything as Boyd is reported to have signed with the other team he met with, the Tennessee Titans. If made official, the Chargers have to go back to the drawing board if the team wants to continue to bolster the wide receiver room.

And quite frankly, that might be a good thing.

Tyler Boyd was never a great fit on the Chargers

As talented as Boyd is, it would not have been a great fit for him on the Chargers and perhaps the two sides realized that after meeting. There are better fits on the free-agent market for the Chargers, even if they might be less talented than Boyd overall.

Boyd is essentially a slot-only receiver. He played 76.7% of his snaps in the slot last season, which was the second most in the entire league. Even when he is not in the slot, Boyd can only really play the Z receiver, not the X (who is lined up out wide). With the current roster construction in LA, that would not have worked.

The Chargers really only have one viable receiver who can play the X in 2024 and it is Joshua Palmer. Quentin Johnston played the X last season but he is much better suited to play the Z or in the slot. The Chargers need to put Johnston in positions to succeed after his rookie season and we all saw how bad it looked at the X for him in 2023.

While Ladd McConkey can play outside, he likely will be limited to the slot and the Z in his rookie season because of size reasons. That is not to say that he won't play the X at all but that definitely is not the best use of his skillset.

Outside of that top three, the only other receiver who could theoretically play the X is rookie Brenden Rice, who was drafted in the seventh round. Sure, it was great value for the Chargers as many projected Rice to go in the third or fourth, but relying on a seventh-round receiver to be the only other X option is a risk.

Signing someone to only play the slot would have created a jumbled mess. It would have been even worse if Palmer were to get hurt, which has been a somewhat common trend for him thus far in his NFL career.

The Chargers may have missed out on the most talented receiver on the market but it is not the team's loss. It was better for all parties for Boyd to sign with the Titans.