Amid all the talk this offseason that the Chargers needed to upgrade their wide receiver room, the Bolts made a calculated decision.
It essentially involved betting on themselves.
By wagering on the people already in the building — specifically Quentin Johnston, for whom they picked up his fifth-year option — and their scouting department, which plucked Brenen Thompson out of Mississippi State in the fourth round of the NFL draft, they sent a decisive message that everything they needed was within their walls.
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In particular, Johnston, Ladd McConkey, and Tre’ Harris.
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh doubled down on that bet Tuesday on the first day of his club’s three-day mandatory minicamp.
“We have three elite receivers,” Harbaugh said boldly.
In fact, Harbaugh predicted Johnston would break out this season.
“I think he can have a career year,” Harbaugh said. “He’s been aces all offseason.”
Johnston has yet to exceed 55 catches or 735 yards in a single season over his first three years, but between the club’s decision to pick up his fifth-year option and Harbaugh’s lofty praise, he feels he’s set up for a major step forward.
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“It adds a lot of confidence,” said Johnston, who feels the validation the club gave him has created a sense of freedom to take his game to a new level.
Quentin Johnston finished last season with 51 catches for 735 yards and a team-high 8 touchdowns. Getty Images
At the risk of saying it, Harbaugh better hope that is truly the case.
Aside from the Chargers’ offensive line, no positional group is under more of a microscope than the wide receivers, who now need to reward their coach’s conviction with the type of difference-making production that can lift a good Chargers offense into an elite one.
From Week 1 right on into the playoffs and beyond.
And in that regard, the wide receivers are on the same page as their coach. Because their expectations for themselves and the Chargers are every bit as lofty as his.
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“I think the end goal is we want to win the Super Bowl,” said McConkey, who is dealing with a hamstring injury and will be limited during minicamp.
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Two straight appearances in the postseason and two consecutive one-and-dones are simply not acceptable.
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The Chargers aren’t just striving for more; they are nearly mandating it from themselves.
It’s a notion that McConkey wholeheartedly signed off on Wednesday.
“We got to the playoffs, whatever. We’ve got those little patches on jerseys. Nobody’s content with that now. Let’s go win games. Let’s go set ourselves up in the playoffs and make the run and win the Super Bowl. I think it’s as simple as that.”
Ladd McConkey finished last season with 66 catches for a team-high 789 yards and six touchdowns. Getty Images
To do so, the wide receivers need to play their part.
They could get a gigantic push forward from new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, whose track record of offensive success, and specifically in cooking up ways to get wide receivers the ball on time, in a hurry, and in position to rip apart opposing defenses with yards after the catch, seems like a perfect fit for the speed and playmaking ability of McConkey, Johnston, and Harris.
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McConkey and Johnston both mentioned how their imagination is running wild watching tape of past McDaniel-coached teams, envisioning themselves as the recipients of well-timed throws from Justin Herbert designed to get them at full throttle as soon as possible.
It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out how many more yards athletic weapons like McConkey and Johnston can produce simply by getting the ball in stride and in space in a McDaniel offense.
Hence, no one is about to cap their production this year.
Least of all McConkey, whose numbers fell from the 1,149 yards he produced his rookie season to 789 last year. Injuries were a factor, as was the Chargers’ inability to protect Herbert.
As a rookie last season, Tre Harris finished with 30 catches for 324 yards and one touchdown. Getty Images
However, the scheme the Chargers played, and frankly, the wide receivers themselves, also contributed to the club’s offense falling from 11th in the NFL in scoring in 2024 (23.6 points per game) to 21.6 ppg last year, which ranked 20th in the league.
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Unless the Chargers reverse that course, they will be stuck in the mud again.
“I think everyone wants to elevate their game,” McConkey said. “I thought we did some good things last year. But I think everybody wants to blow all that out of the water this year. Like, screw the numbers we had in the past. Screw the touchdowns. Let’s take those expectations and blow the roof of it.”
The Chargers can afford nothing less.
