Chargers News: Justin Herbert's Offensive Options Come Under Fire in ESPN Rankings

Do the Chargers lack playmakers?

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN's Bill Barnwell ranked the Los Angeles Chargers' playmakers as the worst in the league for a fresh, 2024 edition of ranking each team's wide receiver, running back, and tight end talent.

Was he right, though?

It's no secret that the Chargers aren't exactly rolling in skill position talent, especially after parting ways with Austin Ekeler, Mike Williams and Keenan Allen this offseason. The weapons that helped make the Chargers a top-10 offense in three out of the last four seasons have departed the program as a new regime led by head coach Jim Harbaugh takes over.

Currently, the most proven receivers on the Chargers are Joshua Palmer and D.J. Chark. Palmer is still just a fourth-year receiver, while Chark has gone for just 500 yards over the last two seasons. Outside of Palmer and Chark, their receiving talent is second-year receiver Quentin Johnston and rookies Brenden Rice, Ladd McConkey, and Cornelius Johnson.

Outside of wide receiver, the Chargers added in two tight ends in Hayden Hurst and Will Dissly this offseason, but neither has reached the 600-receiving yard mark. Running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards are both good, but Dobbins has an injury past and neither has rushed for 1,000 yards in a season.

It's clear that the Chargers don't belong in the top-20 or top-10 of the playmakers rankings, but do they really deserve last place?

The New England Patriots are ranked 31st, followed by the Denver Broncos at 30th. The Broncos do have a No. 1 receiver in Courtland Sutton, and have been held back by poor quarterback play, but they lack much outside of him. However, the Patriots offense was awful last season, with no skill position player reaching 650 yards. They have a relatively big name in JuJu Smith-Schuster, but he posted just 260 receiving yards in 2023.

With the lack of quality talent on these teams and some of the other bottom-5 teams, the Chargers do not definitively have the worst playmakers in the league. They certainly could make a case for the 28th or 30th best group of playmakers.

Even without stars in the backfield and on the perimeter, the Chargers still could field a strong offense in 2024. They've built a strong offensive line and have a great quarterback in Justin Herbert, which should help improve the run game and play-action pass game. If any of their new skill position players has a breakout year, it could help that production tremendously and move the Chargers forward.

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