Chargers' DeAndre Carter Named Among Top Red Zone Wide Receivers From the 2021 Season

PFF names DeAndre Carter among the top red zone wide receivers from last season.

Nicholas Cothrel | Jul 15, 2022

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Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers signed DeAndre Carter in free agency to a one-year, $1.135 million contract this offseason to primarily serve as the team's deep man on kicks and punts, but he also brings with him a pedigree as a pass-catcher.

Carter will presumably slot in towards the bottom half of the Chargers' wide receiver group, complementing Mike Williams, Keenan Allen, Joshua Palmer, Jalen Guyton and others to configure a formidable crop of pass catchers.

While Carter hauled in just 24 passes last season as a member of the Washington Commanders, he made the most of his opportunities – coming up big when it mattered most – specifically in the red zone.

Pro Football Focus compiled its rankings for the best red zone wide receivers from the 2021 season and Carter cracked the list at the No. 10 spot.

PFF wrote the following of Carter's ranking:

"Carter snuck onto this list with only three red-zone receptions on four targets — both of which rank as the least of the 25 best-graded receivers in the red zone. Because he saw so few targets, he led the group with an average of 14.7 yards per reception. All three of his catches were touchdowns."

Carter held a PFF receiving grade in the red zone of 73.5 in 2021. He finished last season with 24 grabs for 296 yards and three touchdowns, while averaging 8.4 yards per punt return and 25.1 yards on kick returns.

At his introductory press conference back in April, Carter said he had other offers in free agency, but had a strong desire to get in on what the Chargers are building.

Carter also enters his first season with the Chargers with some level of familiarity with Keenan Allen. The two pass-catchers train in the offseason with the same receiver coach in Southern California. Carter said he's been an avid film-watcher of Allen, declaring him the league's best route-runner.

"Every offseason since I’ve been a rookie in the league, I pull up his target tape and watch it all the way through," Carter said in April. "In my opinion, he’s the top route-runner in the league. I’m excited to be able to watch him work on a day-to-day basis. Mike Williams, a big body guy, a jump-ball guy that makes all of the plays. I’m happy for him with the contract that he just got. Justin’s arguably one of the top quarterbacks in the league. Being so young, he has a great future ahead of him. I can’t wait to play with all of them.”

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Nick Cothrel is the publisher of Charger Report. Follow Nick on Twitter @NickCothrel for more Chargers coverage.

Published Jul 15, 2022

NICHOLAS COTHREL

Nick Cothrel is the publisher for Charger Report, covering the Los Angeles Chargers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow Nick on Twitter @NickCothrel.