By the end of August, the Chargers will face tough roster decisions for the 53-man roster cutdown. Making the proceedings more interesting this year is the NFL’s new 2023 rule: teams will be able to have one round of cuts from 90 to 53 instead of having three specified cutdown dates.
In both of his first two seasons at the helm, Brandon Staley has elected to keep five receivers on the final roster. Traditionally, it’s been four true wide receivers plus a special teams returner. Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Josh Palmer, and Jalen Guyton were the core four wide receivers in 2021 and 2022. K.J. Hill and DeAndre Carter were the two returner receivers that made the final roster in those seasons, respectively. Carter muddies the waters a bit, given the injuries last season and the fact that he had to step up, but the original intention was for him not to be as active in the offense as he was.
Fourth-round selection Derius Davis is expected to step into Carter’s role from last season as the full-time kick returner/punt returner. That itself feels like a pretty seamless transition. But drafting Quentin Johnston in the first round was a shake-up to that aforementioned core four from Staley’s first years.
If the Chargers decided to carry five wide receivers for the upcoming season, Jalen Guyton would be the odd man out in a final Allen-Williams-Johnston-Palmer-Davis depth chart. Given his connection with quarterback Justin Herbert that has been built up over the years and his straight-line deep speed, it’s a hard cut to truly imagine taking place.
Guyton is still rehabbing an ACL injury from the 2022 season, but indications to this point are that he’ll be ready by the time the season kicks off in the fall. An alternative option if he isn’t ready in time for September would be starting the season on the PUP list post-training camp. Until more information comes out about his injury recovery or other guys winning out in camp, it would be a surprise not to see Guyton on the team’s final roster.
Aside from it being unlikely that any of the primary receivers are waived, position group health is another factor to consider. Allen and Williams missed a combined 11 games last season (12, if including Williams’ missed playoff game). A harsh reality for the Chargers is that Allen is 31 and Williams is approaching 30. It doesn’t become easier for wideouts to stay healthy in the NFL as they age.
Most of what went into the decision to draft Johnston and Davis was the long-term view of the franchise. The last time the Chargers selected multiple wide receivers within the first four rounds of the draft was 1996. Contract restructures of Allen and Williams only strengthen the idea that the wide receiver group will look different in 2024. But part of the decision also had to be a short-term view for this season. The Chargers played games last year in which Carter and Palmer were their top two wide receivers when Allen and Williams couldn’t play. If Los Angeles is truly going to contend this year, that type of depth problem couldn’t be allowed to happen again.
Versatility is another reason the Chargers should carry six receivers aside from depth. All of the Chargers’ wide receivers tend to specialize in their specific skill sets. Allen’s finesse route running has always meshed well with Williams’ big body jump ball game. To supplement those guys, Palmer is a little bit of a mix of both in terms of functionality and can step in when asked, considering an injury. Guyton, as mentioned earlier, is the prototypical straight-line speed guy. Johnston adds an insane YAC factor that all of the aforementioned wideouts lack, and Davis could be the fastest player in the league with the ball in his hands. It would make the Chargers ultimately more one-dimensional if they gave up any of these skillsets to keep five wideouts instead of six.
In most of Kellen Moore’s five seasons with Dallas, they kept six receivers partly because they wanted to stay versatile and have guys develop in the background. It would be counterintuitive to cut a player like Guyton or Palmer that allows the team to be multiple and access the deep parts of the field.
Considering the Chargers’ future, current position group health concerns, and the necessities of what the Moore offense will require, rolling six deep at wide receiver makes more sense than the traditional Staley five.
