The bye week wasn’t overly kind to the Los Angeles Chargers when it comes to getting healthy. Justin Herbert is going to be without his top two weapons on the outside in wide receivers Mike Williams and Keenan Allen, who have been ruled out with ankle and hamstring injuries, respectively. The Chargers are taking on a surprisingly potent offense in the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9 of the 2022 season, so this game could end up being a bit of a shootout. Who is Justin Herbert going to be throwing the ball to?
Not only will the Chargers be without Allen and Williams, they also placed Donald Parham on injured reserve on Saturday and DeAndre Carter was listed as questionable for the game with an illness, though he’s expected to play. What Justin Herbert and the Chargers need in Week 9 is for Joshua Palmer, a second-year player out of Tennessee, to really establish himself as a potential go-to threat for the duration of the season.
Justin Herbert, Chargers need Joshua Palmer to step up big
Palmer was a third-round pick by the Chargers in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Tennessee. He’s already coming close to matching his rookie season total of 33 receptions with 26 so far here in the 2022 season, but he has just one touchdown and is averaging less than 10 yards per reception despite Keenan Allen only playing two games this season.
In the prolonged absence of Allen, Herbert has relied heavily on running back Austin Ekeler in the passing game. Ekeler leads the Chargers this season in targets with 61, just ahead of Mike Williams’ 59. Gerald Everett has been another go-to threat at times for Herbert but the Chargers really need Palmer to be a more dynamic option and he’s getting thrust into a WR1 role here in Week 9.
Joshua Palmer has played 75%+ of snaps in 3 games and averaged 9.7 targets and 14.5 fantasy points.
— Dave Kluge (@DaveKluge) November 3, 2022
With Keenan Allen and Mike Williams presumed to be out, Palmer will assume WR1 duties.
The Falcons are giving up the most fantasy points to opposing WRs.
Absolute smash play.
Palmer will almost have no choice but to have a big game against Atlanta. Targets are going to be coming his way and Justin Herbert can’t simply be dumping the ball off to Austin Ekeler every down, hoping the offense will open up throughout the game. Palmer and the Chargers’ motley crew of receivers for this particular game will be going up against a Falcons secondary that doesn’t include AJ Terrell, so it’s game on.
The Falcons rank 32nd in the NFL this season in passing yards allowed, so the writing is on the wall for this one. Joshua Palmer needs to become a star for Justin Herbert and establish himself as a true threat going forward this season. Herbert needs to know that he can rely on Palmer not only in a pinch, but always. Up to this point, it’s safe to say that Palmer has been a relative disappointment given the increased reps he’s gotten with Keenan Allen out.
Against the Falcons, he’ll have no choice but to step up and give Herbert a go-to target on the outside. Against the Broncos on Monday Night Football, Palmer had himself 12 targets and nine receptions, but only for 57 yards. We’ll see how big of a game he can have on Sunday and what it could mean for the Chargers offense moving forward as players get healthy.