The Los Angeles Chargers have had a rough go of things early in the 2026 NFL season, and the schedule has no sign of letting up any time soon. With a pair of divisional matchups on the horizon, the Chargers could be winless coming out of the bye Week. They have officially entered the hardest part of the season and are floundering.
There is a lot of finger-pointing going on through four weeks. The media is blaming offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel for not calling a functional offense. Others are looking to head coach Jim Harbaugh or quarterback Justin Herbert for not doing their respective jobs better than they have up to this point in the season.
While there are no changes as of yet, the Chargers need to not overreact to the slow start. One thing is crystal clear for the fans watching the games: Los Angeles does not have a true top option in the passing attack. Here is exactly how the Chargers should address the position.
How to find the missing piece at wide receiver in L.A.
While Ladd McConkey is dealing with injuries early on this season, it is fairly clear that he is not developing into the top option that the Los Angeles Chargers hoped he would be after a great rookie campaign, in which he set the rookie receptions (82) and receiving yards (1,149) records. That is evidenced by two measures from the front office. The first one is that the Chargers brought back a relic of the past, Keenan Allen, in 2025, to pair alongside McConkey. The damning part is that Allen outperformed the then second-year player in every volume category.
Last year, Allen had 16 more targets and 15 more catches than McConkey did. Essentially, McConkey was relegated to a secondary option at wide receiver after breaking all-time rookie records for the franchise. In year three, the spark has yet to return, despite once again being the top option for Herbert.
The second measure looks at what the Chargers’ front office never stopped doing for the team. Every year from the 2023 campaign until 2025, Los Angeles has selected at least a pair of wide receivers during the NFL Draft. Any guesses on which year the Chargers selected a trio of pass catchers?
If you said McConkey’s 2024 class, you would be correct. This, once again, symbolizes that the team did not, and still does not, trust the former second-round draft selection to be the top option in the passing attack. Ironically enough, the Chargers are looking in the right spot to fix that issue.
The team does not need to overreact to the poor start to the season and trade for Marvin Harrison, who is expected to be on the move soon. Los Angeles does not need to overreact at all. They need to stay the course.
Every year since 2023, the Chargers have taken at least one wide receiver in the draft. If they continue at the pace they are going, Los Angeles is going to have a spectacular draft pick. That would put them in position to take one of, if not the best, pass-catching prospects that have come into the league in years.
Of course, that would be Jeremiah Smith. The Ohio State University wide receiver has broken, or is on pace to break, most school records this year before leaving to become a professional football player. The Chargers could bring Smith in during the draft and finally have its top wide receiver figured out.
McConkey is still a good receiver and would be a tremendous complement to Smith as a secondary option for the Chargers. However, all of this depends on Los Angeles not overreacting to the bad start to the season and staying the course with where the team is at. If the Chargers can do that, this setup in the pass-catching room can become a reality in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Add us as a preferred source on Google