WR Ladd McConkey, LAC (1 Viewer)

[King of the Jungle]

Not willing to die on many hills, but will with Ladd. Unless hurt, I stand by him getting back on track. Too good to disappear all year.

 

[elmanx]

Not willing to die on many hills, but will with Ladd. Unless hurt, I stand by him getting back on track. Too good to disappear all year.

He probably pops off for 3 TDs after everyone has benched him and then goes back to single digit scoring for most of the rest.

 

[Ilov80s]

Deeply regretting him in the league I didn't take him

 

[The Frankman]

Ladd McConkey caught 1-of-6 targets for 11 yards in the Chargers’ Week 4 loss to the Giants.

The good news is, by definition it can’t get any worse unless McConkey somehow goes catch-less in Week 5 against the Commanders. We suppose it can’t be ruled out after McConkey’s receptions fell for the third straight game this afternoon. Yet to spike a week, McConkey is currently a decisive third behind Keenan Allen and Quentin Johnston in the Bolts’ targets pecking order. Today was particularly disappointing since the Chargers never led and attempted 41 passes. It’s getting harder and harder to write off McConkey’s slow start as a fluke even if we know he is going to spike a week at some point. He should be considered a low-floor WR3 for next week’s Commanders home date.
- Rotoworld

I said it in the game thread; people vastly underestimated Keenan Allen's ability in this offense. Him not actually being cooked was huge; remember, he was Herbert's favorite target before Ladd was. Also, Quentin Johnson not actually being a bust and playing like a legit threat means Ladd has a lot more competition for targets; that's not factoring in the poor O-line not allowing him to go through progressions OR the presence of Hampton and the TEs (Conklin/Gadsen II).

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Not willing to die on many hills, but will with Ladd. Unless hurt, I stand by him getting back on track. Too good to disappear all year.

I agree with this as well. It is a long season, the talent is there, injuries will almost assuredly occur, and he will be a factor this season. That being said, he is going to the bench until further notice.

 

[kface]

I have both Ladd and QJ on my team and have started Ladd every week...there is a reason for my poor start

 

[irish eyes]

What a scary regression. Can't even consider starting him now.

 

[TVT 0 N S T A]

Thin at WR already... if Ladd pops for a 3 TD game, he will hit the trade block so fast.

I do not see him being the target goblin he was at the end of last year, while Keenan Allen is healthy.

 

[Tau837]

I have both Ladd and QJ on my team and have started Ladd every week...there is a reason for my poor start

Same here. Today was the first time I started Johnston, but I also started Ladd. I am going to feel very tempted to bench him next week.

 

[KellysHeroes]

that drop was as bad as MHJr's but atleast Harrison awarded with a good 2nd half. Ladd looks bad and Herbert isn't forcing it like Murray

 

[rockaction]

Always interesting to hear how people manage their teams and to get a gauge of their psychology (to whatever degree you can divine anything from how one reacts to FF) and to see how they handle this particular adversity in their season. I’d like to give my own brief thoughts about both redraft and winning this year and dynasty futures. Fantasy seasons are essentially fourteen weeks, a few of which begin the scramble plans for the end of the year.

Almost a third of our year is over. Byes in the wild card round of your playoffs (the standard two-team byes in a twelve-team league where six teams make the playoffs increase your chaces of winning a title by 100% when compared to the teams that do not if they are all equal. But the first-place teams are actually benefitting more than that. That is . . . stunning. I don’t think you can afford to wait out the games it takes everybody to develop into a new offense. He’s obviously had issues with how to handle the physicality of the NFL. He had started to do the Lockett slide a bit, but he abandoned it. Somebody in the organization should have pulled him aside and mentioned that they saw it and they had been worried about his health also and then said to him, “Right on! Do what you need to do.”

That drop today was so obviously hearing footsteps that weren’t even close to him in the slot. Ugly.

Which leads me to this, and I’ve said it in other threads. Top ten dynasty assets should look like top ten dynasty assets at their position for football. The coaches might be open-minded as all get-out, but we forget sometimes the ideal size for a position is due to what is required of the person playing the position. 5’11”, 185 lbs. was never the ideal size for a receiver and I really wished I’d shopped him harder last year for the running back I lack that would have been ideally sized.

I’m wouldn’t see fit to waiting for this guy to sink my team, but I kind of have to. He’s not going for much and the replacement options at this point in the year can be found in the dictionary under “slim.”

eta* I just ran a ChatGPT question on whether there were studies done about the likelihood of the bye teams winning titles because of team strength and the guaranteed win against another presumably strong team and I can reprint upon request. It is staggering, but it does not isolate the point I want to make about how beneficial a bye is regardless of team strength.

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Always interesting to hear how people manage their teams and to get a gauge of their psychology (to whatever degree you can divine anything from how one reacts to FF) and to see how they handle this particular adversity in their season. I’d like to give my own brief thoughts about both redraft and winning this year and dynasty futures. Fantasy seasons are essentially fourteen weeks, a few of which begin the scramble plans for the end of the year.

Almost a third of our year is over. Byes increase your chances of winning a championship by over ten percent and close to fifteen percent. That is . . . stunning. I don’t think you can afford to wait out the games it takes everybody to develop into a new offense. He’s obviously had issues with how to handle the physicality of the NFL. He had started to do the Lockett slide a bit, but he abandoned it. Somebody in the organization should have pulled him aside and mentioned that they saw it and they had been worried about his health also and then said to him, “Right on! Do what you need to do.”

That drop today was so obviously hearing footsteps that weren’t even close to him in the slot. Ugly.

Which leads me to this, and I’ve said it in other threads. Top ten dynasty assets should look like top ten dynasty assets at their position for football. The coaches might be open-minded as all get-out, but we forget sometimes the ideal size for a position is due to what is required of the person playing the position. 5’11”, 185 lbs. was never the ideal size for a receiver and I really wished I’d shopped him harder last year for the running back I lack that would have been ideally sized.

I’m wouldn’t see fit to waiting for this guy to sink my team, but I kind of have to. He’s not going for much and the replacement options at this point in the year can be found in the dictionary under “slim.”

I think you are writing him off too early. I hear what you are saying about him not being the "ideal size", but he is really not that much smaller than JJ, Reek, Chase, Nabers, JSN, etc. I can see a point this year where he is a significant contributor on my fantasy team. Keenan Allen is not exactly Lou Gehrig when is comes to durability, and he is over 33 years old, and he is standing between Ladd and 5-7 additional targets/game.

Let's revisit this at the end of October and see where we are at. You might end up being right, and he could be a complete bust. I just saw too much last year that makes me think he has lost it.

 

[rockaction]

Always interesting to hear how people manage their teams and to get a gauge of their psychology (to whatever degree you can divine anything from how one reacts to FF) and to see how they handle this particular adversity in their season. I’d like to give my own brief thoughts about both redraft and winning this year and dynasty futures. Fantasy seasons are essentially fourteen weeks, a few of which begin the scramble plans for the end of the year.

Almost a third of our year is over. Byes increase your chances of winning a championship by over ten percent and close to fifteen percent. That is . . . stunning. I don’t think you can afford to wait out the games it takes everybody to develop into a new offense. He’s obviously had issues with how to handle the physicality of the NFL. He had started to do the Lockett slide a bit, but he abandoned it. Somebody in the organization should have pulled him aside and mentioned that they saw it and they had been worried about his health also and then said to him, “Right on! Do what you need to do.”

That drop today was so obviously hearing footsteps that weren’t even close to him in the slot. Ugly.

Which leads me to this, and I’ve said it in other threads. Top ten dynasty assets should look like top ten dynasty assets at their position for football. The coaches might be open-minded as all get-out, but we forget sometimes the ideal size for a position is due to what is required of the person playing the position. 5’11”, 185 lbs. was never the ideal size for a receiver and I really wished I’d shopped him harder last year for the running back I lack that would have been ideally sized.

I’m wouldn’t see fit to waiting for this guy to sink my team, but I kind of have to. He’s not going for much and the replacement options at this point in the year can be found in the dictionary under “slim.”

I think you are writing him off too early. I hear what you are saying about him not being the "ideal size", but he is really not that much smaller than JJ, Reek, Chase, Nabers, JSN, etc. I can see a point this year where he is a significant contributor on my fantasy team. Keenan Allen is not exactly Lou Gehrig when is comes to durability, and he is over 33 years old, and he is standing between Ladd and 5-7 additional targets/game.

Let's revisit this at the end of October and see where we are at. You might end up being right, and he could be a complete bust. I just saw too much last year that makes me think he has lost it.

Heh. That's not exactly what I’m saying and it’s hard to cover every nuance in the argument. I’m not writing him off and the lack of size has to do with his injuries and long-term viability as a #1 or a huge target draw. It’s not me saying he’s not good. He is ESPN’s #4 or #5 overall receiver in their newfangled analytical receiving metric based on separation rating, catch rating, and yards after catch and speed and balance rating.

I would not trade him for anything more than a 1/4 to maybe a 1/2 (doubt it) round rookie draft pick value. For instance, he was worth the 1.2 this June or so and he is now an “Early 2026 1st.” But then there is what they are considering a weaker clas and also that at one point he was a little more valued than the 1.02. It would all go into my thought process. Given all that, how I’d treat him as starting or not depends on alternatives and ceilings, floors, and variance. But I would not let him ruin my year with continued scores under 7. He has now gone 13.40, 9.80, 8.60, 2.10.

One is decent, one maybe passable, one pretty weakly and borderline not passable, and one was just bad.

 

[Judge Smails]

I’d still be buying. Keenan will get injured and Ladd gets open at will

 

[rockaction]

I’d still be buying. Keenan will get injured and Ladd gets open at will

Sounds suspiciously and almost definitively like a guy one calls a "handcuff" rather than a guy you take in the early second round of a redraft league.

 

[rockaction]

I actually don't think you could take McConkey and make the case against him any better than that, actually.

Imagine lobbying a co-manager to take a guy with the 25th-30th or so overall pick and saying, "Yeah, he will throw you up about 8.5 PPR points a game, but wait until his teammate that plays his position and throws up 16.3 PPR/Game right next to him crumbles from injury. Then our guy will pull a smooth 12.4 PPG average because he gets so open! Bonanza!”

Wow. If you look at Ladd’s last season as optimistically as one can, one realizes he averaged 12.43 PPR points/game over his last nine regular season games.

You could be excused for noticing his playoff games, but I personally skip them because I learned during the vicious Gabriel Davis wars of ‘22 that you chalk up playoff usage to circumstance and as a function of the situation that existed then and no longer applies.

Ladd!s situation reminds me of the limitations of being barely 6’0” and 185 lbs. On the same team with the same coaches (yes they are throwing more but it’s with the same QB) I just noticed QJ averages 19.9 PPG (WR4) and Keenan averages 16.3 (WR10). Ladd is wide open and uncovered to the tune of 8.4 PPG, good for WR54 and tied with Cedric Tillman of Cleveland.

Oof.

 

[rockaction]

Damn. I really do not like what I just typed. That looks terrible.

I do not think people really broke down his year last year while maybe looking at and forecasting things for the upcoming one (this one now) en toto enough. It’s forgivable, but sometimes the end result of a thing isn’t by chance—it’s picking up obvious inputs we are ignoring, like a small guy not getting targets in the red zone when there are five other receiving options on the field who are at least 6’2”, and the two main ones are 6’2” and 6’3”, respectively. In addition we missed and did not foresee a new, potentially dynamic move TE with preternatural receiving ability who is 6’5”. Oh, and the RB is 6’0”.

I mean, it’s clubbing us over the head right now. Today. I’d adjust priors a bit.

 

[the moops]

I think you gotta hold unless you are super desperate. Nobody is going to give you squat for him though, IMO.

Just gotta do what I did and make a last minute decision to bench him for Pickens

 

[jobarules]

Guy rejected ETN for him and then started him over Pickens. Karma

 

[habsfan]

I clearly underestimated what Allen had/has left based on Chicago. I expected something akin to late stage DHop - the "situational specialist" vulturing a few TDs and a critical chain-moving catch now and then.

People taking comfort in the fact Ladd is getting open is more worrisome to me than comforting. He's a third read at best and if he wants to climb that ladder, he's going to have to figure out how to do that himself - and "get open" isn't the answer.

 

[pinkstapler]

For this season, sure it stinks with Ladd. I also don't think it's a coincidence his worst game in a year+ was also Herberts worst game in a long time. Barely over 200 yards, two picks, and looked off most of the game. Really they should have been handing it off to Hampton more considering how he was running.

For dynasty, the fact Ladd's getting open at will is more than enough for me. He's tied to a good young QB. Keenan Allen is 33 years old and performing miracles. The devil is going to be cashing in on his deal for his soul sooner than later lol. I'd be buying everywhere that's discounting Ladd. He's 23 and put up one of the best rookie seasons for a WR ever last year. And if you think that was just purely based on volume and not also his talent... I don't know what to tell you other than maybe you need to go rewatch some of his games from last year. I'll be interested to see one of the tape grinders analysis of the past few weeks. Obviously QJ is playing better than he has in his entire career. Would be nice to see if someone with better eyes and much more free time than me is charting how the defenses are playing the Chargers so far. I can't say they are doubling and bracketing Ladd every week leaving QJ as the "if they have to beat us make them beat us with him (or the 33 year old)" guy, but it wouldn't surprise me either. I'm sure Harmon will include it in one of his mid season analysis articles sooner or later. Will be telling.

The panic is wild though IMO. I get it, I drafted some combo of Nabers/Ladd/BTJ/London in just about every redraft league I'm in this year. It's horrendous lol. But Ladd is still a top talent WR in the league and talent wins out. Where are all the Jeanty and Hampton deniers this week? Unless you are walking into the playoffs and can turn some Ladd trade into a championship, I think you'd be crazy to even consider selling this guy. His talent on tape last year was neck and neck with Nabers, and better than every other rookie IMO. I'd bet just about any sum it wasn't some fluke.

I think the worst case outcome is QJ is having a legit third year breakout and this is the new norm for him, Harbaugh cuts down majorly on the passing, and the team philosophy moving forward for the next few years is an Eagles-esque offense with QJ and Ladd being the Brown and Smith sharing a smaller share of targets in a heavy run offense that is typically playing from ahead on the back of a great defense. And even if QJ was the WR1A ahead of Ladd, it would still leave him as a low end WR2. Less than he's valued now? Yeah, by about 8 spots lol.

It's been 4 weeks, of the 20 total he's played (if we also ignore the non-fantasy relevant playoff games). Shouldn't completely ignore them, but also shouldn't suddenly weigh the most recent 20% of data that much heavier than the 80% we just got last year from his rookie season in the NFL. Especially when the most obvious impact is 33 year old we thought was pretty much dead is gobbling up 9 targets a week. I don't think we have to weigh that into what Ladd will be doing for us in dynasty two years from now.

 

[mjb03003]

I do like Ladd as a buy low in theory but I get the feeling most Ladd owners are putting on a brave face and valuing him as a top 12-15 dynasty WR despite how the season has started. He may be cheaper than before the season but is he cheap enough that he’s still an obvious buy?

Consider for a moment that Quentin Johnston might still be *significantly* cheaper to acquire despite being only a few months older and absolutely dominating targets/receptions/touchdowns in that passing offense from week 1. It doesn’t look like a fluky thing, so how comfortable are you buying Ladd at a cost where he pretty much has to be the WR1 in that offense to deliver any ROI?

 

[pinkstapler]

I do like Ladd as a buy low in theory but I get the feeling most Ladd owners are putting on a brave face and valuing him as a top 12-15 dynasty WR despite how the season has started. He may be cheaper than before the season but is he cheap enough that he’s still an obvious buy?

Consider for a moment that Quentin Johnston might still be *significantly* cheaper to acquire despite being only a few months older and absolutely dominating targets/receptions/touchdowns in that passing offense from week 1. It doesn’t look like a fluky thing, so how comfortable are you buying Ladd at a cost where he pretty much has to be the WR1 in that offense to deliver any ROI?

Yeah like I said, I'd be buying him if he was getting discounted. I had him around WR15 coming into this year in dynasty. So obviously taking the last four weeks into consideration, I wouldn't be jumping out of my chair to buy him as the WR15, and def not higher than that. Feels like an obvious (and for this year so far, a begrudging lol) hold.

Better context and putting some actual numbers to it; I'd pay a 2026 late 1st for him right now. Obviously I would need to know I'm making the playoffs and feel I have a good shot to win. This is also based partly on me being down on the 2026 class. If they countered with a 2027 1st, I'd pass at that price. Less of a guarantee my pick would be late projecting out an extra year, and also I'd imagine better than what I think the 2026 rookie class will be on the whole.

 

[KellysHeroes]

I do like Ladd as a buy low in theory but I get the feeling most Ladd owners are putting on a brave face and valuing him as a top 12-15 dynasty WR despite how the season has started. He may be cheaper than before the season but is he cheap enough that he’s still an obvious buy?

Consider for a moment that Quentin Johnston might still be *significantly* cheaper to acquire despite being only a few months older and absolutely dominating targets/receptions/touchdowns in that passing offense from week 1. It doesn’t look like a fluky thing, so how comfortable are you buying Ladd at a cost where he pretty much has to be the WR1 in that offense to deliver any ROI?

QJ is the top target, that was clear yesterday's Giants game. Everytime Herbert was stressed he looked for QJ... and Ladd couldn't catch a cold leading me to believe he's lost hos QB's trust.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

On pace for 64/700 yds and ZERO Touchdowns
Mid 2nd Rd pick in many Redraft leagues

He's a Bust in 2025 thus far

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Always interesting to hear how people manage their teams and to get a gauge of their psychology (to whatever degree you can divine anything from how one reacts to FF) and to see how they handle this particular adversity in their season. I’d like to give my own brief thoughts about both redraft and winning this year and dynasty futures. Fantasy seasons are essentially fourteen weeks, a few of which begin the scramble plans for the end of the year.

Almost a third of our year is over. Byes increase your chances of winning a championship by over ten percent and close to fifteen percent. That is . . . stunning. I don’t think you can afford to wait out the games it takes everybody to develop into a new offense. He’s obviously had issues with how to handle the physicality of the NFL. He had started to do the Lockett slide a bit, but he abandoned it. Somebody in the organization should have pulled him aside and mentioned that they saw it and they had been worried about his health also and then said to him, “Right on! Do what you need to do.”

That drop today was so obviously hearing footsteps that weren’t even close to him in the slot. Ugly.

Which leads me to this, and I’ve said it in other threads. Top ten dynasty assets should look like top ten dynasty assets at their position for football. The coaches might be open-minded as all get-out, but we forget sometimes the ideal size for a position is due to what is required of the person playing the position. 5’11”, 185 lbs. was never the ideal size for a receiver and I really wished I’d shopped him harder last year for the running back I lack that would have been ideally sized.

I’m wouldn’t see fit to waiting for this guy to sink my team, but I kind of have to. He’s not going for much and the replacement options at this point in the year can be found in the dictionary under “slim.”

I think you are writing him off too early. I hear what you are saying about him not being the "ideal size", but he is really not that much smaller than JJ, Reek, Chase, Nabers, JSN, etc. I can see a point this year where he is a significant contributor on my fantasy team. Keenan Allen is not exactly Lou Gehrig when is comes to durability, and he is over 33 years old, and he is standing between Ladd and 5-7 additional targets/game.

Let's revisit this at the end of October and see where we are at. You might end up being right, and he could be a complete bust. I just saw too much last year that makes me think he has lost it.

Heh. That's not exactly what I’m saying and it’s hard to cover every nuance in the argument. I’m not writing him off and the lack of size has to do with his injuries and long-term viability as a #1 or a huge target draw. It’s not me saying he’s not good. He is ESPN’s #4 or #5 overall receiver in their newfangled analytical receiving metric based on separation rating, catch rating, and yards after catch and speed and balance rating.

I would not trade him for anything more than a 1/4 to maybe a 1/2 (doubt it) round rookie draft pick value. For instance, he was worth the 1.2 this June or so and he is now an “Early 2026 1st.” But then there is what they are considering a weaker clas and also that at one point he was a little more valued than the 1.02. It would all go into my thought process. Given all that, how I’d treat him as starting or not depends on alternatives and ceilings, floors, and variance. But I would not let him ruin my year with continued scores under 7. He has now gone 13.40, 9.80, 8.60, 2.10.

One is decent, one maybe passable, one pretty weakly and borderline not passable, and one was just bad.

I do not think he is more injury prone than any other football player. I think it is only a matter of time before he breaks out in a huge way. I would be targeting him if I did not own him already.

 

[TheDirtyWord]

I do like Ladd as a buy low in theory but I get the feeling most Ladd owners are putting on a brave face and valuing him as a top 12-15 dynasty WR despite how the season has started. He may be cheaper than before the season but is he cheap enough that he’s still an obvious buy?

Consider for a moment that Quentin Johnston might still be *significantly* cheaper to acquire despite being only a few months older and absolutely dominating targets/receptions/touchdowns in that passing offense from week 1. It doesn’t look like a fluky thing, so how comfortable are you buying Ladd at a cost where he pretty much has to be the WR1 in that offense to deliver any ROI?

QJ is the top target, that was clear yesterday's Giants game. Everytime Herbert was stressed he looked for QJ... and Ladd couldn't catch a cold leading me to believe he's lost hos QB's trust.

Certainly Ladd's start has been disappointing, but the guy didn't forget how to run routes, be shifty or catch the ball (yes, I know)...

With QJ now having week-to-week credibility that defenses are now having to account for...I think LAC can start varying up routes based on defensive tendencies. Sure, as Ladd owner...he's been disappointing but WR is a high variance position. He'll get on track.

 

[irish eyes]

Redraft teams paying a heavy heavy price for drafting him. He has all but killed teams for this year, mine included.

 

[the moops]

On pace for 64/700 yds and ZERO Touchdowns
Mid 2nd Rd pick in many Redraft leagues

He's a Bust in 2025 thus far

Yes we know this

 

[Mitchie]

looking forward to his breakout game next week on my bench.

 

[kyoun1e]

Guess it was a good idea to not trade G. Pickens for Ladd.

 

[pinkstapler]

Always interesting to hear how people manage their teams and to get a gauge of their psychology (to whatever degree you can divine anything from how one reacts to FF) and to see how they handle this particular adversity in their season. I’d like to give my own brief thoughts about both redraft and winning this year and dynasty futures. Fantasy seasons are essentially fourteen weeks, a few of which begin the scramble plans for the end of the year.

Almost a third of our year is over. Byes increase your chances of winning a championship by over ten percent and close to fifteen percent. That is . . . stunning. I don’t think you can afford to wait out the games it takes everybody to develop into a new offense. He’s obviously had issues with how to handle the physicality of the NFL. He had started to do the Lockett slide a bit, but he abandoned it. Somebody in the organization should have pulled him aside and mentioned that they saw it and they had been worried about his health also and then said to him, “Right on! Do what you need to do.”

That drop today was so obviously hearing footsteps that weren’t even close to him in the slot. Ugly.

Which leads me to this, and I’ve said it in other threads. Top ten dynasty assets should look like top ten dynasty assets at their position for football. The coaches might be open-minded as all get-out, but we forget sometimes the ideal size for a position is due to what is required of the person playing the position. 5’11”, 185 lbs. was never the ideal size for a receiver and I really wished I’d shopped him harder last year for the running back I lack that would have been ideally sized.

I’m wouldn’t see fit to waiting for this guy to sink my team, but I kind of have to. He’s not going for much and the replacement options at this point in the year can be found in the dictionary under “slim.”

I think you are writing him off too early. I hear what you are saying about him not being the "ideal size", but he is really not that much smaller than JJ, Reek, Chase, Nabers, JSN, etc. I can see a point this year where he is a significant contributor on my fantasy team. Keenan Allen is not exactly Lou Gehrig when is comes to durability, and he is over 33 years old, and he is standing between Ladd and 5-7 additional targets/game.

Let's revisit this at the end of October and see where we are at. You might end up being right, and he could be a complete bust. I just saw too much last year that makes me think he has lost it.

Heh. That's not exactly what I’m saying and it’s hard to cover every nuance in the argument. I’m not writing him off and the lack of size has to do with his injuries and long-term viability as a #1 or a huge target draw. It’s not me saying he’s not good. He is ESPN’s #4 or #5 overall receiver in their newfangled analytical receiving metric based on separation rating, catch rating, and yards after catch and speed and balance rating.

I would not trade him for anything more than a 1/4 to maybe a 1/2 (doubt it) round rookie draft pick value. For instance, he was worth the 1.2 this June or so and he is now an “Early 2026 1st.” But then there is what they are considering a weaker clas and also that at one point he was a little more valued than the 1.02. It would all go into my thought process. Given all that, how I’d treat him as starting or not depends on alternatives and ceilings, floors, and variance. But I would not let him ruin my year with continued scores under 7. He has now gone 13.40, 9.80, 8.60, 2.10.

One is decent, one maybe passable, one pretty weakly and borderline not passable, and one was just bad.

I do not think he is more injury prone than any other football player. I think it is only a matter of time before he breaks out in a huge way. I would be targeting him if I did not own him already.

Agree with this. And even with QJ's breakout; I don't buy the Ladd is unreliable/lost QB trust angle. He had a horrid week this week going 1 for 6. Even including that, four weeks in he's at a 59% catch rate, QJ is at.... a 59% catch rate. Prior to this week he was at a 71% catch rate, QJ was at a.... 58% catch rate. Looking back to last season Ladd was at a 73% catch rate, QJ was at a..... 60% catch rate. I sense a trend....

Ladd will be better this season than he was this week. And Keenan Allen is getting a lot of the safety blanket throws Ladd received last season. And why not; he's playing at a very high level, he knows this offense/system well, played with Herbert for 4 previous years of experience, and (speculation) he's been getting the least amount of defensive attention. I don't think any of their opponents to this point have been strategizing how to keep KA from beating them in their prep work. With QJ lighting it up, this will probably stay the case for Allen too pending health. Just not even on my radar for Ladd in dynasty though.

 

[steelcityman]

After yesterday, maybe they should look to Ladd again. Not much has changed for him compared to last season at this point, it wasnt until around week 8 he got going. By then, who knows what the LAC WR group will look like. I only have him in dynasty, so I am ok for now, unless someone offers something good....

 

[jobarules]

After yesterday, maybe they should look to Ladd again. Not much has changed for him compared to last season at this point, it wasnt until around week 8 he got going. By then, who knows what the LAC WR group will look like. I only have him in dynasty, so I am ok for now, unless someone offers something good....

Not much has changed? Really?

QJ looks like a stud
They got Herberts boy Allen back
Their oline is in shambles
They have a stud workhorse rb

 

[FarFromHome]

I was out at the start of year. I'm really out now. Always just felt he could be a really good possession wr. Imo

 

[steelcityman]

After yesterday, maybe they should look to Ladd again. Not much has changed for him compared to last season at this point, it wasnt until around week 8 he got going. By then, who knows what the LAC WR group will look like. I only have him in dynasty, so I am ok for now, unless someone offers something good....

Not much has changed? Really?

QJ looks like a stud
They got Herberts boy Allen back
Their oline is in shambles
They have a stud workhorse rb

still getting the same number of targets he got week 1-4 last year. If you could comprehend what I said, by week 8, their WR room could look a lot different. Allen could be on IR and QJ could be getting a lot more coverages. Still no TE to worry about(sorry Gadsden fans), and yes, good RB now, but that shouldnt hurt the passing game.
And after yesterday, 18 pts, maybe they start to look at him again. 1 catch is unacceptable, or at least I think it should be for the Chargers.

 

[jobarules]

After yesterday, maybe they should look to Ladd again. Not much has changed for him compared to last season at this point, it wasnt until around week 8 he got going. By then, who knows what the LAC WR group will look like. I only have him in dynasty, so I am ok for now, unless someone offers something good....

Not much has changed? Really?

QJ looks like a stud
They got Herberts boy Allen back
Their oline is in shambles
They have a stud workhorse rb

still getting the same number of targets he got week 1-4 last year. If you could comprehend what I said, by week 8, their WR room could look a lot different. Allen could be on IR and QJ could be getting a lot more coverages. Still no TE to worry about(sorry Gadsden fans), and yes, good RB now, but that shouldnt hurt the passing game.
And after yesterday, 18 pts, maybe they start to look at him again. 1 catch is unacceptable, or at least I think it should be for the Chargers.

Ok so you're saying hes a handcuff now

 

[steelcityman]

If you play the handcuff game, sure. Go for it.

 

[Tau837]

Allen could be on IR

This has no basis in reality.

 

[Tau837]

Excerpt from this article at the Athletic:

Allen is one of the smartest receivers in football. He has a thorough understanding of how to attack the leverage of defenders — an understanding he passed on to Herbert. That transfer of knowledge started happening as soon as Herbert took over as the starter in Week 2 of his rookie season in 2020.

Allen would pull Herbert aside and provide valuable lessons on how to stem routes to take advantage of defenders’ body positioning.

As Herbert told me in 2021, “Hearing that from him, it taught me a lot about it.”

On a third-and-3 in the fourth quarter against the Broncos, Allen sat a route down in between two zone defenders. Herbert knew where Allen was going, how he was attacking the space. Herbert fired a missile to Allen’s right shoulder, away from the sitting linebacker. Catch. Conversion.

This chemistry never left Herbert and Allen, even though they spent a year apart. Two of Allen’s three touchdowns this season have come in off-script situations, with Herbert escaping the pocket and looking to create.

“To have a veteran like that who knows that and is able to see that,” Herbert said, “it makes my job so much easier.”

IMO this excerpt highlights why Herbert has so much trust in Allen and will continue going to him as long as he is healthy.

That doesn't mean Ladd can't also still rebound and be great.

 

[Keith R]

Traded him in dynasty this offseason (Ladd, 1.10 & 1.12 for the 1.01). Didn't stop me from drafting him in my main redraft at the 3.08. I'm not bailing but I am benching - I'd rather bench him too soon than too late and it feels like a little late already.

 

[menobrown]

Only drafted him on one team and I’ve benched him last 2 weeks despite starting 4 WR’s. Will likely have to go back to him this week since one of those WR’s is Ricky P.

He’ll have better days but QJ looks exactly like a #1 WR should look and Herbert is getting pressured and hit too much, add in losing Alt for a stretch makes me think they might pull back on the passing volume for awhile.

Just a WR3 type to me ROS. Stopped viewing him as a must start a few weeks ago.

 

[Jewell]

Excerpt from this article at the Athletic:

Allen is one of the smartest receivers in football. He has a thorough understanding of how to attack the leverage of defenders — an understanding he passed on to Herbert. That transfer of knowledge started happening as soon as Herbert took over as the starter in Week 2 of his rookie season in 2020.

Allen would pull Herbert aside and provide valuable lessons on how to stem routes to take advantage of defenders’ body positioning.

As Herbert told me in 2021, “Hearing that from him, it taught me a lot about it.”

On a third-and-3 in the fourth quarter against the Broncos, Allen sat a route down in between two zone defenders. Herbert knew where Allen was going, how he was attacking the space. Herbert fired a missile to Allen’s right shoulder, away from the sitting linebacker. Catch. Conversion.

This chemistry never left Herbert and Allen, even though they spent a year apart. Two of Allen’s three touchdowns this season have come in off-script situations, with Herbert escaping the pocket and looking to create.

“To have a veteran like that who knows that and is able to see that,” Herbert said, “it makes my job so much easier.”

IMO this excerpt highlights why Herbert has so much trust in Allen and will continue going to him as long as he is healthy.

That doesn't mean Ladd can't also still rebound and be great.

Here’s Cooper Kupp basically saying the same about Keenan Allen’s game as that Athletic article. You can hear Kupp’s respect and admiration for Allen’s ability to create space despite lack of speed.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtube.com

 

[Moonlight]

Excerpt from this article at the Athletic:

Allen is one of the smartest receivers in football. He has a thorough understanding of how to attack the leverage of defenders — an understanding he passed on to Herbert. That transfer of knowledge started happening as soon as Herbert took over as the starter in Week 2 of his rookie season in 2020.

Allen would pull Herbert aside and provide valuable lessons on how to stem routes to take advantage of defenders’ body positioning.

As Herbert told me in 2021, “Hearing that from him, it taught me a lot about it.”

On a third-and-3 in the fourth quarter against the Broncos, Allen sat a route down in between two zone defenders. Herbert knew where Allen was going, how he was attacking the space. Herbert fired a missile to Allen’s right shoulder, away from the sitting linebacker. Catch. Conversion.

This chemistry never left Herbert and Allen, even though they spent a year apart. Two of Allen’s three touchdowns this season have come in off-script situations, with Herbert escaping the pocket and looking to create.

“To have a veteran like that who knows that and is able to see that,” Herbert said, “it makes my job so much easier.”

IMO this excerpt highlights why Herbert has so much trust in Allen and will continue going to him as long as he is healthy.

That doesn't mean Ladd can't also still rebound and be great.

with that info Ladd is an afterthought and its going to take an injury for him to be relevant. His metrics and separation ability have been usurped by Herbert's former love. Though of course Allen is going to be a HOF player.

 

[Desert_Power]

I actually don't think you could take McConkey and make the case against him any better than that, actually.

Imagine lobbying a co-manager to take a guy with the 25th-30th or so overall pick and saying, "Yeah, he will throw you up about 8.5 PPR points a game, but wait until his teammate that plays his position and throws up 16.3 PPR/Game right next to him crumbles from injury. Then our guy will pull a smooth 12.4 PPG average because he gets so open! Bonanza!”

Wow. If you look at Ladd’s last season as optimistically as one can, one realizes he averaged 12.43 PPR points/game over his last nine regular season games.

You could be excused for noticing his playoff games, but I personally skip them because I learned during the vicious Gabriel Davis wars of ‘22 that you chalk up playoff usage to circumstance and as a function of the situation that existed then and no longer applies.

Ladd!s situation reminds me of the limitations of being barely 6’0” and 185 lbs. On the same team with the same coaches (yes they are throwing more but it’s with the same QB) I just noticed QJ averages 19.9 PPG (WR4) and Keenan averages 16.3 (WR10). Ladd is wide open and uncovered to the tune of 8.4 PPG, good for WR54 and tied with Cedric Tillman of Cleveland.

Oof.

Like with the bold, it's about sample size too. And betting on the small (or really fast) guy is just much easier to do for a game than a season than a career. It's just a physical league.

Thought Ladd was a reasonable rank where he was, but think I got him nowhere including in best balls. You're really expecting him to be the last WR1 on a good offense there, but he's more of a WR2 NFL profile.

I was really all over Herbert and this receiving game otherwise though.

I think he'll get his if they stay hot. Injuries on the OL could sink this ship.

 

[jobarules]

Excerpt from this article at the Athletic:

Allen is one of the smartest receivers in football. He has a thorough understanding of how to attack the leverage of defenders — an understanding he passed on to Herbert. That transfer of knowledge started happening as soon as Herbert took over as the starter in Week 2 of his rookie season in 2020.

Allen would pull Herbert aside and provide valuable lessons on how to stem routes to take advantage of defenders’ body positioning.

As Herbert told me in 2021, “Hearing that from him, it taught me a lot about it.”

On a third-and-3 in the fourth quarter against the Broncos, Allen sat a route down in between two zone defenders. Herbert knew where Allen was going, how he was attacking the space. Herbert fired a missile to Allen’s right shoulder, away from the sitting linebacker. Catch. Conversion.

This chemistry never left Herbert and Allen, even though they spent a year apart. Two of Allen’s three touchdowns this season have come in off-script situations, with Herbert escaping the pocket and looking to create.

“To have a veteran like that who knows that and is able to see that,” Herbert said, “it makes my job so much easier.”

IMO this excerpt highlights why Herbert has so much trust in Allen and will continue going to him as long as he is healthy.

That doesn't mean Ladd can't also still rebound and be great.

with that info Ladd is an afterthought and its going to take an injury for him to be relevant. His metrics and separation ability have been usurped by Herbert's former love. Though of course Allen is going to be a HOF player.

Allen is definitely not a HOF player

 

[rockaction]

. He's 23 and put up one of the best rookie seasons for a WR ever last year. And if you think that was just purely based on volume and not also his talent... I don't know what to tell you other than maybe you need to go rewatch some of his games from last year. I'll be interested to see one of the tape grinders analysis of the past few weeks. Obviously QJ is playing better than he has in his entire career. Would be nice to see if someone with better eyes and much more free time than me is charting how the defenses are playing the Chargers so far

I haven’t finished my comment but will post it and then edit it later. Here goes

I already researched and then asked and answered pinkstapler’s question about coverage in one telling game and linked to ESPN charting upthread. QJ was guarded almost all game by Surtain.

pinkstapler, your assertions sound reasonable as coming from a cautionary person urging us not to panic regarding Ladd. I’m not saying to panic, but I don’t see downgrading him in dynasty as panicking at all. The claim that Ladd had one of the “best” rookie seasons in fantasy “ever,” which means we should be “patient” with Ladd is a tricky one. Sounds reasonable, right? Well, sort of. I think we have to define nebulous terms before we use them creatively to dismiss pretty legit points and concerns.

You can look at his year and four games (which are 20% of the latest and most relevant games of his career and are impliedly dismissed in your post as too small a sample size to consider as important) in a lot of ways. He did have the tenth-best PPR finish by a rookie since 2010, but what can we then say about his value or of relative measures? I can go pro and con. Waddle was 7th in that span of time. Chase Claypool finished with 222 points his rookie year, 18 points behind Ladd. Ladd was actually third among rookies in his own year. There’s a ton of assumptions and information we need to mull over. Rookie year excellence to future greatness isn’t always a given and often not a straight line.

He averaged 9.9 PPR points/game last year. He’s averaging 8.4 this one. I wouldn’t lol at all and think anybody is panicking. Here’s ESPN. Say what you want about the rest of ESPN as an entity of deep thinking and contemplative action, but here we go. Number one losers of this weekend:

1. Justin Herbert, QB; Ladd McConkey, WR, Los Angeles Chargers: In the upset loss to the Giants, Herbert had a season-low 12.52 points, completing only 56% of his passes, while he threw two interceptions versus a New York defense that created pressure. McConkey caught one of six targets for 11 yards (2.1 points), and he has posted double-digit points in only one game this season (Week 1). With the bump in volume for Johnston, plus the presence of Keenan Allen, McConkey's numbers have taken a hit to start the season, and he will continue to slide in the rankings -- despite the pre-season hype. I'll have McConkey as a WR3 for the Week 5 matchup against the Commanders defense. -- Bowen

And there are concerns both about his measurements and talent vis an vis the NFL and now his situation is nearly the worst it could be. I’ll have more later.

 

[Tau837]

QJ was guarded almost all game by Surtain.

Just as a data point, PFF shows that Johnston had 3 targets in Surtain's coverage and 6 targets in the coverage of other Broncos defenders. I don't know of a source that identifies how many snaps a given defender covered a given offensive player, but this shows that Surtain was on others a decent amount of the time in that game.

As for McConkey's prospects, first off, I put zero credence in ESPN. Not saying you do, just commenting since you cited it as a source here. Just to expand on what I mean here, I don't think the ESPN people (Bowen?) are putting a lot of critical thought into what they are writing here. They are more likely looking at things superficially, without following the team closely.

An example of a source in whom I put a lot of credence is Matt Harmon, and I look forward to him commenting on Ladd's performance, but haven't seen that yet. Harmon did comment on 9/26 within commentary about Johnston that he expected McConkey to end up as the Chargers' #1 WR for the season. FWIW that was before Sunday's game.

 

[TripItUp]

JJ Zachariason stated that McConkey expectations need to be dialed back last week....I think most agree.

The question to me is WR3 or WR4?

 

[Ray_T]

Ladd McConkey caught 1-of-6 targets for 11 yards in the Chargers’ Week 4 loss to the Giants.

The good news is, by definition it can’t get any worse unless McConkey somehow goes catch-less in Week 5 against the Commanders. We suppose it can’t be ruled out after McConkey’s receptions fell for the third straight game this afternoon. Yet to spike a week, McConkey is currently a decisive third behind Keenan Allen and Quentin Johnston in the Bolts’ targets pecking order. Today was particularly disappointing since the Chargers never led and attempted 41 passes. It’s getting harder and harder to write off McConkey’s slow start as a fluke even if we know he is going to spike a week at some point. He should be considered a low-floor WR3 for next week’s Commanders home date.
- Rotoworld

I said it in the game thread; people vastly underestimated Keenan Allen's ability in this offense. Him not actually being cooked was huge; remember, he was Herbert's favorite target before Ladd was. Also, Quentin Johnson not actually being a bust and playing like a legit threat means Ladd has a lot more competition for targets; that's not factoring in the poor O-line not allowing him to go through progressions OR the presence of Hampton and the TEs (Conklin/Gadsen II).

I dont know why everyone felt he was cooked. Last season he was in an poorly designed offense with a rookie QB, spent some time hurt and never made a real connection with his QB.
the year prior he set career highs in all categories. Now back with the same QB he lit it up with. I figured it was at least 60-75% that he returns and is productive.

and I was able to get him very late in all drafts. given the upside I was happy to take him at a price thats so cheap its nearly free.