Despite being favored significantly over the visiting Arizona Cardinals in Week 1, the Los Angeles Chargers fell well short and lost 26-14. To make matters worse, third-year WR Ladd McConkey took a brutal hit in the third quarter and is now dealing with the aftereffects.
With Sunday’s game in the books but another one on the docket this weekend, is McConkey in danger of missing time?
Below, we’ll lay out the latest Ladd McConkey injury update and outline its potential impact on Chargers fantasy football picks and projections for PrizePicks.
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Ladd McConkey Injury Update: Chargers WR Being Evaluated for Rib Injury
The hit delivered by Cardinals LB Mack Wilson Sr. left McConkey out for the remainder of the game, and the Chargers appear to still be gathering information on the severity of his injury.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, it seems to be a rib issue, although it remains to be seen whether the former Georgia standout will miss any time.
“He was also knocked out of the game, this time with what I understand is a rib injury,” Rapoport said. “He is going to have tests this morning [and] should be getting those results at some point soon. We will see how long he’s going to be out, if at all. It would obviously be a loss for the Los Angeles Chargers.”
At the time he left Sunday’s outing, McConkey had 7 targets and 5 receptions for 82 yards and a TD — all of which either led the team outright or were tied for first. Three of those targets came on L.A.’s opening drive of the afternoon.
McConkey’s importance to the Los Angeles passing attack, at least for a game, was huge. After the WR went down, QB Justin Herbert posted just 5.3 yards per pass attempt with a 28.6% success rate and -0.59 EPA per play.
The Chargers’ next game is a 4:05 p.m. ET tilt with the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. After the clash with their AFC West rivals, it’s a 1 p.m. Sunday game vs. the Buffalo Bills and a 4:25 p.m. duel with the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks the week after.
Which Chargers Weapons to Target If McConkey Misses Time?
Deciphering McConkey’s true value to the Chargers is tricky. On one hand, he was nothing short of fantastic as a rookie and had 82 receptions for 1,149 yards and 7 TDs. On the flip side, his sophomore effort saw him experience statistical declines across the board, even with him playing the same number of games.
Still, it’s hard to view McConkey as anything other than Herbert’s go-to option in the passing game. Veteran WR Keenan Allen led the room in target share at 22.4% last year, but McConkey was right behind him at 20.9% via SumerSports. The former has since left and signed with the Indianapolis Colts.
In fantasy football land, McConkey is WR17 in redraft point-per-reception formats, via FantasyPros’ real-time average draft position. The next-closest L.A. wideout is Quentin Johnston, who’s player 96 and WR39 overall. Johnston led all Chargers receivers in snaps played on Sunday with 43; Tre’ Harris’ 41 came close.
In Week 1, TE Oronde Gadsden II’s 0.17 EPA/play was the only non-McConkey positive mark on throws from Herbert. Everyone else, including Johnston (-0.32), was close to neutral or a flat-out negative.
Another TE-related name to keep in mind is David Njoku. With Charlie Kolar being relied upon more as a blocker, Njoku is going to get his fair share of opportunities. He matched Kolar’s 30 snaps in Week 1 and went 5-for-5 on targets while also totaling 58 receiving yards. Thirty yards were produced after contact.
On PrizePicks, the Chargers return a 16.66x payout with a correct prediction of “Yes” to win Super Bowl LXI. They’re 6.5-point favorites in Sunday’s Week 2 bout with Las Vegas.
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The Chargers are behind the proverbial eight-ball after digging themselves into an 0-1 hole, and now McConkey is banged up early in the season. Can Herbert and company persevere as WR1 works his way back to full strength?
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