RELATED: See all of our 2026 Player Spotlights here
Ladd McConkey is a clear bounce-back candidate following a disappointing sophomore season as the fantasy WR29 in PPR formats. In his rookie year, he finished as the WR14, averaging nearly 15 PPR points per game. McConkey caught 82 passes for 1,149 yards, the sixth-highest yardage total for a rookie wide receiver since 2015, and 7 touchdowns.
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While he was nagged by bicep, calf, and foot injuries during the season, the bigger injury impacts arose from the Chargers' depleted offensive line and Justin Herbert's broken hand. McConkey also faced more target competition than in 2024, as then-free agent Keenan Allen returned to LA and led the team in targets. Allen is, for now, off the depth charts and remains an unsigned free agent.
Ladd McConkey is poised to enter 2026 fully healthy, with Herbert fully healed and operating behind a restored offensive line, all under the direction of a new, innovative offensive coordinator. McConkey's resurgence, like that of the Chargers' offense as a whole, begins with the offensive line, which struggled mightily last season.
Offensive Line Woes
The Chargers entered 2025 optimistic that their offense would improve behind a cohesive veteran offensive line. The projected starters were Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater at tackles with Bradley Bozeman, Zion Johnson, and Trey Pipkins manning the interior. These five players had lined up together on more than 60 percent of the team's snaps in 2024, among the best in the league, but it was not to be. Slater ruptured his left patellar tendon in training camp and missed the entire season. That injury forced Alt, a right tackle, to take over at left tackle, but that was short-lived. He played three full games before spraining his ankle in Week 4, which caused him to miss the next four games. He returned in Week 8 but re-aggravated the injury a week later and missed the rest of the season.
After using just nine combinations of offensive linemen in 2024, injuries during the season forced the Chargers to deploy a patchwork of 24 combinations. The most commonly deployed combination—Austin Deculus, Bobby Hart, Bozeman, Mekhi Becton, and Johnson—was on the field together for just 15.5 percent of the team's snaps, among the lowest such percentages in the league.
Behind this continually improvised offensive line, Herbert faced pressure on more than 40 percent of his dropbacks, according to Fantasy Points data. When under pressure, he completed just 47 percent of his passes. That pressure had a decidedly negative effect on McConkey's performance. Herbert held onto the ball longer, then threw it farther downfield and less accurately. Only around half of McConkey's targets were catchable when Herbert was under pressure.
Herbert Without and With Pressure, 2024-25
| Metric | 2024 No Pressure | 2024 Pressure | 2025 No Pressure | 2025 Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent of dropbacks | 71.9% | 28.1% | 56.6% | 43.4% |
| Pass attempts | 399 | 105 | 341 | 171 |
| Completions | 277 | 55 | 260 | 80 |
| Completion pct | 69.4% | 52.4% | 76.2% | 46.8% |
| Catchable pass pct | 79.9% | 61.9% | 86.8% | 58.5% |
| First read pct | 68.4% | 40.0% | 79.2% | 34.5% |
| Avg depth of target | 8.5 | 10.5 | 7.1 | 10.7 |
| Yards per attempt | 7.87 | 6.96 | 7.86 | 6.13 |
| Quarterback rating | 105.0 | 89.0 | 104.5 | 73.5 |
Alt and Slater are returning for 2026, but the interior of the line will be new. Bozeman retired. Johnson left in free agency. Our Matt Bitonti does not expect Pipkins to be a starter, instead yielding to free agent guard Cole Strange, who played for new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel in Miami last season. The Chargers signed free agent Tyler Biadasz to replace Bozeman at center. They drafted Jake Slaughter in the second round, setting up a competition with Trevor Penning, who signed a contract extension, for the starting left guard position. Slaughter did not play the position as a Florida Gator, so he would learn on the job if he beats out Penning. The team retained Branson Taylor as a depth piece. Every other 2025 offensive lineman to see the field is gone.
How quickly this healthy, revamped offensive line gels will determine how well it protects Herbert, which will directly impact McConkey's production.
McConkey's Usage vs Production
Ladd McConkey's sophomore slump was less a factor of opportunity than it was of circumstance. He ran more routes in 2025 than in his rookie season, and he ran routes on a higher share of Herbert's dropbacks. He had nearly the same number of targets. He averaged nearly the same yards after the catch as he had in 2024. He scored one fewer touchdown. All of those similarities would lead one to expect a similar season, but the results were different.
Comparing McConkey's 2024 and 2025 Seasons
| Metric | 2024 All | 2025 All | 2024 Wide | 2025 Wide | 2024 Slot | 2025 Slot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Routes | 450 | 546 | 122 | 188 | 324 | 343 |
| Targets | 110 | 104 | 38 | 31 | 71 | 72 |
| Receptions | 82 | 66 | 29 | 21 | 52 | 44 |
| Yards | 1155 | 789 | 385 | 321 | 767 | 459 |
| TDs | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| TPRR | 0.24 | 0.19 | 0.31 | 0.16 | 0.22 | 0.21 |
| YPRR | 2.57 | 1.45 | 3.16 | 1.71 | 2.37 | 1.34 |
| aDOT | 10.1 | 10.3 | 10.4 | 11.4 | 10.2 | 9.9 |
| Catch Rate | 74.5% | 63.5% | 76.3% | 67.7% | 73.2% | 61.1% |
| Catchable % | 81.8% | 75.0% | 81.6% | 77.4% | 81.7% | 73.6% |
| PPR/Route | 2.18 | 1.74 | 2.09 | 1.91 | 2.24 | 1.67 |
In short, he was on the field more but targeted less often. McConkey's targets per route run (TPRR) fell from 0.24 to 0.19, with nearly all of that decline occurring when he lined up wide. His yards per route run (YPRR) dropped from 2.57 to 1.45, and that effect occurred wherever he was deployed. Fewer of his targets were catchable, and he caught fewer of them.
Looking at season-long stats misses an important point: the impact of Herbert being pressured on 45 percent of McConkey's routes. Of the 39 wide receivers who ran 400 or more routes in 2025, only two saw their quarterback under pressure more frequently than McConkey. His performance suffered as the percentage of his targets that were catchable while Herbert was under pressure fell by 20 percentage points compared to 2024.
McConkey Without and With QB Pressure, 2024-25
| Metric | 2024 No Pressure | 2024 Pressure | 2025 No Pressure | 2025 Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Routes | 316 | 134 | 295 | 241 |
| % of Routes | 70.2% | 29.8% | 55.0% | 45.0% |
| Targets | 83 | 27 | 62 | 42 |
| TPRR | 0.26 | 0.2 | 0.21 | 0.17 |
| YPRR | 2.75 | 2.13 | 1.93 | 0.92 |
| Catch Rate | 78.3% | 63.0% | 80.6% | 38.1% |
| Catchable Rate | 85.5% | 70.4% | 91.9% | 50.0% |
Herbert projects to be under less pressure with Alt and Slater returning to the lineup, which would shift more of McConkey's routes into the "no pressure" column, resembling 2024's split.
Despite the increase in pressure, McConkey's usage in the slot was stable:
- His TPRR was 0.22 in 2024 and remained nearly the same, at 0.21 in 2025.
- He ran about the same number of routes, 324 in 2024 and 343 in 2025.
- He received almost the exact same number of targets, 71 in 2024 and 72 in 2025.
Those targets had nearly the same average depth of target (aDOT), but his 9.9 average in 2025 arose from two different utilization patterns in Greg Roman's offense. As the pressure mounted and the offense struggled, McConkey's routes changed.