San Diego Chargers

Head Coach: Mike McCoy (4th year)
Offensive Coordinator: Ken Whisenhunt (1st year)
Defensive Coordinator: John Pagano (5^th year)

Depth Chart

Quarterback: Philip Rivers, Kellen Clemens, Zach Mettenberger
Running Back: Melvin Gordon, Danny Woodhead, Branden Oliver
Wide Receiver: Keenan Allen, Travis Benjamin, Stevie Johnson, Dontrelle Inman
Tight End: Antonio Gates, Hunter Henry
Kicker: Nick Novak
Defense/Spec Teams: 2015-finished 20^th in yards against; 21^th in points against (24^th in sacks; 21^st in INTs)

Coaching Philosophy

I’m going to be blunt…San Diego is going to need to pass the ball this season and they’re going to have to pass a lot if they want to win games. Fortunately, the Chargers brought in new offensive coordinator, Ken Whisenhunt and he has already shown that he can make the Chargers’ offense be effective. Whiz was the offensive coordinator of the Chargers in 2013 and San Diego finished fifth in total offense that season. In 2012, the year before he took over, the Chargers finished 31st in total offense, so he obviously knows how to maximize Philip Rivers and his talents.

Whisenhunt also loves to run a spread offense and take what the defense gives them, so with a smart quarterback like Rivers and weapons like Keenan Allen, Travis Benjamin, Stevie Johnson, Antonio Gates and Danny Woodhead, there are plenty of ways San Diego can move the ball. Whiz also likes to include the running back in the passing game, so I can see Danny Woodhead once again being more fantasy relevant than Melvin Gordon this year.

Fantasy Outlook

Chargers Quarterbacks

Yup…that’s the face of a jerk-face, doo doo head!

Consistency. That’s what I think of when I think of Philip Rivers. Well, consistency and being a big ol’ jerk-face, doo doo head, but that’s for a different article. It’s hard to knock his performance however, because in Rivers’ last eight seasons, he has thrown for under 4,000 yards only once and had in between 26 and 34 passing touchdowns every year. It may not put him in the elite category with Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton etc, but if you want a safe bet for 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns, Rivers is your guy. The running game has been abysmal and the Chargers finished 31st in the league in rushing last year and 30th in 2014. Since not much has changed in running back personnel, I see a lot of responsibility being put on Philip Rivers’ shoulders once again this season. New offensive coordinator, Ken Whisenhunt likes to spread things out and involve the running backs in the passing game, so with Keenan Allen returning from injury, the addition of wide receiver, Travis Benjamin and running back, Danny Woodhead being a perfect fit in Whisenhunt’s system, look for Philip Rivers to top 4,500 yards and 30-32 touchdowns in 2016. He’s going to be a favorite target of mine in drafts this season.

Chargers Running Backs

Danny Woodhead should be a target monster again this season.

In case you weren’t aware, 2015 was a very good season for wide receiver running back, Danny Woodhead. How good was it? Well, for starters, he finished as the third overall fantasy running back in PPR leagues last year. He had less than 400 yards rushing, but what he lacked in the rushing attack, he made up for in the passing game. He had career highs in targets (106), receptions (80), receiving yards (755) and total touchdowns (nine) in 2015. Can he carry his momentum into 2016? I say he will. New OC, Ken Whisenhunt was the offensive coordinator for the Chargers in 2013 and in that season, Woodhead’s numbers closely resembled his 2015 stats. He had 429 rushing yards, 76 receptions for 605 yards and eight total touchdowns. I don’t see any reason why he can’t have 70+ receptions again this season and although he won’t be a 1,000 yard rusher, he can be a very valuable asset in PPR leagues at a bargain price compared to the top, fantasy running backs.

Melvin Gordon was a big, disappointment last season to say the least. Despite the Chargers moving up to select him in the first round of last years’ NFL draft, Gordon didn’t live up to the hype, or fantasy draft pick, that you used on him. He had 644 rushing yards on 185 carries (only 3.5 yards per carry) and chipped in a total of zero…yes, I said that correctly…zero, touchdowns. Even in the high scoring world of PPR leagues, Gordon never topped 15 fantasy points and scored less than ten fantasy points in nine of his 14 games played. Not only that, but he went under the knife and had micro fracture surgery on his knee in January of this year. It appears that he will be ready to go by the start of the season, but there are enough red flags to make me want to steer clear of Gordon this season in fantasy football. The Chargers have an improved offensive line this year and it appears they may run more two-back sets, which Gordon is more comfortable in, but I still think 800-900 rushing yards and five or so touchdowns is the ceiling for him.

Chargers Wide Receivers

I love me some Keenan Allen this season. How can you not love that face?

Last season I was high on Keenan Allen, but I had no idea he was going to be quite as good as he was in the first half of the year. Through his first eight games, Allen had 67 catches for 725 yards with four touchdowns…and then, disaster struck (cue the music from VH1 Behind the Music here). He lacerated his kidney on a touchdown reception against the Ravens and he ended up missing the rest of the season. It was an unfortunately break for the Chargers’ promising, third year receiver. However, things are now looking up for Allen going into 2016. He should be healthy and fully recovered from his injury and signed a four year, $45 million contract this offseason. He is the Chargers’ true, number one threat and should be in line for a great season. I think 100 receptions for 1,200 yards and seven or eight touchdowns is a realistic goal for the budding, superstar and he is going to be on several of my fantasy squads this season.

One of the big acquisitions that the Chargers made this season was the addition of wide receiver, Travis Benjamin of the Browns. Benjamin came out of nowhere last season to have 68 receptions for 966 yards and five touchdowns for Cleveland in his fourth year in the league and finished as a top 30 fantasy wide receiver in PPR leagues. There are a few things that concern me with Benjamin though. First, he has no track record of success. In his three years before last, he had never caught more than 18 balls in a season. Secondly, he was also very inefficient. He had 68 receptions which is nice, but that was on 124 targets and I would like to see more production from a guy getting thrown at so much. I can partly blame that on the Browns’ pitiful, quarterback situation, so I think that will improve with Philip Rivers throwing him the ball. Finally, he faded down the stretch last year once defenses knew to key on him. In his first six games, Benjamin had double digit fantasy points in every one of those games. He was then only able to achieve that production in three of his last ten games. Fortunately, with Keenan Allen, Antonio Gates and Danny Woodhead, Benjamin won’t be forced to be the primary weapon for the Chargers, so I think he is now in a good situation for him to become a more reliable fantasy contributor. I think 700-800 yards with five to six touchdowns is in reach and he has the talent to potentially even out-perform that prediction.

Stevie Johnson will be the Chargers third, wide receiver and while he’s approaching 30 years old, he can still be a nice possession receiver. He had six or more receptions in four of the ten games he played in last season and scored double digit fantasy points in five of those ten games. Considering the addition of Benjamin and the fact that he hasn’t played in all 16 games since 2012, Johnson should be drafted as no more than bench depth at the end of drafts. 500 yards with three or four touchdowns is what I expect to see out of Johnson this year.

Chargers Tight Ends

Antonio Gates is still kicking! Despite missing the first four games of the season last year due to a suspension, Gates still finished as the 12th highest scoring, fantasy tight end. The 36 year-old, veteran should see a heavy workload again this year with tight end, Ladarius Green jumping ship to the Steelers. The Chargers drafted Hunter Henry in the second round of this years’ NFL draft, but it’s very rare for rookie tight ends to produce in year one, so Gates should still have a good year or two left in him. I expect to see Gates get about 800 yards with six to eight touchdowns this season and while Henry is a great target for dynasty leagues, he can be left undrafted in redraft leagues this year.

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