The Los Angeles Chargers will face the Denver Broncos in Week 16. Here’s fantasy football start-sit advice for every Chargers skill player who has the potential to make a fantasy impact during the game.
Looking for more lineup advice? Head over to our Week 16 Fantasy Start-Sit Cheat Sheet, where we cover every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Justin Herbert, QB
Justin Herbert looked like he was on his way to a strong fantasy performance last week after one drive (43 yards and a touchdown toss to Ladd McConkey), but this offense hit a wall, something that we’ve seen on more than a few occasions.
Herbert failed to reach 200 passing yards for the seventh time this season, and with just 13 rushing yards on his December résumé up to this point, his role in the Chargers’ offense isn’t overly fantasy-friendly.
I don’t love Herbert this week against the second-best red-zone unit in the NFL. He currently sits as my QB17, primarily because I don’t think he has a realistic path to top-10 production in this matchup.
In Week 6, at altitude, Herbert threw for 237 yards and one score. That sounds about right, and I don’t think that’ll cut it this week.
Gus Edwards, RB
Gus Edwards is simply too limited of a player to be trusted in fantasy if not in control of a well-defined role.
He has just two catches on his 2024 résumé and doesn’t have a game with more than 10 carries since Week 2. J.K. Dobbins ran for 96 yards and a TD at Denver in Week 6, but it took 25 carries (one of which gained 20 yards, or for the non-mathematically inclined, that means his other 24 carries picked up 76 yards). The Broncos own the top success rate against running backs this season, and that renders this backfield useless in my eyes.
Kimani Vidal, RB
Kimani Vidal saw a season-high three targets last week and played two-thirds of the snaps. If we were in the middle of the season, I’d be advocating for a stash, but we aren’t, and I’m not.
The rookie’s usage ticked up in a 23-point blowout loss at the hands of the Bucs. The Chargers aren’t in a position to experiment with rotations in a meaningful way, so asking Vidal’s star to soar this late is a fool’s errand.
Is this a player I’ll be watching with a close eye over the next month as we prepare to put together 2025 rankings? You better believe it, but for the final few weeks of this season, there’s nothing that needs to be done.
Joshua Palmer, WR
Joshua Palmer has seen more than five targets twice this season, and both came when the Chargers were forced to structure their offensive game plan around facing an elite QB on the other side. No disrespect to Bo Nix, but I don’t think Jim Harbaugh is losing sleep this week when it comes to trying to keep up the way he must have with Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson.
Over his last four games that didn’t have a multi-time MVP QB on the other side, Palmer has earned just 10 targets on 99 routes. That’s just not going to cut it. Not in a tough matchup in a game I expect to be a slog.
There will be interesting conversations this summer when it comes to the field-stretching role in LA’s offense next to Ladd McConkey. But in terms of Week 15, the rookie is the only Chargers skill player I have interest in.
Ladd McConkey, WR
Ladd McConkey is pacing for 1,074 receiving yards. He looks likely to become the third Charger with 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie and has every chance to top Keenan Allen’s franchise rookie record (1,046).
More important than the counting numbers is the confidence we see from his teammates on a weekly basis. Last week was the latest example as he finished the first drive with three targets, 27 yards, and a touchdown.
Pat Surtain II sprained his ankle last week, and while I’m not sure that’d he would be attached to McConkey’s hip anyway, the Defensive Player of the Year candidate being at less than full strength certainly can’t hurt Los Angeles’ WR1’s outlook.
McConkey is a good bet to make it five straight top-25 finishes at the position. If he can build upon the 25.8% target share he posted in the Week 6 meeting, a low-end WR1 week could be in store, even in a difficult spot.
He’s that impressive.
Quentin Johnston, WR
Quentin Johnston has scored in consecutive games and in five of his past seven. The touchdown luck has been in his favor, but how about a 37% on-field target share against the Bucs last weekend (a third straight week of improvement)?
Last week’s score was a nice catch-and-turn play, though you could argue that the three missed tackles were more damning of Tampa Bay’s secondary than anything positive on Johnston’s side of things.
Ladd McConkey has established himself as the clear WR1 in LA’s low-octane offense, a development that allows us only to have so much confidence in Johnston or any other secondary piece. Having said that, Justin Herbert’s average depth of throw is up 25% over the past five weeks from the first 10, which adds upside to the role that Johnston fills.
Personally, I’d rather play the deep threats in the NFC North (Romeo Doubs, Rome Odunze, or Jameson Williams) this week if given the choice of them to Johnston. This profile in this matchup is too thin for me to trust in most situations, but if you’re a significant underdog and can swallow some risk, Johnston’s scoring binge has allowed him to return top 35 value in five of his past seven games.
Will Dissly, TE
Will Dissly (shoulder) was inactive last week after not partaking in a single practice rep, paving the way for Stone Smartt to post double-digit PPR points in the loss to the Buccaneers (five catches for 50 yards).
For the season, Dissly has a 78.2% catch rate and has provided a level of stability to a passing offense that largely lacks that outside of Ladd McConkey. But might the role of Dissly be more valuable than the player himself?
That is, with Smartt coming in last week and essentially being a skinny version of Dissly, I’m tempted to think that “Insert Chain-Moving TE” in this Jim Harbaugh offense has a path to low-end appeal in PPR leagues. Operating under that logic, I prefer Smartt to Dissly moving forward.
That’s not to say he is the better player, but if we are in a position to play him, it means that the role is all his because Dissly remains sidelined. This role isn’t one that I’m confident can be divided and provide us with much, but if we can project the bulk of that usage for one player, the case could be made for a fringe-TE1 ranking.