Player spotlight this week! We are talking about Ladd McConkey and why he is a must-draft in the 2025 season of Fantasy Football.
Before we understand why Ladd McConkey is a must draft player in 2025, please check out our latest post on Instagram, where we predict who the top finishes by position will be for next year.
Ladd McConkey, in his rookie year, is another phenomenal wide receiver along with Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. He put up 1,149 receiving yards, 82 receptions, and seven receiving touchdowns on 112 targets, and Ladd had around a 25% target share on this offense. Ladd McConkey quickly became the Chargers' WR1, led by Justin Herbert as quarterback.
Although Ladd McConkey is always going to have some competition, it is safe to say that with the numbers he put up compared to some of the other wide receivers he plays with, Ladd McConkey is going to be the WR1 on the Chargers from now on.
Just to compare to some of the other wide receivers that the Chargers have, let's take a look at Quentin Johnston. Before the 2024 Fantasy season, Quentin Johnston was one of the candidates who could have taken over as the WR1 with the departures of both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. Quentin Johnston put up 711 receiving yards, 55 receptions, and eight receiving touchdowns on 91 targets. Quentin put up one more receiving touchdown, but overall Ladd McConkey beat Quentin Johnston in every other metric for a receiver.
The next receiver, Joshua Palmer, who again was another candidate to take over as the WR1 before the 2024-25 season, put up 584 receiving yards, 39 receptions, and 1 receiving touchdown on 65 targets. Once again, Ladd McConkey is winning in just about every metric. It is also safe to say that Joshua Palmer currently poses no threat to taking over the role of WR1 over Ladd McConkey.
Why is this important to understand? Understanding the stats in football is key to fantasy football success. This helps you understand who to target in fantasy drafts, giving you a better chance at winning the fantasy championship.
In the case of Ladd McConkey, a quick comparison to the other receivers he plays alongside makes it clear that he is the most talented receiver on the team. Because he has a star quarterback in Justin Herbert throwing him the ball, there is no reason to believe that anything will change going into next year.
Ladd McConkey has the upside of being a high-end WR2 and a low-end WR1 in Fantasy Football, and he is absolutely someone you should be targeting in the 2025 season of Fantasy Football.