The 2015 season was a disaster for the Chargers offensively, but hopefully things will improve this year. There's a lot to like about this San Diego offense in 2016.
Due to injury and poor play, Philip Rivers and Danny Woodhead were the only healthy options to consistently perform well last year. Antonio Gates missed four games due to a suspension, Keenan Allen was placed on injured reserve with a lacerated kidney, Melvin Gordon was a bust and there were 24 different offensive line combinations.
This season, the Chargers are counting on the offensive line to stay healthy, including the addition of rookie Max Tuerk, who was drafted in the third round from Southern Cal. With that unit intact the running game should improve, which means good things for Gordon as a post-hype sleeper.
Rivers lost Ladarius Green as a free agent to Pittsburgh and Malcom Floyd retired, but Allen is healthy, Gates was re-signed and San Diego added a deep threat in Travis Benjamin. Along with Steve Johnson and Woodhead, Rivers has an incredible group of receivers. The veteran should be considered a No. 1 Fantasy quarterback in all leagues.
Allen is a solid No. 2 Fantasy receiver, Gates remains a low-end No. 1 tight end and Benjamin and Johnson are worth late-round picks. As for Woodhead, he's a solid running back in standard leagues and a must-start option in PPR formats.
While the offense has a chance to be dynamic in San Diego, the defense is another story. San Diego, even with the addition of defensive end Joey Bosa at No. 3 overall, will still struggle to stop other teams. That could be bad news for Chargers fans, but Fantasy owners will likely love the potential shootouts for the offense.
Rivers has been a good Fantasy quarterback the past three seasons, but we expect him to be great this year. He's someone to target as a No. 1 option with a late-round pick in all leagues. Rivers has actually finished as a No. 1 quarterback in standard leagues each of the past three years (No. 3 in 2013, No. 12 in 2014 and No. 12 last year), but he always gets overlooked in the majority of leagues. Part of that has to do with him starting strong but struggling to the finish line. In 2015, Rivers had at least 20 Fantasy points in a standard league in six of his first eight games, but he did that just twice over his final eight outings. Losing Allen in Week 8 was a crushing blow, but he should have a solid receiving corps this season with Allen healthy, Gates back and the addition of Benjamin to go along with Woodhead and Johnson. If you like to wait for a quarterback on Draft Day, Rivers is the perfect passer to target since he should land in your lap. And this could be one of the best years of his career.
Allen was definitely going to have a third-year breakout season in 2015 before a kidney injury in Week 8 ended his year. He finished the season with 67 catches for 725 yards and four touchdowns, and if you project that over 16 games he would have had 134 catches for 1,450 yards and eight touchdowns. He was solid as a rookie in 2013 with 71 catches, 1,046 yards and eight touchdowns, and we expect this to be the best year of his career. Even with Gates, Woodhead and Johnson and the addition of Benjamin, Rivers will still lean on Allen as his No. 1 target, and in 2015 he had double digits in targets in five of eight games. Rivers loves him, and he appears to be in great shape heading into 2016. He should be considered a solid No. 2 Fantasy receiver in the majority of leagues, and we recommend drafting him in Round 4 in standard leagues and Round 3 in PPR.
Last year, the Chargers traded up in the first round of the NFL Draft to select Gordon, but he was a bust. You can blame the offensive line injuries, that Woodhead was better or that he hurt his knee at the end of the year, but the bottom line was he was expected to play better. And that should happen this season. His final stat line in 2015 was 184 carries for 641 yards and 33 catches for 192 yards in 14 games. You don't see a touchdown there because he failed to score, but he should rebound in a big way in 2016. Woodhead will still be a significant factor, but the Chargers gave Gordon an average of 16 touches a game as a rookie, even though he struggled. That should increase this year if he plays as expected. No one else was added for competition on running downs, and his knee is fine heading into training camp. The offensive line should also dramatically improve. We still view Gordon as a low-end No. 2 running back who should prove to be amazing value in Round 6 in the majority of leagues.
