SAN DIEGO — Ladd McConkey doesn’t waste a moment on the football field.
During a special teams period, the Los Angeles Chargers receiver tightropes the sideline, working on over-the-shoulder catches. He then extends on the crisply cut grass at the University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium flat on his back as receivers coach Sanjay Lal throws darts at his forehead.
McConkey shoots his hands to his facemask, softly hauling each pass in. The devil is in the details for the Georgia product, who had the most productive season of any rookie in Chargers’ history.
But, despite the productive numbers, McConkey believes he left some meat on the bone.
“When I go back and watch games, I just want to eat myself up over it because there’s so many plays we left out there last year,” McConkey said. “And we’ve been working on (that) throughout the offseason in OTAs and training camp. There’s so much more to gain and we’re just going to continue to try and build on that.”
McConkey set franchise rookie records in receptions (82) and receiving yards (1,149). His seven touchdown receptions were the fourth-most in team history by a rookie. However, McConkey was the most dangerous from the slot, recording the 2nd-most receiving yards (801) in the NFL from that position.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert said McConkey’s obsessive approach is what makes him one of the best young receivers in the league.
“I think he’s the perfect combination of athleticism and intelligence,” Herbert said about McConkey. “The way he understands the game of football and how he sees defenses, I think that’s what kind of makes him like that.
“He’s got a great understanding of how people are going to try to guard him and where the leverage is and just (finding) a way to break it. He’s done such a great job with the quarterbacks of being friendly and always being in the right spot.”
Added Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh: “He’s even better than he was last year. It’s going to sound like hyperbole, but it’s not, he’s uncoverable right now by one guy.”
Herbert and McConkey are on their way to establishing themselves as the Bolts’ next dynamic passing duo. The last powder blue and gold tandem to set the league on fire was Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates, the latter of whom will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. Rivers also recently announced that he will retire as a Charger. Rivers and combined for the most touchdowns by a quarterback-tight end duo in league history with 89.
Before those two, Dan Fouts and Charlie Joiner were hard to defend the days of “Air Coryell.” Both were inducted into the Hall of Fame, and Fouts regularly connected with another Hall of Fame in tight end in Kellen Winslow.
Antonio Gates and Phillip Rivers helped form just one of a few great passing duos in Chargers history. Can Justin Herbert and Ladd McConkey join them? (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
And at the start of the franchise’s history in San Diego, quarterback John Hadl and Hall of Famer the fleet-footed Lance Alworth helped lead the Chargers to an AFL Championship in 1963.
The Chargers can also look to their crosstown rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, for inspiration. The Rams used the lethal combination of Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp to win a Super Bowl in Los Angeles four seasons ago.
The improvement of Herbert and McConkey as an unstoppable pass-catching duo could finally have the Bolts breaking through and making a legitimate Super Bowl run.
The Chargers haven’t won the AFC West since 2009 and are one of 12 NFL teams that have yet to win a Super Bowl. Herbert is 41-38 as a starter during the regular season and has yet to win a playoff game in five NFL seasons. And Herbert is coming off one of his worst games as a pro, when he threw four interceptions in an embarrassing road loss to the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card round of the playoffs.
“It takes two to tango,” Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman said about the two. “And those guys getting more time on task together, more chemistry like, ‘Hey, if you see this I want you to hook up here and I’m going to put it on your inside shoulder.’ Those types of things, those next-level kinds of things.
“Last year, there were some times in those first four games where it wasn’t perfect at all and we had to correct some things. There were a couple of plays in particular with Ladd, where he learned from it, and it never happened again and he moved on. He kept climbing that ladder and you saw that chemistry grow.”
Justin Herbert and Ladd McConkey connected for seven touchdowns last season. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
Harbaugh returned to his former stomping grounds at the University of San Diego, where he served as a head coach for the first time for three seasons. Along with that, the Chargers returned to San Diego for the first time since relocating to Los Angeles in 2017.
But those storylines served as more of a backdrop to football, with Herbert’s blossoming chemistry with McConkey taking center stage. And it’s not just McConkey, as Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz worked to make Herbert’s job easier by adding more playmakers.
The Chargers drafted a home-run threat in running back Omarion Hampton in the first round and signed 1,000-yard rusher Najee Harris in free agency. Those two are joined by three pass catchers selected in the draft in Tre Harris in the second round, along with KeAndre Lambert-Smith and tight end Oronde Gadsden II in the fifth round.
Specifically, Lambert-Smith and Gadsden have both flashed so far during training camp. And 2023 first-round pick Quentin Johnston looks like he’s ready to take another step in development, which would lessen the loss of Mike Williams’ surprise retirement.
But at the heart of any meaningful, consistent success this season on offense for the Chargers will be the continued development of the symbiotic relationship between Herbert and McConkey.
“Since I got here last year, we’ve been building that,” McConkey said. “The goal is to just get better, and better and better. Coach Harbaugh’s been talking about gradually building something and then, boom! It takes off. So, that’s what we’re doing. We’re not going to try and win the Super Bowl today, but it’s a start.”
Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on X at @eric_d_williams.
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