Los Angeles Chargers shouldn’t overpay for Tyrell Williams

One of the Los Angeles Chargers’ best offensive weapons, Tyrell Williams, is an unrestricted free agent and might be getting some big offers from other teams.

The Los Angeles Chargers have a young and talented enough core that the team is still going to be in the playoff race for the next few years and has a legitimate shot of making of Super Bowl run before Philip Rivers calls it quits.

However, the team could be potentially losing one of its best offensive weapons this offseason. Wide receiver Tyrell Williams as an unrestricted free agent.

Williams has been Rivers’ go-to deep target on the Los Angeles Chargers despite him arguably being the third-best wide receiver on the team, at least last season.

Williams has over 2,400 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns over the last three seasons, although he had a huge 2016 with over 1,000 receiving yards that are skewing the overall numbers.

He still had 653 yards last season despite only being targeted 65 times, making 41 receptions. After all, he had the best yards per reception on the Los Angeles Chargers last season and had the 11th-best mark in the NFL.

That has led Williams to claim that he is a No. 1 receiver, despite being the third-best on the Los Angeles Chargers. If NFL teams evaluate Williams the same way he does then he is going to get a pretty penny this offseason.

And for the Chargers this means potentially letting Williams go. He is a huge part of this offense and has been great in his role, but it is not worth it to pay him No. 1 wide receiver money with how many targets he gets a season.

Realistically, it is hard seeing Williams getting No. 1 wide receiver money or even being a No. 1 wide receiver on any team. There are a few teams, such as the Washington Redskins or Jacksonville Jaguars, in which he would be the true No. 1.

However, on most teams, Williams is much better as the second option, which is what he was on the Chargers before Mike Williams came around.

Williams is still going to get a nice payday as the second-best receiver on a team that needs it and it will still be money that the Chargers shouldn’t be inclined to pay.

The team still has Travis Benjamin, who came up huge in the win over Kansas City, to fit in that third receiver spot in the slot alongside Allen and Mike Williams. For depth’s sake, the Chargers could even pursue a potentially cheaper receiver, such as John Brown, who could be the team’s new deep threat.

Next: Making the case to trade up in the draft

But either way, if Williams is correct about being a No. 1 receiver this offseason, you better get ready to say goodbye.