The Los Angeles Chargers lost Tyrell Williams to the Raiders in free agency, but this could mean receiver Mike Williams gets more time in the spotlight.
A few days ago, word came out that Oakland Raiders signed former Los Angeles Chargers WR Tyrell Williams out of free agency. He has been a constant part of the Chargers offense for the past four years, but this move is going to mean big things for an already great team.
Williams’s first full season was a monster one. He came out of the gate with over 1000 yards, 48 first downs, and seven touchdowns. Undoubtedly impressive, but his monster year lined up with the year Keenan Allen was out with an injury. His numbers took a dive over the past two seasons with Allen healthy, and the year after his breakout he ended with just over 650 yards, 30 first downs, and five touchdowns. This past season wasn’t much better. It could be talent related, but there is one small hitch.
One could argue that with sharing the same field with players like Allen and Melvin Gordon would leave little room for much success for other players. It would probably be a strong argument, until you looked at the numbers for Mike Williams’s first full season.
His yards and first down numbers are pretty similar to Williams’s last year. Just over 650 yards and 36 first downs. However, his touchdown numbers were on a completely different level — He had 10. That’s more then Allen has ever had; in Allen’s rookie year, he only notched eight.
On top of the rather impressive double-digit number, Mike Williams hadn’t scored a touchdown until this season. He did play 10 games two seasons ago, and yet didn’t have a single touchdown. Of the 10 he had last year, four of them came against big name teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams.
With Tyrell Williams gone, and the offensive production potential that was seen from Mike Williams last season, it is reasonable to think that the latter will be given a larger role on the Chargers offense. If he can stay healthy, Williams may end up being yet another explosive weapon on an already heavy hitting offense. Some fans wondered why he wasn’t utilized more last year, obviously in love with his ability to score. It’s extremely likely that Tyrell Williams’s presence was the answer to that. It always seemed as if the Chargers were waiting for Tyrell to have another season like 2016, and he just never delivered. Now that Williams is gone, it will be exciting to see if the former Clemson Tiger can step up to the plate. If he continues to maintain this scoring pace with his on the field playing time, Williams may deliver exactly what the Chargers want to see.
