There was talk that the Chargers might use the franchise tag on Mike Williams, but they didn’t have to. They re-signed him yesterday to a three-year deal worth $60 million.
The team originally selected Williams with the 7th pick in 2017. He hasn’t quite lived up to those kind of expectations. He’s gone over 1,000 yards twice, generally settling in as a side-kick receiver to Keenan Allen rather than a true No. 1 guy. He’s finished with fewer than 50 catches in all but one of his five seasons.
But Williams has been good enough that it makes sense to keep him around (especially with Allen entering the later stages of his career).
Williams is huge (6-4, 218), and they’ve generally tried to use that size on deeper routes and on a high balls around the goal line. Four years in a row he’s averaged over 15 yards per catch, including 20.4 in the 2019 season.
Consistently winning on jump balls around the goal line, however, is tough, especially when defenses know it’s coming. The throw has to be accurate and on time, and timing is required by the receiver as well. Strictly off the numbers, Williams has been a below-average receiving option around the goal line.
Below see the stats of the 33 players who’ve seen at least 20 targets inside the 10 over the last three years. Williams is the only one of the group who’s scored on fewer than 20 percent of his pass attempts. In that part of the field, the Chargers have gone only 7 of 26 throwing to Williams, with 4 TDs and a 2-point conversion.
(These are stats we cooked up ourselves, and we chose to blend in 2-point conversions, even those aren’t technically considered “plays” by the league.)
| RECEIVING INSIDE 10 (last 3 yrs) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Att | Com | TD | 2Pt | Pct |
| WR Adam Thielen, Min. | 26 | 22 | 18 | 1 | 73% |
| WR Davante Adams, G.B. | 39 | 32 | 22 | 1 | 59% |
| WR Mike Evans, T.B. | 38 | 23 | 21 | 1 | 58% |
| TE Mark Andrews, Balt. | 29 | 18 | 15 | 1 | 55% |
| TE Austin Hooper, Atl.-Cle. | 24 | 15 | 11 | 2 | 54% |
| TE Hunter Henry, LAC-N.E. | 24 | 16 | 12 | 1 | 54% |
| WR Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 26 | 18 | 14 | 0 | 54% |
| TE Zach Ertz, Phil.-Ariz. | 22 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 50% |
| WR Chris Godwin, T.B. | 25 | 18 | 11 | 1 | 48% |
| WR Calvin Ridley, Atl. | 23 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 48% |
| TE Darren Waller, L.V. | 23 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 48% |
| TE Tyler Higbee, LAR | 23 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 48% |
| WR Cooper Kupp, LAR | 35 | 22 | 16 | 0 | 46% |
| TE Travis Kelce, K.C. | 35 | 21 | 15 | 1 | 46% |
| WR DK Metcalf, Sea. | 22 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 45% |
| WR Emmanuel Sanders, 4 tms | 23 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 43% |
| TE Jimmy Graham, Chi. | 23 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 43% |
| WR Marvin Jones, Det.-Jac. | 24 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 42% |
| WR Allen Robinson, Chi. | 22 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 41% |
| WR Keenan Allen, LAC | 30 | 18 | 11 | 1 | 40% |
| WR DeAndre Hopkins, Hou.-Ari. | 25 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 40% |
| TE Dawson Knox, Buff. | 20 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 40% |
| WR Hunter Renfrow, L.V. | 24 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 38% |
| WR Marquise Brown, Balt. | 20 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 35% |
| TE Mike Gesicki, Mia. | 20 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 35% |
| WR Jarvis Landry, Cle. | 23 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 35% |
| WR Stefon Diggs, Min.-Buf. | 24 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 33% |
| WR Kenny Golladay, Det.-NYG | 20 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 30% |
| WR Zach Pascal, Ind. | 20 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 30% |
| WR Randall Cobb, 3 tms | 21 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 29% |
| WR Christian Kirk, Ari. | 23 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 26% |
| WR Justin Jefferson, Min. | 23 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 26% |
| WR Mike Williams, LAC | 26 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 19% |
—Ian Allan