Selected 125th overall in the draft, rookie Skyler Bell sits as Buffalo’s WR5 despite offering raw athleticism highlighted by a 4.40 40-Yard Dash and a 94th-percentile 41.0-inch Vertical Jump. Beat writer Joe Buscaglia notes that inconsistent ball skills are holding Bell back, leaving him firmly behind DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, and Joshua Palmer in the rotation.
Bell retains late-round dynasty appeal due to his separation ability, but he has near zero 2026 redraft potential. Keep him on dynasty taxi squads, and then reassess after the season is underway.
With the 77th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Los Angeles Chargers have drafted Tennessee wide receiver Josh Palmer. Palmer never had a huge season for the Volunteers, topping out at 484 yards in 2018 and four touchdowns last season, but he showed promise as a deep threat in Knoxville. He's shown ...
Keon Coleman is currently fighting for scraps in a WR3 rotation with Josh Palmer while DJ Moore and Khalil Shakir soak up the actual high-value volume in Buffalo. The Bills are holding onto him for depth, but don’t get it twisted: the “Year 3 Breakout” is a fairy tale for a guy who hasn’t shown he can win consistently against NFL secondaries.
Coleman is effectively a roster-clogger masquerading as a prospect, and the opportunity metrics are screaming that his ceiling is permanently capped. Coleman is a classic “sell-low” candidate as his value is built on historical draft capital. Savvy dynasty managers are moving him for a mid-to-late rookie pick(s), or a more productive veteran, before the Bills inevitably draft his replacement and his market price hits zero.
The LA Chargers season has not gone to plan. After bringing in Kellen Moore as the new OC to take QB Justin Herbert to the next level, and drafting WR Quentin Johnston, the Chargers have been one of the NFL’s biggest disappointments. RB Austin Ekeler dealt with injuries early on and hasn’t returned to normal levels of fantasy production, WR Mike Williams landed on the IR, and WR Joshua Palmer was lost to the IR, for a time, himself. Palmer will return in Week 15 but the hardships continue.
Palmer’s return should be seen as a nice addition but Justin Herbert was placed on the IR after surgery to fix a fractured finger and WR Keenan Allen was declared OUT after missing all of the short-week’s practices with a heel injury. Palmer now becomes a replacement rather than a boon.
Replacement QB Easton Stick will, in fact, have Palmer to throw to, but he will also look to spark the breakout of rookie WR Johnston. The pair hooked up late in Week 14 for two deep plays, hinting that the loss of Allen might not be as terrible as one would think. Stick, Palmer, and Johnston are all viable options vs the Raiders.
WEEK 16 UPDATE:
Allen remains out. Palmer is the WR1 for LAC.
Wide receiver Josh Palmer of the LA Chargers was injured in Week 8. The Chargers placed him on the IR before they played the NY Jets on Monday Night Football in Week 9.
Palmer will be eligible to return after 4 weeks which puts his timetable at a possible Week 13 start. Target opportunities for rookie Quentin Johnston will now increase.
The pre-season consensus of Chargers rookie wide receiver Quentin Johnston primarily focused on his role in the offense and anticipated he would await injuries to the receivers ahead of him on the depth chart before his role increased. The only unknown was when that would happen.
That time is now.
With the injury to Mike Williams, the Chargers offense worked to get Johnston more involved and he saw his target share increase in Week 8 to a rosterable level. Johnston’s Week 7 to Week 8 increase from 2 targets to 6 was welcome news for QJ owners. Week 9 will mark an even bigger milestone for Johnston as the knee injury to Joshua Palmer and his OUT designation for Week 9 means an increased role for Johnston and makes him startable as a flex play for the week.
As the Los Angeles Chargers seemed to find their footing as an offense last week, they were dealt another injury blow when wide receiver Joshua Palmer suffered a knee injury in the Week 8 win against the Chicago Bears. The Chargers had already lost Mike Williams for the season, and have ruled Palmer out for the Week 9 tilt with the New York Jets.
Palmer was the Chargers’ second most targeted pass catcher behind Keenan Allen. Rookie Quentin Johnston will see his role continue to elevate, in Palmer’s absence.
