Jason Katz examines the wide receiver corps of the Los Angeles Chargers to determine which WR is more valuable in 2017 drafts, Mike Williams or Tyrell Williams.

The Chargers have Keenan Allen, who has proven (when healthy) to be an elite level possession receiver. They signed Travis Benjamin last offseason. Dontrelle Inman has been serviceable when on the field. And last year injuries forced them to deploy Tyrell Williams, who proved himself capable of being one of the better receivers in the league.

So what did this team with a middle of the road defense and Pro Football Focus' 31st rated offensive line do? They drafted another wide receiver. No running back depth. No quarterback of the future to groom behind 35-year-old Philip Rivers. No second cornerback to pair with Jason Verrett. The Chargers felt they had a need at wide receiver. I say "need" because there's no way they were operating on the "Best Player Available" approach since when they drafted Mike Williams, he wasn't even the best receiver available.

Alas, he is now joins the team's already crowded WR corps, so let's try and figure out what the Chargers are thinking and how you should approach two of their higher-upside receivers in fantasy drafts.

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Tyrell Williams

Likely due to his torn labrum in his shoulder in 2014, Tyrell Williams went undrafted in the 2015 NFL draft. He was eventually signed by the Chargers, but barely played as a rookie. He showcased quite well in the preseason and his workout metrics are elite. Tyrell's catch radius ranks in the top 2% in the league. In 2016, Tyrell posted a 1,000 yard season and incredible toughness in playing the last few games through another torn labrum. At 6'3 with the aforementioned outstanding catch radius, Tyrell makes for a great red zone target. It shouldn't be surprising that his ability to corral contested balls was ranked 11th in 2016. If not for Rivers affinity for Antonio Gates, Tyrell would have likely had more touchdowns last season as well. He enters 2017 second on the depth chart behind Keenan Allen and poised to build upon his impressive breakout 2016 season.

Mike Williams

The rookie out of Clemson has one big advantage over Tyrell: draft pedigree. Whereas Tyrell went undrafted, Mike went seventh overall. He stands at 6'4 and should be a monster red zone target as well. The thing with Mike is to be better than Tyrell, he'd have to be better at reeling in contested catches. Why the focus on contested catches? Because Mike seriously struggles with gaining separation in college. He is a below average route runner. And he really wasn't that important to Clemson's success in the passing game. DeShaun Watson and the Tiger offense were just fine with or without Mike in the lineup. I'm not the first one to make this comparison and I won't be the last. Mike Williams is Laquon Treadwell 2.0. That said, I do think Mike will make a bigger impact as a rookie than Treadwell's one whole catch, but the two receivers profile quite similarly. They are both big, slower receivers with at least two superior players ahead of them on their respective depth charts with no clear path to playing time.

Verdict

Who should you focus on in 2017 drafts? The short answer here is Tyrell Williams. In addition to Tyrell being flat out better at football than Mike, there are a couple other factors playing to Tyrell's favor. Tyrell has already had a full year to develop a rapport with Rivers. He enters the season ahead of Mike on the depth chart, meaning Mike would have to actually take Tyrell's spot from him. That would require an incredible display on Mike's part combined with disappointment from Tyrell. At best, Mike is currently third on the depth chart. He might even be fourth. Will he progress and beat out the likes of Travis Benjamin and Dontrelle Inman? We don't know yet because Mike has missed the beginning of OTAs with a back injury and his timetable for return is unknown. He is losing valuable time to crack the starting lineup.

Even if Mike finds his way to the WR3, that position was not very valuable in 2016. The Chargers, while possessing a potent offense, are not capable of sustaining three fantasy viable receivers. The Chargers ran three wide receiver sets 79.87% of the time last year, which ranked 15th in the league. If Mike ends up being the fourth receiver, he may not even get a chance to show what he can do. The Chargers ran all of two plays the entire season in a four-wide set. Mike has some serious depth chart climbing to do in order to even have a chance at making a rookie impact and he's not off to a good start (or any start for that matter) by sitting out with an injury.

Finally, we have early Average Draft Positions. Now, it is early July and I can't fathom these numbers stay this way. But right now, according to Fantasy Football Calculator, Mike is the 46th wide receiver off the board with a 10.07 ADP, while Tyrell is the 55th wide receiver taken with a 12.07 ADP. That's just plain a ridiculous. Mike should not be going ahead of Tyrell and Tyrell should be at least four rounds higher, if not more. Keenan Allen has never played a full season and has played just nine games over the past two seasons. If he goes down, Tyrell is the number one receiver again.

There are so many factors that play in Tyrell's favor and too much has to go right (and wrong for Tyrell) for Mike to break through. Based on talent, playing time, and cost to acquire, Tyrell is the Williams you want to target.

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