Josh Palmer News

Palmer entered the game as the Chargers' second receiver with Mike Williams (back) sidelined, and his opportunity only further increased when DeAndre Carter suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter. In contrast to the regular season, Palmer struggled with the extra looks as he failed to get on the same page with Justin Herbert. Despite the poor ending to his season, Palmer took a significant step forward in his second campaign as a pro. However, with Keenan Allen and Williams back in the mix in 2023, Palmer is likely to remain the Chargers' third wide receiver.

Palmer's expected to operate as the No. 2 wide receiver behind Keenan Allen in Williams' absence. With star quarterback Justin Herbert throwing him the ball, Palmer produced 769 yards and three touchdowns in the regular season, including a Week 11 outburst of 106 yards and two touchdowns against the Chiefs in a game Williams left early after aggravating an ankle injury.

Palmer's modest performance was underwhelming within a Week 18 context, but it doesn't sully what was a career-best regular season that saw the second-year wideout post a 72-769-3 line across 16 games. Additionally, Palmer could be primed for a substantial role in Saturday's wild-card road matchup versus the Jaguars, considering Mike Williams exited Sunday's game with a back injury and could therefore be sidelined or limited versus Jacksonville.

While Palmer did play a healthy amount of snaps (36), the nature of Sunday's blowout meant the third wideout took a relative back seat with most of the Chargers' regulars sitting by the fourth quarter. The second-year wideout has seen his production dip dramatically with the return of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, to the point he's not at all a lock for fantasy lineups next week despite the Chargers having plenty to play for in terms of playoff seeding.

The Colts struggled to muster any sort of offense which allowed a lethargic Chargers offense to putter through a game that was hardly in any doubt. Monday marked the third straight game in which Palmer drew seven or less targets after recording 58 from Weeks 6-13. The return of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams from their respective injuries has essentially relegated Palmer to fourth in the target chain with running back Austin Ekeler also a featured member of the passing attack.

The second-year wideout has seen his volume shrink the last two weeks with both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams healthy, but Palmer has stayed fairly productive with a 9-102 line on 11 targets. He could post big numbers in Week 16 even on limited looks from Justin Herbert against a reeling Colts defense that just got lit up by Justin Jefferson and K.J. Osborn.