For the San Diego Chargers, I will focus less on the 2013 NFL Draft and more on an unheralded prospect from the 2012 NFL Draft. This article will take a deeper look at TE Ladarius Green and his future outlook in the NFL.
One key positive about TE Ladarius Green is that he had a higher score in the receiving production metric than did WR Keenan Allen. It is interesting to note that it is rare for a Tight End to hit the threshold for wide receivers in this metric, which Ladarius Green did. However, the reliance metric for Keenan Allen is strong, while it was negative for Ladarius Green.
Upon looking at the reliance metrics with all the tight ends sorted by the receiving production metric, there was one thing that stood out. No Tight End that meet the threshold for the production metric for the WR position had much NFL impact if they also had a negative reliance metric score, which fits the profile that Ladarius Green fits under.
The question then becomes, can Ladarius Green defeat this trend? He would become the first of 14 Tight Ends to have a receiving production metric that meets Wide Receiver thresholds while also having a negative reliance metric. Those are tough, but not insurmountable odds. He does have nice straight ahead movement metrics as well as other metrics that may signal success. The San Diego Chargers scheme will have to be tailored to maximize his upside and potential for that to happen.
[…] TE Ladarius Green caught 5 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown. He has Wide Receiver like potential out of the Tight End position, and just needs the right scheme to fit. With the San Diego Chargers struggling to keep WRs healthy, perhaps Ladarius Green will be able to carve more of a Wide Receiver like role even with a healthy Antonio Gates. […]