Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore gave some excellent insight into the Chargers’ offense at Thursday’s series of press conferences.
When asked about deep ball opportunities and opening up the offense, he primarily gave the credit to Justin Herbert:
Kellen Moore on opening up the offense and going deep: "Justin's done a phenomenal job at giving us those opportunities."
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) July 27, 2023
The Chargers have been taking more deep shots, as evidenced at today’s practice, with huge bombs flying all over the field to Keenan Allen, Quentin Johnston, and Mike Williams.
When explicitly asked if anyone’s won the third receiver job to this point, Moore said they had four receivers on the roster capable of being starters. That, of course, refers to Allen, Williams, Johnston, and Joshua Palmer:
Kellen Moore on WR3: "We have four guys that are all starters in this league."
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) July 27, 2023
Moore stated that Ekeler has been a pivotal part of both the run and pass games to this point in training camp, which is no surprise. When asked more specifically about the run scheme, Moore tended to defer to next week’s padded practices as a real litmus test. Regarding the running backs behind Ekeler, Moore stressed pass protection as an essential piece of the equation for Isaiah Spiller and Joshua Kelley.
Kellen Moore on developing relationships with Herbert and QB room: "When Easton or Max (or Justin) are up, continuing to be sounding boards for each other."
— Alex Insdorf (@alexinsdorf99) July 27, 2023
Moore also said he’s developing relationships with all the rostered quarterbacks through constant communication. In addition to obviously Herbert, the former Cowboys’ coordinator also mentioned Max Duggan and Easton Stick being vital parts in communicating what they’re seeing at this stage of camp.
But perhaps the most interesting thing Moore said at his presser was about the use of Williams in the offense. For his entire career, Williams has been a true boundary receiver in every sense of the word. But today at practice, Moore had him line up in the slot to take advantage of mismatches:
mike dub is just warmin up pic.twitter.com/7KTJKz0RBl
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) July 27, 2023
On Williams being lined up in the slot, Moore said, “Mike’s a premier player in this league. The more you can line him up in different spots, the harder it is for a defense to focus on him.” If Williams is truly cross-training to play on the inside at times, it will give the Chargers a fourth receiver who can rotate inside and outside. Versatility is undoubtedly the name of the game in how Staley and Moore continue to build out this offense.
