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In the history of sports, there are some accomplishments that are so improbable, they get remembered forever. Athletes whose backs are against the wall and, against all odds, come out on top. Kirk Gibson, homering off Dennis Eckersley with a bum knee; Willis Reed limping off the bench to carry the Knicks to a Game 7 victory; Curt Schilling pitching on a badly injured ankle to force a Game 7. These are the kinds of performances that "exemplify the very best that the human spirit can offer," as Howard Cosell memorably put it.
We might have to throw Travis Benjamin's 2015 performance on that list. He wasn't hurt -- except maybe by the putrid performance of the Browns' quarterbacks, who collectively ranked 31st in net yards per pass attempt, 28th in touchdowns, and 27th in passer rating. Despite that, Benjamin managed to rack up nearly 1,000 yards last season, finishing with 68 catches for 966, and emerging as one of the most dangerous deep threats in the game.
He did plenty of his damage in the deep game, catching eight passes that traveled more than 20 yards down the field, for 363 yards, the 15th-highest total in the NFL. However, ProFootballFocus.com rated only eight of the 23 passes thrown 20-plus yards down the field to Benjamin as catchable, meaning he brought in each catchable deep pass thrown his way. His average of 45.4 yards per catchable deep pass was second in the league.
And now Benjamin gets to go from catching passes from Josh McCown, Johnny Manziel and Austin Davis to Philip Rivers, which is quite an upgrade. Rivers had a bit of an off season in 2015, and you have to wonder if the receiving corps didn't hurt him. He had Keenan Allen for just eight games, obviously, and Malcom Floyd, Rivers' primary deep threat, just wasn't the same player as in years' past.
Add it all up, and Rivers didn't have a great season throwing the ball deep, completing just 17 of 59 passes further than 20 yards down the field. However, in 2014, he had a huge season throwing the ball deep, completing 29 such passes for 933 yards and 10 touchdowns. Rivers has -- more than McCown or Manziel, at least -- shown the ability to get the ball downfield with success. And, in Benjamin, he could have his best big-play weapon in a long time.
The Chargers' passing game as a whole took a step back last season, and Rivers attempted just 8.9 percent of his passes 20 yards downfield. Part of that has to do with the sub-par running game giving defenses little to worry about, but I would guess the lack of options also hampered Rivers. There can be a symbiotic relationship between success throwing the ball down the field and running the ball -- you can open up the running game by taking the top off, and play-action passes tend to be thrown deeper than other passing plays as well -- so there's hope a more effective Melvin Gordon can also help open things up.
On the whole, the Chargers' offense might be getting underrated just a bit. They were just 26th in points per game last season, a disappointing total, but it isn't hard to see them bouncing right back, with an improved running game and a full season of Keenan Allen. A big-play target can only help, and Benjamin has a huge opportunity here that Fantasy players might be overlooking.
Benjamin might not get 125 targets again, but with the upgrade in offense and quarterback, he might be even more efficient and deadly. He won't be someone you want to start every week, but with an ADP in the 11th round currently, you won't need to rely on him as a starter. Few players have his ability to get open down the field, and that big-play ability could prove valuable this season.
