The Los Angeles Chargers finished last season with an offense that ranked sixth in the NFL in scoring and third in the league in efficiency, per Football Outsiders' DVOA. More impressively, they achieved those rankings while missing a player who was expected to be one of their premier weapons: tight end Hunter Henry.
Henry tore his ACL during OTAs and returned only for the Chargers' divisional round playoff game against the eventual champion New England Patriots, though he did not catch a pass during that game. Henry is now a little more than a year beyond the date when he tore his ACL, and Chargers coach Anthony Lynn says the tight end looks good, and that the team expects him to be "ready to go."
A year removed from ACL knee surgery, Chargers HC Anthony Lynn said Hunter Henry looks healthy this offseason. "Right now we expect him to be ready to go, and he looks good," Lynn said.
— Eric Williams (@eric_d_williams) May 28, 2019
Henry's presence should be a huge boost for the Chargers' offense, and should help make up for the loss of receiver Tyrell Williams to their division rival Raiders. He should slide on alongside Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and running back Melvin Gordon as one of Philip Rivers' top targets in the passing game, and should provide considerably more field-stretching ability than Antonio Gates did last season.
Henry has long been thought of as a player with a ton of potential to change the complexion of the Chargers' offense, but injuries and the presence of Gates have kept him from becoming a full-blown starter and top-tier target. Now healthy, he should be able to move into a larger role and thus help the Chargers' offense move forward.
