Josh Palmer is a wide receiver for the Los Angeles Chargers. Palmer grew up in Bramton, Ontario, where he played basketball and football in addition to running track. After finding success during his early high school seasons, he began drawing attention from Division 1 programs in the states. Thus, he moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to play football for St. Thomas Aquinas High School. He went on to be a three star recruit and attend University of Tennessee, after decommitted from Syracuse.
Josh Palmer struggled to produce in college, gathering 9 passes his first year. He finished with 23 receptions and 484 receiving yards his sophomore season, which was enough to rank third on the team in receptions and second in receiving yards. The anemic Tennessee offense proved difficult for him in which to prosper. In his junior season, Jauan Jennings took over the receiving core and Palmer found himself in the dust of his teammates. Following the departures of Jennings and Marquez Callaway, Palmer finally got his chance to be the teams No. 1 WR. In 9 games, he produced 475 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns.
Following his senior year, he entered the 2020 NFL draft. Already carrying a light production resume, he didn’t do himself any favors by running a 4.57 second 40 time. He possessed desirable size, checking in with a 6-1 and 210 pound frame with a 77-inch wingspan. Despite minimal college stats and glaring holes in his profile, he was selected with the 13th pick of the 3rd round. He didn’t get much playing time in 2021, with 270 routes run on a 39.0-percent snap share. He did, however, draw a 14-percent target share over the last 5 weeks, and earned 9 targets and 128 air yards in week 18 and only dropped one pass on the season. Despite poor next gens stats, Palmer showed that he can compete for time on this team by compiling over 3 yards after the catch per reception and showing a connection on deep balls from Justin Herbert.
His opportunity came calling in the 2022 season where he had a 90% snap share or greater in eight games, primarily due to an injury that forced Keenan Allen out of the lineup. He did have two big performances, finishing as a top ten fantasy receiver twice, however, he never was a reliable target for Joshua Herbert, evidenced by his 1.32 yards per route run, and his 38.9% route win rate. Easily, the worst thing to happen for Palmer was the teams 1st round selection of TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston, whom has already earned the #3 receiver role for the Chargers. Palmer is a fine depth piece for an NFL team, and with the Chargers starting two older receivers, Palmer will continue to get opportunities to play in this high powered offense for 2023.
