Fantasy Football Takeaways from Chargers' Win over Chiefs: Quentin Johnston, Marquise Brown and More

We got lucky in week 1 and got a Friday night football game. It turned out to be a fantastic game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chargers prevailed 27-21. Let's go over some fantasy football takeaways from the contest, just like we did for the Thursday night game.

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Surprise Leader for Chargers' Offense

Los Angeles racked up 394 total yards of offense against a pretty good Chiefs' defense. Several guys had nice fantasy showings, but it was Quentin Johnston that led the charge.

He caught five of his seven targets for 79 yards. Johnston added two touchdowns to finish with a really good fantasy score.

Ladd McConkey went for 74 yards on six grabs and nine targets, but failed to find the end zone. Keenan Allen was also good, catching seven of his 10 targets for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Los Angeles isn't going to throw for 300+ yards every game, but if the running game is struggling, like it was on Friday, LA showed it can rely on the passing game.

Rookies Tre' Harris and Keandre Lambert-Smith weren't very involved. Lambert-Smith didn't catch his only target, and Harris made one grab for 11 yards on his lone target.

Notably, it was Tyler Conklin who led the way in the tight end room for LA. He had two grabs for 50 yards, but also fumbled. He also rushed once for two yards. Will Dissly had an 18-yard catch on his lone target.

McConkey is the most highly-regarded LA pass catcher, and I expect him to lead the way in most games this season. In time, he should pass Johnston and Allen in fantasy points. I'm not worried about McConkey.

Allen and Johnston might both be involved enough to be standard league options and possible flex starters this season. Even though Johnston scored twice, I like Allen a bit more moving forward. I'm sure we'll cover these guys more in waiver wire stories leading into week 2.

Conklin could also be a waiver option at tight end. He'll need to be consistently involved to have value, but if he clearly is producing more than Dissly, then maybe Conklin could be a fantasy asset in time.

Herbert Excels, Running Game Struggles

Justin Herbert delivered one of the better games of his career on Friday. He was 25-of-34 passing for 318 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Herbert also rushed for 32 yards on seven attempts to post a monster fantasy score.

He really turned me into a believer with this performance. Herbert was good in 2024, but even with a stellar TD to INT ratio, he was just an average fantasy asset.

If the team is going to be more willing to pass this season, then Herbert gets a couple boosts up. He'll be another big-time waiver pickup heading into week 2.

If you drafted Herbert and don't need him (meaning you have an every-week starter otherwise), now would be a great time to sell high, because he probably won't have too many games at this level this season.

While Herbert was slinging the ball around, the running game was faltering. 

Omarion Hampton rushed 15 times for 48 yards. Outside an 11-yard run, he was bottled up most of the night. He added 13 receiving yards on two catches and targets.

Najee Harris only got two touches, rushing once for five yards and catching his lone target for five yards.

The backfield clearly belonged to Hampton on Friday, but I wouldn't bank on that happening all season. He'll most likely lead the way this season, but I still believe the Chargers are going to be a run-centric team.

I think they just threw it a bit more on Friday with how the game was flowing.

So I'm not panicking with Hampton after just one game. Better days are ahead.

Harris can be dropped in all standard leagues for now, but I'd hang on to him in deeper setups, just bench him for the next game, at least.

Chiefs' Offense Plans Dismantled

Kansas City had to adjust on the fly after an early injury to Xavier Worthy.

The Chiefs played basically the entire game without Worthy, and they already were missing Rashee Rice (suspended for six weeks) and Jalen Royals (injured).

That left Marquise Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster as the lone reliable wideouts, and Travis Kelce at tight end.

Surprisingly, Kelce was held mostly in check. He only had four targets. Kelce caught two, but one was a 37-yard touchdown, so that did enough for his fantasy owners.

He should be a monster part of the gameplan if Worthy misses any additional time.

Brown finished with a whopping 16 targets, catching 10 for 99 yards. He had a 49-yard catch, but was otherwise just a dink-and-dunk option.

If that continues, he'll be a big-time PPR fantasy asset. He'll be worth adding in those leagues if Worthy is set to miss extended time - Brown was already a pretty good deep-league starting option, and now definitely is.

Smith-Schuster had 55 yards on five grabs and targets. His longest catch was 16 yards.

He could be a deep-league asset if Worthy is out going forward. Smith-Schuster is at least a flex starting option if that happens.

Tyquan Thornton had a 38-yard catch, but only had a three-yard reception on three other targets.

He's unlikely to turn into a big offensive weapon for KC, unless even more players hit the injured list.

Running Game Struggles, Mahomes is Solid

Much like the Chargers, the Chiefs' running game was held in check. It didn't help that KC was trailing most of the night too.

Isiah Pacheco had 25 rushing yards on five carries, while adding three receiving yards on two catches and three targets. Kareem Hunt had 16 rushing yards on five carries and two receptions for 10 yards across three targets.

Like I expected, both backs were pretty equally involved. I thought they'd produce more, but the Chargers' defense was pretty stout. Things should be better for that duo going forward.

They are just deep-league starting options in tougher matchups though. If they continue splitting the workload, it will be tough to start them in standard leagues, even in the best matchups.

Patrick Mahomes had an OK showing. He threw for 258 yards and a score on 24-of-39 passing. Mahomes turned in a good fantasy score by adding 57 rushing yards and a touchdown on six attempts.

He struggled a bit as a passer, but made up for some of those shortcomings with his legs. It was a solid fantasy start for Mahomes, who struggled a bit in 2024.

With several playmakers out already, his fantasy outlook isn't as high as it would be otherwise. That's something to keep in mind moving forward.

I personally would throw his name on the trade block, as his big name could land you a good return. I just don't know if Mahomes will be as good of a finisher as he was drafted this year - I'd maybe look to bail if the return is right.

IDP Standouts and Kickers

Kansas City's Chamarri Conner had a game-high 10 combined tackles - he also forced a fumble.

LA's Alohi Gilman had nine combined tackles, while Daivan Henley had eight tackles and a sack. KC's Nick Bolton finished with eight tackles as well.

Teair Tart had two passes defensed and a tackle for the Chargers. Da'Shawn Hand had a sack among his two tackles.

Drue Tranquill posted two sacks and had five tackles for the Chiefs. George Karlaftis III had a sack among his three tackles.

LA kicker Cameron Dicker made three extra points and two field goals on the night. He should be a good fantasy kicker all season, especially if this Chargers' offense is here to stay,

Kansas City's Harrison Butker made three field goals, but missed his only extra point try. You should expect big things from Butker this season, especially if the Chiefs' offense keeps stalling in plus territory.