What's In Store for Mike Williams in 2021?

Jun 04, 2021 at 08:30 AM

Hayley Elwood

Team Reporter

With offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi now leading the charge on that side of the ball for the Bolts this season, questions remain as to what the unit will look like and how the team's offensive skill position players will fit into it this fall.

But this week, Lombardi hinted at an answer about one of those players, Mike Williams.

"If I were a betting man, I'd bet on nice numbers coming from him on the stat sheet, that's for sure," Lombardi said.

2021 marks Williams' fifth season with the Bolts. Last year, the wide receiver notched 48 receptions for 756 yards and five scores. His 756 receiving yards were the second-most by a Charger last season.

Since he entered the league in 2017, Williams has 151 catches for 2,516 yards for a career receiving average of 16.7 yards. That's good for third best in the NFL among players with at least 100 catches during that time.

So what's Lombardi's vision for No. 81? How can he continue to grow?

Lombardi believes the offensive scheme he's installing will greatly benefit Williams.

"You see the talent and the size," Lombardi mentioned. "There's no reason why he cannot be majorly productive. I've been impressed with him mentally so far, getting lined up and knowing what to do. As much as this offense will resemble New Orleans, he plays the 'X' and the ball has always kind of found the 'X' receiver in this offense. I think that there will be some natural production that comes his way because of the nature of the offense.

"Sometimes when you have a guy like Keenan [Allen] on the other side or on the field with you, the quarterback is so comfortable throwing to him because he is so easy to throw to, with the way that he talks to the quarterback with body language, sometimes that steals throws away from a guy like Mike, but certainly, nothing that an offensive coach is complaining about. We have a lot of good players and we're going to try to use them all. How that ball production falls out at the end of the season, I'm not sure. I think everyone will be happy, as long as we're getting first downs and scoring points. I see a big role for him."