With their one of their two third-round draft picks, the Chargers selected wide receiver Josh Palmer.
During an interview with Go Vols of 247 Sports, Palmer was asked about how the jump from the college level to the NFL has been for him.
A huge thing would definitely be the playbook. Not necessarily the content, because a lot of it was fairly similar to what I experienced at Tennessee, just the verbiage is really different. But it’s a lot more attention-to-details, being attentive to your splits, knowing exactly where you have to be, getting all of your depth, knowing the quarterback’s drops, knowing how much time that you have, everything.
One of the biggest things is just the huddle. I’m not used to a huddle, because I was used to a signal at Tennessee. But the biggest difference between that is the speed of how fast they say the call in the huddle. I think that would be the hardest thing, is just listening very closely to what you have and what the play is, because they only say the play one time, so you better hear it the first time.
As the Volunteers’ leading receiver in 2020, Palmer amassed 33 receptions for 475 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games with four starts. During his collegiate career, he caught 99 passes for 1,514 yards (15.3 yards per catch) with seven touchdowns.
In Year 1, he will be in the mix for snaps. Given the fact that offensive coordinator Joe Lombard goes through a lot of different personnel packages, Palmer will have his fair share of opportunities, with potential to grow into a large role.
With his ability to separate at all levels of the field, especially vertically, Palmer could quickly become one of quarterback Justin Herbert’s favorite targets this upcoming season and beyond.
