Everybody in the NFL has somebody they model their games after.
For Chargers rookie wide receiver Josh Palmer, he patterns his game after Falcons’ Julio Jones and Buccaneers’ Antonio Brown.
Having not played a single regular season game yet, Palmer is nowhere near the two from a talent standpoint. But you can see some similarities that could eventually put Palmer in position to produce as much as they have.
While Palmer’s physical profile is more comparable to Jones, all three have good initial releases off the line of scrimmage to get into their routes in a hurry, explosive and crafty ways of consistently getting open.
Palmer’s pro-ready skillset and size have been on display all summer, as the former Tennessee product has raised eyebrows with his ability to separate and catch everything on a regular basis.
“He’s polished,” Keenan Allen said of Palmer. “You can tell he’s polished and knows what to do. He obviously knows releases, he knows leverage. He just knows how to run routes already.”
Entering camp, the battle for the third wide receiver between Palmer, Tyron Johnson and Jalen Guyton was anyone’s game, but the rookie gradually stood above the pack.
Even though offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi constantly rotates his receivers in based on the defense’s package they’re in, it will be hard to keep Palmer off the field.
With his ability to win at all levels of the field and make things happen with the football in his hands, Palmer should quickly become one of Justin Herbert’s go-to targets.
