Fantasy Football Rankings and the Chargers: ESPN¡¯s Mike Clay I¡¯ve become a big fan of ESPN¡¯s Mike Clay over the last couple years. He has consistently been a fan of the Chargers Authentic Virgil Green Jersey , in fantasy and in real life, and continually has picked them to not only make the playoffs in ¡®17 and ¡®18, but to also challenge for a title.Although the hype he gave the team did not come to fruition last season, the attention he gave to the Chargers¡¯ players in fantasy football was right on the money. In ESPN leagues (PPR scoring), here¡¯s how the the Bolts¡¯ players fared:Melvin Gordon - RB284 Carries1,105 Rushing Yards8 Rushing Touchdowns58 Catches on 83 Targets476 Receiving Yards4 Receiving TouchdownsFinished the year as RB5Keenan Allen - WR102 Catches on 159 targets1,393 Receiving Yards6 Receiving Touchdowns2 Carries9 Rushing YardsFinished the year as WR3Philip Rivers - QBCompleted 360/575 Passes4 Color Rush Melvin Gordon Jersey ,515 Passing Yards28 Passing Touchdowns10 InterceptionsFinished the year as QB8Tyrell Williams - WR43 Catches728 Receiving Yards4 Receiving TouchdownsFinished the year as WR45Travis Benjamin - WR34 Catches567 Receiving Yards4 Receiving Touchdowns13 Carries96 Rushing YardsFinished the year as WR50Austin Ekeler - RB47 Carries260 Rushing Yards2 Rushing Touchdowns27 Catches279 Receiving Yards3 Receiving TouchdownsFinished the year as RB45For the upcoming 2018 fantasy football season, here¡¯s how Clay has the Chargers¡¯ skill players ranked:Philip Rivers - QB12Rivers continues to be extremely affordable as a late round quarterback that should yield top-10 scoring numbers at the position. Even with the recent loss of Hunter Henry, Rivers still possesses a plethora of weapons on the offensive side of the ball. Look for Mike Williams to pick up some slack while all three running backs should see an uptick in targets.Melvin Gordon - RB10A little lower than I would have expected for Gordon but understandable when you see guys like Leonard Fournette, Kareem Hunt, and Dalvin Cook ahead of him as these guys should be leaned on a lot more while Gordon may end of ceeding carries to Austin Ekeler and rookie Justin Jackson. Fans of Gordon should still be excited as this may push Gordon into a late round 2 or early round 3 consideration.Keenan Allen - WR6I believe this to be just the right spot for Allen after the season he just had. Like Julio Jones of the Falcons, Allen has been slightly allergic to the end zone but eats up enough targets that it doesn¡¯t matter most of the time. He will once again be leaned on heavily in the passing attack, especially with Hunter Henry out for the year. Anything outside of top-10 production for Allen would be insane.Mike Williams - WR69 (NICE)After a disappointing year for the former seventh-overall pick Color Rush Jahleel Addae Jersey , it seems like Clay believes Williams is in store for an increased target share after sustaining some healthiness through the off-season. Williams has all the tools in the world to be successful within this offense, but his ability to learn the offense will be the the one thing to hold him back, if he lets it.Tyrell Williams - WR84Quite the drop for Williams after being just two years removed from a 1,000-yard season. Williams unfortunately will lose targets to Mike Williams but he should still get a healthy amount of looks after the loss of Hunter Henry. He is another tall wideout with blazing speed that should find his success on crossers and deeper routes. Depending on how the other Williams progresses, Tyrell might just be the steal of this offense, once again.Travis Benjamin - Not RankedIf Mike Williams comes along like he¡¯s expected to, Benjamin might be the lone guy out of this offense. His looks should increase with Henry¡¯s injury  http://www.authenticlosangeleschargers.com/cheap-trevor-will iams-jersey , but his role as a consistent contributor will be in danger, nonetheless. However, Benjamin and the coaches are aware of his role as a deep threat within the offense and you just know he will be good for a long touchdown just about once every three or four weeks.Austin Ekeler - RB59Ekeler was such a nice surprise for Chargers fans last season as he carved out a prominent role for himself in this offense after making the team as a UDFA. Ekeler showed excellent vision and acceleration on his limited carries, making the most of his time on the field. Gordon is still the workhorse of this offense, but I wouldn¡¯t be surprised to see Ekeler continue to get 6-8 carries a game on top of a couple targets from Rivers, as well.Chargers Defense/Special Teams - D/ST8It¡¯s awesome to see the defense and special teams getting some love after a chunk of years in irrelevancy. The defensive backfield is stacked with talent. The duo of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram has been rated a top-5 passing rushing unit in the NFL. There¡¯s just so much to love here. The Chargers¡¯ defense should be a priority selection in the last several roundsWhy I¡¯m excited about the Chargers this season Editor¡¯s note: It¡¯s season preview week at SB Nation. Here¡¯s why we¡¯re excited about the Los Angeles Chargers.The Los Angeles Chargers are legitimate contenders this year and not just for the AFC West crown. They are actual, honest to God Super Bowl contenders in the 2018-19 NFL season. The primary reason for that is Philip Rivers. As any football fan knows by now Youth Mike Pouncey Jersey , your window for playoff contention let along Super Bowl contention begins and ends with having a franchise quarterback. Rivers is not just a franchise QB; he¡¯s a borderline Hall of Famer and he¡¯s only on the borderline because his teammates have not been good enough to sustain a playoff run that ended in a championship. This season could very well be different.On the offensive side of the ball, Rivers has an offensive line in front of him that on paper is as good as any he has seen in his professional career. The additions of Mike Pouncey at center and Forrest Lamp at guard should push a once-mediocre line to an above average one and potentially a great one. At running back, the Chargers have an actual three-down back in Melvin Gordon as well as a dynamic change-of-pace back in Austin Ekeler. The tight end position is shallow with the loss of Hunter Henry to injury, but at wide receiver the Chargers have one of the league¡¯s very best in Keenan Allen as well as an up-and-comer in second-year wide out Mike Williams who has flashed the skills that made him the 7th overall selection year.Despite all of that talent on the offensive side, the biggest reasons for optimism are on the defense. Joey Bosa is in the argument for best defensive player in the NFL and he is paired with Melvin Ingram to form one of, if not the, best pass rushing duos in the league. Even after losing Jason Verrett to injury Youth Denzel Perryman Jersey , Gus Bradley has one of the most talented cornerback groups in franchise history with Casey Hayward, Trevor Williams, and Desmond King. At linebacker, Denzel Perryman is a differencemaker and he will be joined by the likes of Kyzir White and Jatavis Brown who both have the upside of quality linebackers. That this group is being joined by arguably the best defensive player from this year¡¯s draft in Derwin James is borderline unfair for opposing defenses.At this point in time, if you are a Chargers fan and you are not excited about the upcoming season, you are just not paying attention. Custom New York Jets Jerseys