Former Vols WR Josh Palmer has a big opportunity in Los Angeles this season
When Tennessee fans think of VFL wide receivers in the NFL, the name most probably think of is 2022 Biletnikoff winner Jalin Hyatt, who continues to wait for his opportunity to shine in New York. Perhaps some fans might think about Cedric Tillman in Cleveland, Jauan Jennings in San Francisco, or perhaps even Cordarrelle Patterson […]
When Tennessee fans think of VFL wide receivers in the NFL, the name most probably think of is 2022 Biletnikoff winner Jalin Hyatt, who continues to wait for his opportunity to shine in New York.
Perhaps some fans might think about Cedric Tillman in Cleveland, Jauan Jennings in San Francisco, or perhaps even Cordarrelle Patterson with the Atlanta Falcons.
However, there could be a former Vol who outshines all of them this fall – at least with his play on the field.
Josh Palmer was drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers in the third round of the 2021 draft. As a rookie in a prolific offense featuring dynamic receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams and one of the best receiving running backs in the NFL in Austin Ekeler, one might think targets would be hard to come by for Palmer. However, Palmer still turned 49 targets into 33 catches for 353 yards and 4 touchdowns in 17 games with 5 starts in his rookie season.
Palmer took a big step forward in 2022, finishing second on the team in catches (72) and receiving yards (769) while starting in 11 games. He filled in for Allen and Williams when both were injured during the year and helped the Chargers end up claiming a wild card spot.
Now, he could be poised for an even bigger role for a longer period of time. Williams suffered a torn ACL last week in the Chargers' 28-24 win over the Vikings, prematurely ending his season after just three games. As such, Palmer is set to step up to the #2 wide receiver spot opposite Allen.
While it's been a slow start to the season for Palmer statistically (8 catches for 83 yards through 3 games), he knows the offense far better than rookie WR Quentin Johnson and has the trust of his quarterback Justin Herbert. Accordingly, Palmer should see more snaps and targets.
Palmer wasn't able to break out at Tennessee from 2017-2020, never reaching 500 receiving yards or 35 catches for a season. However, it's hard to fault any player's lack of numbers during four of the worst years in the history of the Tennessee football program.
Now he's stepping into a leading role on one of the most exciting offenses in the NFL with one of the best quarterbacks on the planet throwing him the ball in one of the country's two biggest markets. Not a bad place for the talented wideout to end up.
