Ladd McConkey, Jim Harbaugh confident WR's game translates to NFL

Jim Harbaugh knows what Ladd McConkey is capable of. As a college coach the past few seasons, he’s seen the impact the Chatsworth, Ga. native had during his career at Georgia, and he’s hopeful that the same can be true with the Chargers in Los Angeles.

“He can be an outside receiver. He can be a slot receiver. Love the speed, 4.38 [40-yard dash], but he plays to it. He plays to that 4.38 every single play, you can see it in the way that he rages off of the ball, and once he has the ball in his hands,” Harbaugh told reporters after McConkey’s selection in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft on Friday. “Me and Joe [Hortiz] were talking about him, he’s very Brock Bowers-like with the way that he gets yards after the catch. Competitor, big-time. Those things. He catches the ball. A terrific route-runner. He has the quickness, he has the speed that is going to be great for our offense. I love the guys that can run in the 4.3s.”

McConkey was a major contributor for the Bulldogs his last three seasons in Athens. After redshirting during his first year on campus, McConkey played in 39 games, catching 119 passes for 1,687 yards. He combined for 18 touchdowns rushing and receiving.

“I think that I’m very versatile,” McConkey said of his own game. “I can play inside and outside. A gadget guy that can kind of do a little bit of it all. Just going to go out there, see what my role is with them. If they want me to play outside, I’ll play outside. If they want me to play inside, I’ll do that. I’m really just excited to get to work, see what they want me to do, then go attack it.”

For McConkey, the selection by the Chargers was bigger than just a vote of confidence in his versatility. It also represents a bit of a dream come true.

McConkey told reporters he didn’t have too much pre-draft interaction with the Chargers. A lowly-recruiting three-star prospect coming out of North Murray High School, Harbaugh didn’t offer him back in the collegiate days of the two. However, there’s no hard feelings.

“No, sir. Not too many people did, though, so it’s all good, no hard feelings,” McConkey said, laughing and smiling his way through the question. “I feel like I was small because I played football and basketball, so as soon as I got done with football, I was on the court running up and down, losing all of my weight. I never had a chance to really lock in to the weight room and get into a program like that. But, yeah, I was super under-recruited. My five official visits were to Tennessee-Chattanooga, Jacksonville State, Army West Point, Georgia and Vanderbilt, so it was kind of all over the spectrum. Georgia came in late. When I went and visited, I thought that it was a little bit nicer, a little bit better than all of the other places. So, I was like, ‘Alright, let’s give it a shot.'”

“Growing up, I feel like every little kid wants to get drafted, wants to go high. I don’t know. I knew that I could do it, and I knew that I had a good support staff around me that believed in me,” McConkey continued. “When I got to Georgia, got the opportunity, was out there playing in the SEC against the best competition week in and week out, I was like, ‘Alright, I can do this, I just need a shot.’ It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, and then it started to come to life a little bit in the last couple of years.”

McConkey got comfortable at Georgia, playing against the tough competition of the SEC. That happened his freshman year working on the scout team opposite of guys like Eric Stokes and Tyson Campbell. Both of them went with one of the first 40 picks of the 2021 NFL Draft and contributed to their new squads right away. That’s the expectation for McConkey too, who joined them off the board at No. 34. It won’t be a wait around and learn the system type situation in Los Angeles. With quarterback Justin Herbert leading the charge, the Chargers are likely going to count on McConkey as one of their top receivers alongside Quentin Johnston and Joshua Palmer.

“When you look at players, especially the ones that work the middle of the field, it’s how they feel it. Spatial awareness and the ability to sense defenders, set defenders up. He’s so sudden after the catch, getting upfield,” general manager Joe Hortitz said of McConkey. “Like Coach mentioned, he’s like a little Bowers. Just kind of great bursts upfield, instinct and feel. He does a great job. Those guys that know how to get open, get open, find space and create space. They can just do it and he’s one of those guys.”

“We were talking about it today. We were watching some film on him. It’s one of the things that pop on film. Just how good he is,” he continued. “How he sets up routes. Like I said, spatial awareness, feel, getting off the ball, understanding the releases, understanding when to change gears. He’s precise. The quarterback knows where he’s going to be. You’re going to know. That’s an outstanding thing to have and to bring to the Chargers. We’re looking forward to it.”

McConkey understands it too. He’s watched enough of football to know his game translates well to the NFL.

“Just looking at the receivers nowadays in the league, I feel like my body type kind of matches up with a lot of them,” McConkey said. “There are six-foot-four, 220 [pound] guys, and then there are five-foot-10, 180 [pounds]. I feel like we’re kind of all over the place nowadays. It’s just different flavors for different people.”

“From watching my tape and stuff, they feel like I can do a little bit of both,” he added on whether the intention is to play primarily on the inside or outside. “We’ll see, when I get there, how I fit around everybody else and stuff. We’ll see how it goes. Then, I feel like we’ll go from there.”

McConkey was one of eight Georgia players selected in the 2024 NFL Draft along with Brock Bowers (Las Vegas Raider – 1st Round), Amarius Mims (Cincinnati Bengals – 1st Round), Kamari Lassiter (Houston Texans – 2nd Round), Javon Bullard (Green Bay Packers – 2nd Round), Tykee Smith (Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 3rd Round), Sedrick Van Pran (Buffalo Bills – 5th Round) and Zion Logue (Atlanta Falcons – 6th Round). Kendall Milton (Philadelphia Eagles), Daijun Edwards (Pittsburgh Steelers), Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint (Washington Commanders) and Tramel Walthour (Baltimore Ravens) have all signed deals as undrafted free agents.