Ladd McConkey is fast.
How fast? Even his former teammate and current Houston Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter came away impressed with his smooth moves during drills at Georgia.
“He’s way faster than he looks,” the former Bulldog said. “He doesn’t even look slow. He’s real fast.”
That speed will be on display come Saturday afternoon at NRG Stadium when the Los Angeles Chargers arrive for a winner-take-all showdown against the Texans in the wild-card round.
McConkey, who’ll close out his rookie season among the top five in nearly every rookie category among receivers, holds the key to helping the Bolts win their first playoff game since 2018.
Preparing for the young gun has been a point of emphasis in practice this week for the Texans’ secondary, including Lassiter.
“He’s an elite route runner,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Very shifty and moves all over the place. He’s all over the field making plays for them, catching a lot of footballs and he’s a dynamic player. I think he has a very bright future in this league.”
A second-round pick, McConkey has blossomed into a rising because of his versatility. With a strong catch radius and pristine footwork, McConkey’s 1,149 receiving yards ranked 10th among all receivers, while his 14.0 yards per catch led the Chargers and ranked fourth among rookie targets.
“He has it all in his bag,” Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke said. “In breaks, out breaks, a lot of option stuff with him. So, it’s hard to just pick one leverage with him because he can run it all.
“We’ll just see how we take care of him.”
While McConkey is the leading man in the passing game, he’s not alone. With teams trying to slow him down, that opens up the vertical attack for Herbert to strike with Quentin Johnston, who leads the team in receiving touchdowns with eight.
It’s a two-way street with the Chargers’ passing game. Houston can’t be complacent and let McConkey win low to keep Johnston from attacking or vice versa.
“He is a tough cover, he does a good job of motioning them around, moving them to different spots in the formation,” Ryans said of McConkey’s flexibility. “He is a dynamic player, not only with the routes but once he gets the ball in his hands he can be explosive as well.”