Chargers coach explains why Tre Harris, KeAndre Lambert-Smith are off to slow starts

The Los Angeles Chargers revamped the wideout position for Justin Herbert this offseason. 

In order to push former first-round pick Quentin Johnston, they added three guys who can play his spot. One was veteran Mike Williams in free agency. The other two were hyped rookies Tre Harris and KeAndre Lambert-Smith. 

While Harris has made some notable plays in OTAs so far, receivers coach Sanjay Lal has cautioned that both rookies have been coming along slowly for very purposeful reasons. 

“They’re behind physically,” Lal said, according to The Athletic’s Daniel Popper. “They’ve been on the banquet circuit. Their fitness is not like our other guys.”

Translation: Give it some time. Things will get more serious next month. 

Case in point, Lambert-Smith didn’t even pracitce Tuesday. The wideout spots aren’t like running back, where first-rounder Omarion Hampton can slot right in and pass-block and other stuff within a rotation of players. 

Wideouts are more quick-twitch and also need to work with two-plus different quarterbacks, so it makes sense that after an extensive pre-draft process, coaches are more than happy to give them a little extra time to get grounded as pros before training camp starts next month.