KeAndre Lambert-Smith gives Chargers best possible good problem

The Los Angeles Chargers have many problems right now, chief among them a massive case of the injury bug and a not-so-hot-looking offensive line in front of Justin Herbert. 

But rookie wideout KeAndre Lambert-Smith? He’s a good problem. 

Lambert-Smith, the fifth-round rookie, has repeatedly flashed this summer and into preseason action. That includes catching two passes for 66 yards in the Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, second only to fellow rookie Tre Harris’ six grabs for 85 yards. 

It goes a little deeper than that, though. After Quentin Johnston exited early with an injury, it was Lambert-Smith quickly grabbing a pass from Justin Herbert. The fact a late-round rookie already has that sort of connection in a live game with the franchise quarterback is nothing short of a good sign. 

Lambert-Smith does it with any quarterback, though. In the preseason opener against Detroit, he caught two passes for 43 yards and a score to pace all Chargers weapons in that game. 

And now the logjam at wideout gets interesting. Johnston might be a former first-round pick, but his continued struggles with drops and the Mike Williams retirement leave the door wide open for Lambert-Smith. 

The Chargers can now get Ladd McConkey, Keenan Allen and some combination of Johnston, Harris and Lambert-Smith on the field in the base offense. Harris might be a second-round product compared to Lambert-Smith being a fifth-rounder, but Jim Harbaugh has shown time and again that draft status doesn’t mean all that much when it comes to playing time. 

A year removed from finding two starters in the fifth round at cornerback, Lambert-Smith might be the same thing at one of the Chargers’ biggest areas of need: