North Murray grad McConkey freezes defenders, scores highlight touchdown in NFL debut

Published 6:52 pm Sunday, September 8, 2024

Ladd McConkey stood five yards from the end zone, with two defenders between him and a touchdown.

So McConkey made two spectacular moves to freeze those defenders and walked in for a score.

It’s a situation that played out a few times on the football field at McConkey’s alma mater, North Murray High School.

But this time, it occurred on an NFL field, against some of the top defenders in the world.

In his NFL debut for the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, McConkey scored his first NFL touchdown.

The TD came with 3:40 left in the fourth quarter and all but sealed a 22-10 win for L.A. in a season-opening game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

With the Chargers leading 16-10, Charger quarterback Justin Herbert hit McConkey on an out route. McConkey caught it at the five, hit the breaks to let one defender go by, sidestepped past the attempted tackle of another, and easily entered the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown.

“It’s hard to get in the end zone, so I don’t take any of those for granted,” McConkey told reporters after the game. “It’s a great feeling.”

The score put the Chargers up by two scores, and a turnover on the ensuing Raider possession let L.A. kneel out the rest of the clock for the win.

“That’s what we expect from him,” Herbert said of McConkey’s touchdown. “He’s going to make plays like that and that’s what makes him so special and that’s why we think so highly of him.”

McConkey starred at North Murray, was recruited to play wide receiver at the University of Georgia, helped the Bulldogs to two national titles and became a second-round pick of the Chargers in April’s NFL Draft.

McConkey got the start at wide receiver in his first chance at an NFL field and made the most of it with the 10-yard touchdown.

McConkey was targeted seven times in his debut by Herbert, catching five passes for 39 yards and the score, leading the Chargers in receiving yards.

After the first target of the wide receiver was broken up by a defender, McConkey made his first NFL catch on the first play of the second quarter, catching the ball after a short route over the middle of the field for four yards. His second catch went for 11 yards and a first down.

“I feel like I’ve played in some big games, but this was just a top stage,” McConkey said.

The late touchdown was not McConkey’s first scored on the field at SoFi Stadium, the home of the Chargers, despite it coming in his NFL debut.

In the College Football Playoff National Championship Game after the 2022 season, which was played at SoFi, McConkey caught two touchdowns as Georgia dominated TCU 65-7 on the way to a national championship.