Chargers Update : MINICAMP REPORT : Chargers are Facing Shortage of Receivers

SAN DIEGO —  Much of the attention has focused on who is going to throw the ball for the Chargers, but after a three-day minicamp they find themselves with a more pressing problem: Who is going to catch it?

If the Chargers started play today, Coach Dan Henning said, “We would go with one guy.

“Seriously,” he said, and no one thought he was kidding. “One receiver and we’d put an extra tight end in there and pound them until they played man-to-man and then throw the ball to Anthony Miller.”

The Chargers presently have a cast of thousands auditioning for playing time opposite Miller. At first glance, if the Chargers expect to advance the ball this season they better hope Marion Butts stays healthy.

The team expended a fourth-round draft pick on Winston-Salen State wide receiver Yancey Thigpen, but he showed up with a sprained ankle and was unable to practice. They used a seventh-round choice on Delaware State receiver David Jones, but he suffered a hamstring injury and was standing around as a spectator Monday.

“Thigpen is a guy that might have been higher rated if he played at a bigger school,” Henning said. “He’s a big, strong guy that catches the ball well. He could be a sleeper, but won’t know that until we see him.”

The Chargers also used an 11th-round pick on a receiver, but so far the best thing going for Joachim Weinberg is his name.

Henning likes free agent Kitrick Taylor, who joined the team in December, but Taylor didn’t catch a pass last season.

Last year the Chargers went into training camp touting third-round draft choice Walter Wilson, but Wilson is now getting the kind of consideration that former third-round pick Quinn Early got just before his exit.

“I don’t know what they’re thinking; I make my own way,” said Wilson, who was unable to practice in minicamp because of a lingering hamstring injury. “I haven’t lost confidence in myself, that’s for sure. I’m going to be the guy opposite Anthony.”

While Wilson talks a good game, it might be 1990 seventh-round pick Nate Lewis who has the best chance to earn playing time in the starting lineup. Lewis started in three games last season and caught 14 passes with one touchdown.

Lewis, however, has difficulty even discussing the situation.

“I don’t have no comments on that,” Lewis said.

Donald Frank, a free agent defensive back from Winston-Salem State, who caught the attention of the Chargers’ coaching staff in last year’s minicamp, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder Monday.

Frank, who started two games at corner while playing in all 16 last season, injured his shoulder in informal workouts last week.

“They stapled back a piece of cartilage in the joint,” Henning said. “It’s significant; they think it was the smart thing to do because the size of the tear wouldn’t have allowed him to go through the year.”

Henning said 12th-round draft choice Texas running back Chris Samuels enjoyed an impressive debut with the Chargers.

“He looked pretty good,” Henning said. “Nobody stood out like Donald Frank last year.”

Running back Eric Bieniemy, the team’s second-round choice, dazzled spectators with his quickness and enthusiasm.

Stanley Richard, the team’s first-round pick, worked with the Chargers’ first defensive unit at free safety.

“Stanley was about what we expected; he’s going to be a good player,” Henning said. “He plays with a confidence about his physical ability and he doesn’t seem to get anxiety attacks or panicking on different plays.

“The only thing we’ll have to do is make sure we get him enough shots in there because he’s going to be competing at a very important position. And we’ll have to see him in pads to see if he holds up to what we saw him do in college.”

And how would Henning rate Richard’s chances to step in and be a starter his rookie season?

“Very high,” Henning said.

The Chargers will return en masse on June 3 for 16 more days of practice and then will break again before opening training camp on July 16 at UCSD.