Williams, a surprise standout last season, expects to keep up momentum for Chargers

With a receiving corps that boasted high-flying 6-foot-2 receiver Keenan Allen and speedster Travis Benjamin, perhaps it was a safe bet that much wasn’t to be expected out of Los Angeles Chargers receiver Tyrell Williams last season.

After all, the undrafted player out of Division II Western Oregon finished his 2015 rookie campaign with two receptions for 90 yards and one touchdown.

Yet, fate and talent intersected last season for Williams, who saw his time and stats greatly increase after Allen tore his ACL in the first game of the season and Benjamin was hampered with injuries throughout the year.

Williams became San Diego’s breakthrough player last season as the 6-4 receiver tallied a team-leading 69 catches for 1,069 yards and seven touchdowns. That last stat made Williams the 15th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving mark.

So, with Allen healthy and hungry and Benjamin appearing to be near 100%, the question remains as to what Williams’ role will be in 2017.

“For me personally, I’m just trying to get better and improve on what I messed up last year and do anything I can to help the team,” Williams said. “As a team growing, we want to make the playoffs and just get better every week and just go from there.”

Holding onto momentum from last year may be tricky for Williams.

On one hand, Williams turned in a monster season in which his big-play ability resulted in six catches for 40 or more yards.

While he succeeded, San Diego finished 5-11 in 2016, which translated into a last-place finish in the AFC West. Since then, the Chargers changed head coaches, moved to Los Angeles and are now conducting summer training camp at the Jack Hammett Farm Sports Complex in Costa Mesa.

Yet, Williams doesn’t believe all that turmoil will hurt the squad and, in particular, the passing attack.

“I feel like we have a really good group and we have to prove it when it comes game time and we’re just trying to get better,” Williams said. “Right now, it’s not about being underrated or anything. We’re just trying to go out and do what we know we could do.”

One problem for Los Angeles this season could simply be a lack of footballs.

In Allen’s last full season in 2015, he caught 77 passes for 783 yards and four touchdowns. A healthy trio of Allen, Williams and Benjamin could easily surpass 200 receptions.

“The great thing about this group is that we’re selfless,” Allen said. “Everyone plays for each other. We learn from each other and we go out and compete with each other.”

Williams has continued to display his play-making abilities this summer and has garnered his share of oohs and ahhs from the crowd.

In one practice, he hauled in a one-handed touchdown catch on a pass from quarterback Phillip Rivers during a series of drills followed by a 40-plus-yard bomb on another day.

Williams also has obvious ability after the catch as he was sixth (468 yards) in the NFL last season in yards after catch.

Though injured, Allen was an admirer of Williams.

“It was big what those guys did last year, all of them,” Allen said. “Dontrelle [Inman], Travis and Tyrell, they all stepped up and made plays. The big thing is them just being consistent and continuing to make big plays. If they can do that, that’s going to be big.”

While talented when healthy, injuries have plagued the Chargers again.

Inman, the team’s No. 2 receiver last season, is just coming back from core muscle surgery (formerly known as a sports hernia). Los Angeles’ top draft pick at No. 7, Mike Williams, is also out for the rest of training camp with a back injury.

So, while the Chargers are loaded at receiver, Tyrell Williams says nothing has changed for him.

“We have a lot of depth at receiver and a lot of depth in every position,” he said. “I mean it’s just about other guys stepping up.

“My role is the same. I’m just going to try to help this team anyway I can to get better.”

andrew.campa@latimes.com

Twitter @campadresports