Do the Chargers need to find Philip Rivers replacement this off-season or should they wait another year?
As the 2019 NFL Draft grows closer and closer, the big question every fan is asking is which direction their team will go to improve.
Some teams need to focus on defense, some on offense and others need all the help they can get.
Despite the last game, the Chargers played this past season; there isn’t one side of the ball that needs more help than the others.
In 2018 the Chargers were one game away from the AFC Championship. If the Kansas City Chiefs hadn’t rolled out phenomenon Patrick Mahomes this year, the Chargers would have won their division and most likely would’ve had a first-round bye and home-field for the divisional round of the AFC playoffs.
Thus this big question to be asked is what should the Chargers strategy be heading towards the NFL Draft.
Based on last seasons success the answer is likely adding more pieces to an already talented roster.
2018 was the best season the Chargers put together since 2013 despite their disastrous loss against the New England Patriots in the divisional round of the playoffs.
So where should the Chargers be looking to beef up their roster this off-season? Many believe the team needs to find Phillip Rivers eventual successor.
Philip Rivers was drafted in 2004 along with other star quarterbacks Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger.
Both of them have two Super Bowl rings but have recently seen their careers start a downward spiral.
Manning and Roethlisberger have been less and less reliable as the years have gone on.
Both seemed to have peaked early, and their teams have to think of the future with each passing season.
Though Rivers may not have the wins the fellow 2004 draft class quarterbacks have, he does have one big advantage over Manning and Roethlisberger.
Rivers is the same age as them, with each passing year, he’s getting better while they begin to decline.
Much like his team, Rivers is often overlooked in discussions of the NFL’s best players.
This year viewers started to notice. However, with his age looming, there has been speculation as to the Chargers should take an approach like their rivals the Chiefs and draft Rivers future successor in the first round of the upcoming draft.
Should they use their draft pick to get a quarterback who can study under Rivers for the next year, and ultimately, take over?
No, they shouldn’t.
If Rivers was showing any signs of his age or had a nagging injury that has kept him off the field during his career, then yes, they probably should.
So far, knock on wood, none of that is true.
The Chargers need to spend this offseason building the team around Rivers so he can win with them.
He can put up numbers just as good if not better than as Roethlisberger and Manning.
This past season he put up better numbers than Aaron Rodgers with an older tight end and an often injured running back.
It’s time Rivers has a team that can help him get that ring.
