The 2019 season seemed like the final season the Los Angeles Chargers had to make the most out of their current opportunity. A year after advancing to the divisional-round, many had them pegged for a Super Bowl run. Once again the injuries piled up to star players like Derwin James and Hunter Henry. A drastic concern was once again the offensive line which caused the rushing attack to fall in the bottom half of the league despite having Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler. The line also caused Philip Rivers to become more precarious with the football. Ultimately, the failed season was met with a plethora of changes during the offseason.
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Offseason Recap
Two of the team’s biggest stars went elsewhere during free agency. Rivers wound up going to Indianapolis where he finally has an offensive line in front of him. Gordon would go to Denver, where he and Phillip Lindsay will team up to gush the Chargers defense this year. Los Angeles also didn’t retain Derek Watt who went to join his brother T.J. in Pittsburgh and lost Adrian Phillips to New England.
Ultimately, the biggest concern last year wasn’t Rivers, it was the offensive line. Tom Telesco pulled off a magnificent trade where he sent Russell Okung to Carolina for Trai Turner, although that opened up a hole at the left tackle spot. Brian Bulaga was snagged from Green Bay on a surprisingly-cheap deal and will start immediately at right tackle. The run defense was horrendous last year and the Chargers are hoping the additions of Linval Joseph, and Nick Vigil can help turn that around. Chris Harris was a luxury addition to a secondary that already had star players.
The draft held a lot of questions for the Chargers. Were they going to roll into the 2020 season with Tyrod Taylor as the starter at quarterback or take the quarterback of the future with the sixth selection? Ultimately, the Chargers selected Justin Herbert. Herbert will get to learn from Taylor this year and hopefully be ready to start next year. Telesco also traded back into the first round to select Kenneth Murray to help the depleted run defense. To do so though, Los Angeles had to surrender their second and third-round picks. Their next selection was spent on Joshua Kelley who’s bruising rushing style is complementary to Ekeler. The Chargers desperately needed help outside of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams and spent two selections on Joe Reed and KJ Hill.
The Chargers were selected to be apart of Hard Knocks with the Los Angeles Rams. With all of the news attention around them, the rookies and new additions are getting a ton of attention. Well, things came crashing to a halt this past weekend. The leader of the defense, James, suffered a knee injury. He had surgery and will miss the entire season. The Chargers now have a massive hole at safety.
Offense
The offense now goes from a pass-heavy offense under Rivers to a play-action, run-heavy scheme with Taylor under center. Ekeler will be relied on heavily this year and could potentially be the Christian McCaffrey type player the Chargers need. The duo of Allen and Williams remains one of the best in the league. The two need to stay healthy for the offense to run on all cylinders. Speaking of staying healthy, that’s exactly what Henry needs to do. He has only played in 12 games the last two years due to injury, including missing the whole 2018 season. The offensive line is improved but still has weak spots at both left tackle and left guard. The coaching staff is relying on a bevy of players to compete for both spots and need to get it right.
Defense
The loss of James drastically impacts things. The Chargers had potentially the best secondary in the league with James in the lineup thanks to the addition of Harris to pair along with Casey Hayward. With the injury to James, the Chargers are now relying on Nasir Adderley and Alohi Gilman to step up along with Rayshawn Jenkins. Desmond King could have to play both cornerback and safety this year as the James injury not only impacts the safety room but the cornerback room as well. Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram are one of the best pass-rushing duos in the league but sometimes are overlooked by the terrible run defense. The additions on the defensive line and linebacking core need to solve that issue.
Predicting the 53 Man Roster
QB (3) – Tyrod Taylor, Justin Herbert, Easton Stick
Taylor is one of the best backup quarterbacks in the league and has run Anthony Lynn‘s system for years. He is the perfect bridge to Herbert who needs to stay on the bench this year and not be thrown to the wolves. Herbert was one of the biggest boom-or-bust prospects in this draft and needs time to develop as he isn’t ready to start for an NFL team yet. His accuracy and decision-making need help. Stick could still develop into a quality backup.
RB (4) – Austin Ekeler, Justin Jackson, Joshua Kelley, Bobby Holly
Ekeler is now out of Gordon’s shadow and will be the number one back this year. Jackson has shown flashes before but the selection of Kelley could relegate him to the third back in line. Kelley brings a whole different skill set that the team hasn’t had for a while. With Watt gone now, the team needs a fullback in this scheme and Holly has flashed in practices.
WR (6) – Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, K.J. Hill, Joe Reed, Darius Jennings, Jalen Guyton
The duo of Allen and Williams is one of the best in the league. Unfortunately, there isn’t much depth behind them. Hill will likely find a home in the slot while Reed is the ultimate gadget player for the Chargers this year. Jennings brings in special teams ability and brings veteran leadership. Guyton is their deep threat with Travis Benjamin now in San Francisco.
TE (3) – Hunter Henry, Virgil Green, Donald Parham
Henry’s health is huge for the offense. If he stays healthy, they could be one of the best in the league. However, if he doesn’t they could fumble their way into the bottom half of the league. Green is a nice backup option and is a lock for the roster. Parham could find himself in a bigger role than most expect. The Chargers needed a red zone option last year and he is just that.
OL (10) – Trey Pipkins, Forrest Lamp, Mike Pouncey, Trai Turner, Bryan Bulaga, Dan Feeney, Scott Quessenberry, Sam Tevi, Trent Scott, Storm Norton
There is seemingly a four-way battle for the left tackle spot between Pipkins, Tevi, Scott, and Norton. The team spent a third-round pick on Pipkins last year and should be given the first opportunity. Lamp and Feeney have both been labeled as draft busts and will battle for the left guard slot. Pouncey, Turner, and Bulaga have their starting spots locked up. Quessenberry is the sixth-man of the bunch and can play any position on the line in a pinch.
DL (4) – Linval Joseph, Jerry Tillery, Justin Jones, Damion Square
The addition of Joseph should help a run defense that ranked 31st in the league last year. Tillery needs to prove why the team spent a first-round choice on him last year and take a massive jump in production. Both Jones and Square are good rotational run-stuffers.
EDGE (4) – Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram, Uchenna Nwosu, Isaac Rochell
Bosa and Ingram are a fierce pass-rushing duo that combined for 18.5 sacks last year. Though those two are great, the pass rush needs more depth. Nwosu is a bit of an edge rusher as well as a linebacker. He had two sacks as well as two interceptions last year in a rotational role and needs to play a role in the defense one way or another.
LB (6) – Kenneth Murray, Drue Tranquill, Denzel Perryman, Nick Vigil, Kyzir White, Emeke Egbule
This group is extremely deep this year and needs to take a massive leap. Murray is now the top linebacker and forms a young duo with Tranquill who filled in for Perryman last year while he was injured. Perryman’s role is now reduced thanks to the addition of Murray and he could potentially be traded before the season starts. Vigil and White offer great coverage ability as fourth and fifth options and Egbule provides solid depth.
CB (6) – Casey Hayward, Chris Harris, Desmond King, Michael Davis, Brandon Facyson, Tevaughn Campbell
As of now, it looks like Hayward and Davis are going to be starters on the outside with Harris in the slot. King will play a bit of cornerback as well as safety, playing the role that Phillips had played in the past. Davis had two interceptions last year but is now expected to have a stronger year thanks to being in a full-time starting role. Facyson and Campbell round out the group.
SAF (4) – Rayshawn Jenkins, Nasir Adderley, Alohi Gilman, John Brannon
Now that James is out for the year, Jenkins automatically gets a starting spot. He led the team with three interceptions last year but was reportedly in a battle with Adderley for the spot opposite James. Now, Adderley and Gilman need to step up their games sooner than they may have expected. Both have plenty of potential but being thrust into a starting role could hurt them.
ST (3) – Michael Badgley, Ty Long, Cole Mazza
Barring any injuries or surprises, all three of Badgley, Long, and Mazza will make the roster.
2020 Outlook
The Chargers are the definition of a boom-or-bust team this year. They could finish somewhere around 11-5 or plummet to around 4-12. The Chargers need to be patient and leave Herbert on the bench for as long as possible as he isn’t anywhere close to starting for this team. The injury bug has already hit them but needs to stay away for Los Angeles to potentially make the playoffs. Taylor, the offensive line, the run defense, and the young safeties are all major focal points in how the season will turn out. Fortunately, the Chargers have an easy start to the season against teams such as Cincinnati, Carolina, the Jets, Miami, and Jacksonville where they could start 5-3. With two winnable games against Las Vegas, as well as a game against Atlanta, the Chargers could be right in the thick of the playoff hunt.
Season Prediction: 9-7 and battle for the final wild-card spot.
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