After finishing 5-11 in a very disappointing 2019 season, the Chargers are hoping to turn it around as they enter the new season in their new stadium in Inglewood, CA.
After some changes to the roster on both sides of the ball this offseason, there are some questions surrounding Los Angeles heading into training camp that need to be answered in order for them to be contender.
Let’s look at those three questions:
What will the offense look like without Philip Rivers?
The 16-year marriage between the Chargers and QB Philip Rivers came to an end this offseason. Taking over under center are Tyrod Taylor and rookie QB Justin Herbert, the No. 6 overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft.
The main difference between the two and Rivers is from an athleticism standpoint. However, that’s going to be the difference between how the offense was run with Rivers and now with Taylor and Herbert. Rivers was dropping back into the pocket with five to seven steps to buy him time to throw, with very little opportunities to scramble.
With the new system in place for Taylor and Herbert, there will be more pistol formation, more play-action and more run-pass option. The Chargers offense is going to look a lot more like the Ravens offense last season. Head coach Anthony Lynn and Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman coached together in Buffalo in 2015 and 2016.
Taylor and Herbert have the skill sets to run some of the concepts the Ravens do, like zone read and other quarterback option runs, which was hardly ever the case when Rivers was under center for Los Angeles.
Despite the change in offense, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Hunter Henry and Austin Ekeler will help guide the offense, along with newly added draft selections – Joshua Kelley, Joe Reed and K.J. Hill
Can the offensive line be relied upon?
A big factor into the Chargers’ woes on the offensive side of the ball last season was the deficiency along the offensive line. Injuries were a big contributor to it as they wiped out two key veterans, OT Russell Okung and OL Mike Pouncey, for a significant portion of the season. The team was forced to rely on players that had very little experience in the starting role, which is why the unit finished near the bottom in the league.
As a part of the reconstruction, Los Angeles traded for five-time Pro Bowl guard Trai Turner in exchange for Okung. The team also acquired OT Bryan Bulaga during the free agency period. Another acquisition was the hiring of offensive line coach James Campen, who has a proven track record with developing players into All-Pro status during his time with the Packers from 2007-17.
After those additions, the expectation was that L.A. was going to draft an offensive lineman or two to shore up the rest of the group. However, they came away empty-handed. General manager Tom Telesco reiterated that he’s confident in the starters, which would be Trey Pipkins, Sam Tevi or Storm Norton at left tackle; Dan Feeney or Forrest Lamp at left guard; and Mike Pouncey at center if he’s cleared to play. If not, it will be Scott Quessenberry snapping the ball.
With the Chargers choosing not to draft at least one player at such a crucial position, there’s reason to be concerned.
However, that’s where offensive scheme comes into play. Telesco mentioned with the offense changing, in this case to a zone scheme and having a mobile quarterback, it should mask any deficiencies. With an outside zone scheme, the shifts should alleviate some of the pressure on the left side of the line.
Play-action and run-pass option (RPO) concepts prevent pass rushers from driving upfield immediately at the snap. There is still the possibility of adding a proven veteran like OT Jason Peters to come in and start at left tackle while mentoring Pipkins for another year before he takes the reins.
How will the back seven of the defense shape up?
Even though Los Angeles finished with a top-10 defense last season, some changes occurred to the linebacker and defensive backs corps this offseason. The Chargers moved on from LB Thomas Davis and lost safety Adrian Phillips and LB Jatavis Brown. However, they gained four-time Pro Bowl selection CB Chris Harris Jr., LB Nick Vigil and rookie LB Kenneth Murray, who was drafted No. 23 overall.
The acquisition of the 30-year-old Harris to be starter leaves the future of CB Desmond King in a flux because he manned the slot the past few seasons. King could serve as the dime linebacker, but his snaps will decrease significantly. King is capable of playing the outside corner position spot along with CB Casey Hayward.
That remains an area that should’ve been shored up in the draft, or at least had competition added for CB Michael Davis, who is slated to start there despite his up-and-down play in previous seasons. There’s the possibility of FS Nasir Adderley making the transition from the single-high role to cornerback, too.
Adderley was expected to start at free safety last season, but injuries hampered him, and the team has faith in FS Rayshawn Jenkins in that role. Adderley played cornerback in his first two college seasons at Delaware, so the transition wouldn’t be foreign to him. Safety Derwin James remains as a key piece as a do-it-all defender.
As for the linebacker position, the starting spots are up for grabs. LB Drue Tranquill, a standout as a rookie last season, is expected to start at middle linebacker, while Murray starts at weakside linebacker. But the roles of LB Denzel Perryman and Kyzir White remain to be seen. Perryman is in the final year of his contract, and it’s evident based on the snaps from 2019 that Tranquill earned the trust of the coaching staff in the starting role more so than Perryman.
White, meanwhile, has still struggled to fully recover from a knee injury suffered in 2018. Perryman could have a rotational role, but there’s a possibility he will be released to clear up salary cap space or even traded prior to training camp.
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