The Chargers began the second portion of their organized team activities on Tuesday.
Here are three takeaways:
Nothing serious with positional battles
By no surprise, positional battles have yet to begin. Even though drills and 11-on-11 is permitted, tackling is not which means that it’s hard to gauge how the depth chart will shake up. That will be on hold until training camp begins in July.
Even though we will have to wait a couple months to see how things shape up at the main positions, the battle for the starting punter and long punter have begun, according to coach Anthony Lynn.
Undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame Tyler Newsome and former AAF punter Ty Long will battle it out for that spot. Meanwhile, veteran Mike Windt and former AAF member Cole Mazza will be fighting for the starting long snapper role.
Potential two-quarterback sets?
Quarterback Tyrod Taylor was brought in to serve as the main backup to Philip Rivers, but many have thought of the idea of bringing in Taylor on the field in certain situations where he could use his athleticism.
Offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt was asked about having a two-quarterback set this upcoming season. Whisenhunt didn’t necessarily throw the idea out, saying it’s something the team could do but he wasn’t too appalled by it.
The Ravens used a two-quarterback set for a little bit with Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson last season.
Even though the idea is appealing, I don’t see this taking place. Instead, Taylor is more likely to be used in some goal line packages like fourth-and-short where he could pick up the extra yards needed for a first down with his legs.
Injury updates
Staying healthy at all times is atop of the list for the Chargers. Tight end Hunter Henry suffered a torn ACL last year during OTAs, and that’s the list thing they’d want to occur.
Henry appears to be completely healthy and ready to go for the upcoming campaign. The former Arkansas product is running routes with precise movement skills.
Linebacker Denzel Perryman, who was re-signed in March, suffered a knee injury that put him out midway through last season.
Perryman has been working hard to regain full strength, and he appears to be ready to go for training camp in July to get back to the prolific middle linebacker that he is.
Kyzir White and Jatavis Brown were the other linebackers who sustained season-ending injuries, but they should be ready to go to compete for the starting outside linebacker spots.
