The Chargers will begin their mandatory minicamp today after concluding the voluntary portion of their offseason workout program last week. This minicamp marks the last phase of Los Angeles’ spring practices.
After this week, the entire team won’t practice together again until training camp begins in late July.
The biggest difference between OTAs and minicamp is that this week’s practices are mandatory. Running back Melvin Gordon and defensive end Melvin Ingram, who weren’t around for voluntary minicamp, will be in attendance.
With that, here are four things to watch for during mandatory camp:
How will the offensive line take shape
The Chargers will likely begin camp with the same offensive line that played most of last season as the starters: Left tackle Russell Okung, left guard Dan Feeney, center Mike Pouncey, right guard Michael Schofield and right tackle Sam Tevi.
How much reps former second-round selection Forrest Lamp receives will be one of the bigger headlines. Lamp will start inside at guard, but has some versatility to kick outside to tackle. If he is able to perform to the coaches’ expectations and show he’s healthy, then he may be in consideration for a starting job Week 1.
Even though Los Angeles had issues at the right tackle position in 2018 with Tevi starting, it appears that the coaching staff is going to let him try to redeem himself. Rookie Trey Pipkins could get caught up to the pace of the NFL quickly, but it wouldn’t be all that surprising to let him sit to start the season, barring any injuries.
Linebacker-palooza
Of all the retooling that the Chargers roster underwent over the past few months, the one positional group that got the majority of the attention was easily the linebacking corps.
Denzel Perryman was re-signed and Jatavis Brown and Kyzir White return from their perspective season-ending injuries. But the team added a veteran in Thomas Davis and a couple rookies through the draft in Drue Tranquill and Emeke Egbule.
Seeing who’s getting the majority of the reps and how the starting three will shape up will be the thing to watch for. Some other things to keep an eye on is the competition between Brown and White, where Davis is being aligned, how is Uchenna Nwosu holding up in space since we only saw him lined up at the line of scrimmage as a pass-rusher and could Tranquill be the hidden gem this year.
Who’s building momentum for the No. 3 WR spot
We know that Keenan Allen and Mike Williams have the No. 1 and 2 wide receiver spots locked up but who will be the guy behind after the loss of Tyrell Williams. You can make the argument that tight end Hunter Henry basically has that role since he’s adept at catching passes but ideally, they will have to fill that with an actual wideout.
Travis Benjamin is likely the frontrunner. Benjamin returns on a one-year deal even though he was underwhelming in 2018, finishing with 12 receptions for 186 yards. The coaching staff has valued him for his speed to serve as a deep threat and not to mention, he has the experience.
Don’t count out the other guys that will be fighting for the job. 2018 sixth-round selection Dylan Cantrell, Artavis Scott and Geremy Davis are all capable of pushing for the spot with a good outing this week to start carrying momentum into training camp.
There are always undrafted free agents that emerge, too. Some notables to watch out for are Jason Moore and Fred Trevellion, who both have some size on them at 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-3.
Staying healthy
Plenty of key players ended last season with injury questions, including their three main linebackers, tight end Hunter Henry and cornerback Trevor Williams.
They’re all healthy now, but one of the important things to watch for is how they’re moving and if everything is in sync. The majority of football players are able to fully recover from an injury, but sometimes it does effect their movement skills.
Making sure that the players are able to stay healthy throughout the week, leading up into training camp will be critical, as this is a time where valuable members of teams have been lost for the year.
