A “tier one” player can be easily confused. It’s described as a core player that you entails four different things.
- The players you build rosters around
- Considered one of the best players at their position
- They are critical to your success, in part because they likely play an impact position.
- They are generally in or near the prime of their career
I love that. This can get a little subjective when it comes to what exactly an impact position is, but we all can agree who the core players are on the Chargers. So let’s start.
Core players
The Chargers got to where they were this year because the team features six players you build your team around. This is not me being biased. This is how I really feel about the players on the team. It might not be the six that you think but there really is that much talent on the roster. They finally got their coaching and mistakes that were holding them back out of the way. Who knew?
Players we don’t have to waste time on
Philip Rivers. Keenan Allen. Joey Bosa.
One is a Hall of Famer.
The other is a player that when he is not on the field, the offense is middle of the pack to bottom half of the NFL level. The offense just doesn’t operate at the same efficiency without Keenan Allen.
The defense was good and trending up during the first half of the season. Then the defense got better, and better, and better. We saw the peak of this defense during the Wildcard playoff game against the Ravens. That game Bosa played defensive tackle almost exclusively. He was a giant reason the team played the way they did. He dominated. 5.5 sacks. Seven tackles for loss. Nine QB hits. In seven games.
All three of these players have proven to be the best at their position at some point in their career. They’ve been top five consistently. If that’s not a core player, I’m not sure what is.
Credit where it’s due
No matter how you feel about Melvin Ingram, he’s proven the last two years that he, too, is one of the best edge rushers in the NFL. When Bosa was out earlier in the year, Ingram carried the Chargers several games defensively. If he doesn’t make a few plays here in there during a couple of those games, the team might be down a victory. He was asked to do more than ever, on and off the field, and he came through.
Ingram’s seven sacks in 2018 don’t do him justice for how productive he was as a pass rusher. He hit the QB 16 times. Last year was his career high at 25. 9 fewer QB hits with over a half a seasons worth a play is impressive. Ingram finished the season sixth in pressures, with 44. Add in those plays he made against the run, and you have yourself a tier one player.
Mr. Consistent
Cornerback is the most inconsistent position in the NFL when it comes to consistency. There are usually 4-7 guys that are at the top, then everyone else. If Hayward catches four of his 57 targets, we’re not even talking about this.
Hayward’s game really picked up during the second half of the season. It’s no coincidence that’s when Bosa came back. He finished the season with a 53% success rate, but that was low 40’s at one point in the season. NextGenStats helps paint a picture of how Hayward performed, despite the lack of interceptions.
Welcome, rookie
The only reason that there is any question to putting Derwin James on this list is because he was a rookie this year. Let me be clear, he is a franchise player. He was asked to do everything. He excelled at everything he did. What we saw from James this past year was not normal. James spoiled Charger fans.
Citing his stats doesn’t feel right because they don’t really tell the entire story. How the Chargers were able to eliminate tight ends consistently this year tells the story. If you watch the Patriots game, James is playing his butt off well into the fourth quarter. Looking back, maybe he’s the player that should have guarded Julian Edelman. That’s just a testament to him, though.
The scary thing? He’s only going to get better. James isn’t a safety. He’s a chess piece.
