Ranking Chargers position groups from worst to best ahead of training camp
With training camp set to start on Wednesday, it’s finally beginning to feel like football season is near.
The Chargers’ preseason roster is all but set, with improvements up and down the depth chart at several key positions. But which position groups could use some more help? Which are rock-solid for this year and beyond?
Let’s rank them, from worst to best.
11. Linebacker
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After letting leading tackler Kyzir White depart in free agency to make room for splashier acquisitions, the linebacker room is largely thin and unproven. Drue Tranquill is the team’s best option, but there’s no guarantee he’ll be healthy and available for all 17 games, as he’s missed at least one game in each of his first three seasons. Former first-round pick Kenneth Murray Jr. will be limited to open training camp as he recovers from offseason ankle surgery. If he’s 100%, which he clearly was not after returning from IR, he figures to be entrenched as a starter opposite Tranquill. It’s a make-or-break year for Murray, who needs to show improvement to keep a strong hold on a starting job moving forward.
The Chargers also have former Ram Troy Reeder on the roster, who figures to play a big role especially if Murray isn’t 100% by the season opener. Amen Ogbongbemiga, Nick Niemann, and Cole Christiansen all return and will fight for depth chart positioning and special teams snaps. However, Ogbongbemiga and Niemann got snaps at linebacker last season and proved serviceable.
The wild card here is Kyle Van Noy, who Brandon Staley has said will have a role tailor-made for him on LA’s defense. That will likely include a mix of traditional linebacker and pass rusher duties, which could help shore up a group that needs a veteran presence.
10. Special teams
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Kicker Dustin Hopkins is the only returnee from a 2021 group that ranked 28th in special teams DVOA, embarrassingly their best rank since 2018, when they were 25th. In the years in between, LA had the worst special teams in the league by DVOA. That’s a large part of the reason that new coordinator Ryan Ficken was brought in this offseason. In his wake come punter JK Scott, long snapper Josh Harris, and returner DeAndre Carter. Harris was given the second-largest cap hit of any snapper in the league following Pro Bowl-caliber seasons in Atlanta, while Scott and Carter come at much more modest rates. Carter will battle with third-year pro Joe Reed for returning duties, while Scott has been given the reins at punter after the Chargers elected to pass on one of the more talented college classes in recent memory.
9. Tight end
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Ranking the tight ends as the third-worst unit on the team has less to do with their lack of talent and more with the abundance of talent elsewhere on the team. Veteran Gerald Everett is a step up from Jared Cook, who struggled with drops as a Charger. Everett brings sure hands and a bit more versatility than Cook, whose skill set leans more towards pass-catching. XFL alum Donald Parham Jr. made strides last season before his season-ending concussion, but a healthy training camp could quickly remind the league of his upward trajectory. 2021 third-round pick Tre’ McKitty developed primarily as a blocker as a rookie, but the team wants to get him more involved in receiving looks as his game continues to develop. If there’s one knock on the group, it’s that none of the options on the roster have the ceiling of top-end threats. All are solid players who will fill their roles and produce when asked, but none of them are the second coming of Antonio Gates.
8. Running back
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Placing here is a hedge against the RB2 battle set to unfold in training camp, as there remains no proven option behind star back Austin Ekeler. LA hopes fourth-round rookie Isaiah Spiller becomes that option. Still, he’ll have to first have a strong training camp and convince the Chargers brass that he deserves playing time over previous Day 3 picks Joshua Kelley and Larry Rountree. Neither young veteran has been particularly inspiring in their short time in powder blue, but the coaching staff has had positive things to say about both players. If you’re planning to monitor the preseason cuts around the league for players the Chargers could pick up for cheap, I’d keep running back on the top of the list, pending Spiller’s performance. In a perfect world, the Texas A&M star looks pro-ready from Wednesday onward, and the position is set for 2022 and beyond.
7. Offensive line
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LA returns three very good starters on the line in left tackle Rashawn Slater, left guard Matt Feiler, and center Corey Linsley. They hope they’ve gotten the fourth one in rookie right guard Zion Johnson, who has essentially been handed the job without a starting-caliber veteran on the roster. But the gargantuan, universe-encompassing question is at right tackle, where incumbents Storm Norton and Trey Pipkins will duke it out throughout camp. Norton is a decent run blocker who looked completely lost in pass protection for most of the season, while Pipkins is an underseasoned fourth-year player who spent the offseason training with Slater and renowned OL coach Duke Manyweather.
With so many AFC teams loading up on two high-end pass rushers, the difference between good, average, and bad play at right tackle will be palpable. Receive bad play, and the season may very well end up looking just like 2021, a year in which Justin Herbert was unable to show off his elite arm strength very often. Average, and this team is nearly a lock for the playoffs. Good, and we may be talking about a deep playoff run. Whether Pipkins or Norton can deliver that is unclear. If neither of them impresses in camp, it’s another position to monitor around the league in case a serviceable veteran comes available.
6. Defensive line
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After unquestionably finishing the season as the worst unit on the team, and maybe the worst defensive line unit in football, to have this group as the midpoint of these rankings is a testament to the attention it was given in the offseason. Adding Sebastian Joseph-Day and Austin Johnson to replace Linval Joseph and Justin Jones is a clear upgrade on the run defense front, and Joseph-Day and Morgan Fox’s familiarity with Brandon Staley’s defense will only help everyone else in the room grow more proficient.
The defensive line also has one of the toughest roster battles of training camp, as there are at most two spots for Jerry Tillery, Christian Covington, and Breiden Fehoko. Joseph-Day, Johnson, and Fox are locks for the team, and fifth-rounder Otito Ogbonnia is also a near-lock. Last year’s team only carried five defensive linemen on opening day, but this year’s depth could necessitate the retention of a sixth, likely at the cost of a fourth tight end. The fact that three players who played a hefty portion of snaps in 2021 are fighting to even make the roster is a sign that things will be very different this season.
5. Safety
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Derwin James is one of the league’s top three safeties when healthy, and the expectation is that his contract extension will be announced any minute now. Next to him, Nasir Adderley may be the Chargers’ most underrated player, as he’s frequently knocked for his subpar ball skills despite lingering complications from a dislocated finger dating back to his college days at Delaware. Adderley said this offseason that his finger finally feels back to normal and he can catch a football normally, which could come just in time for a step up in a contract year. Third-round rookie JT Woods has a similar skill set to Adderley and gives the team two center-field missiles to clean things up when James moves to his money-backer position. If Adderley isn’t retained following the season, Woods seems like the logical replacement in the base starting lineup. LA also has 2021 seventh-rounder Mark Webb and 2020 sixth-rounder Alohi Gilman, both of whom have received positive feedback from the staff but have struggled with injuries. Webb in particular is a player the Chargers seem to be high on.
4. Cornerback
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At this point in the rankings, we’re splitting hairs, because cornerback is undoubtedly a strength of this Chargers roster. JC Jackson is one of the most productive on-ball corners in the league, with 17 interceptions in the last two seasons. His five-year, $82.5 million contract reflects those skills, and he’ll need them in arguably the strongest QB division in football. Opposite him, second-year pro Asante Samuel Jr. will look to build on a solid rookie season that lost momentum due to injuries but never due to on-field productivity. Samuel’s ability to rotate between the boundary and the slot will give LA the flexibility to dictate their own matchups as well.
Michael Davis also returns as the team’s CB3, and he’ll rotate in on the boundary when Samuel takes slot reps. After a breakout 2020, last season was a bit up and down for Davis, but perhaps lessening his load results in a higher percentage of impactful snaps. Veteran Bryce Callahan will threaten for the starting slot role, where he’s been among the league’s best when healthy throughout his career. It’s unrealistic to expect 17 games from Callahan, who has missed at least one game in every season as a pro, but getting 14 or 15 of consistent starter-level play for the vet minimum would be a coup.
Depth is also far less of a concern than last season, as LA added Ja’Sir Taylor and Deane Leonard late in the draft. Tevaughn Campbell and Kemon Hall, who both were forced into action last season due to injuries, also return. One or more of those four won’t make the team, again a testament to the work the Chargers have done to ensure their secondary is in premier shape by the time Week 1 rolls around.
3. Wide receiver
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Keenan Allen and Mike Williams make up one of the more expensive receiving tandems in the league, but I believe that they’re worth every penny. Allen remains perennially underrated because of his lack of premier physical traits, but his savvy as a route runner and feel for the game ensure that he’s almost always open. Williams was an iffy re-signing proposition because of the price tag attached, but $20 million a year is beginning to look like it’ll be a bargain with the way the wide receiver market is headed. If Justin Herbert has the time, additional deep balls down the field will also inflate Williams’ production, who has been pigeonholed as just a jump ball receiver for most of his career.
Beyond the big two, I’m expecting a huge leap from 2021 third-rounder Josh Palmer, who will be on a mission to ensure we address the room as a big three moving forward. Teammates, coaches, analysts, and everyone in between has praised the Canadian for his work ethic this offseason, and he’s established quite the rapport with Herbert by simply demanding more reps with his QB. It’s clear his will to be great is there; now he just needs the production to back it up. Deep threat Jalen Guyton has also been called one of the winners of LA’s offseason program, drawing high praise from Staley for his commitment to transforming his body this summer, as well as his willingness to step in as a gunner on the punt team.
2. Edge defender
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Joey Bosa and Uchenna Nwosu were a good duo in 2021. Bosa and Khalil Mack, a former Defensive Player of the Year, should be elite in 2022. It’s popular to say Mack has lost a step, and it remains to be seen how he’s recovered from the foot surgery that ended his season ten games short last year. However, Mack also had his best season as a Bear in 2018, the lone season that Brandon Staley coached outside linebackers in Chicago. That season, Mack finished with 12.5 sacks and was named to his third All-Pro first team.
Kyle Van Noy will have a role in this rotation, probably especially on passing downs when the Chargers can line Van Noy up on the edge and Derwin James at money backer to create exotic pressure looks. 2021 fourth-rounder Chris Rumph II came out of Duke as an athletic ball of clay and will likely keep a place on the roster as EDGE4 as he continues to develop. CFL signee Jamal Davis II is another athletically gifted but underdeveloped rusher who will probably add depth to the practice squad. If either of those lottery tickets results in tangible production in 2022, it may be a historic season for LA rushing the passer.
1. Quarterback
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Whenever you have a top 5 QB in the league, it’s hard to say that guy isn’t the best position group on the roster. In The Athletic’s annual survey of NFL coaches and executives, conducted by Mike Sando, Herbert ranked fifth, with Sando calling him the combination of Bengals QB Joe Burrow’s accuracy and Bills QB Josh Allen’s size and athleticism. One voter called him “kind of a bigger version of Aaron Rodgers”. Multiple said that the league will be characterized by Herbert vs. Allen vs. Patrick Mahomes for the next five to seven years.
All that is to say, the sixth overall pick in 2020 is pretty good at football. His next task will be showing he can do it in the playoffs, an opportunity he’d missed out on thus far largely due to flaws outside of his control. (Cough, run defense.) If everything else comes together this season and Herbert gets the chance to duel the likes of Allen, Mahomes, and Burrow while fighting through the AFC for a Super Bowl berth, it could be a reputation-defining season for the face of the franchise.
