The Chargers begin a new journey in 2020 in a new stadium (SoFi Stadium) in Inglewood, CA.
Here’s a look at what’s new and what camp battles are expected to take place prior to the regular season kicking off.
This content appears in print in the Sports Weekly NFL Fantasy Football Preview.
What’s new?
The Chargers offense will have several new faces this season. With the Philip Rivers era over, Tyrod Taylor is slated to lead Los Angeles into the season, but not without competition. The Bolts selected Justin Herbert with the sixth overall pick with hopes he can be groomed into a franchise quarterback. Regardless of who is under center, Chargers will look to deploy more of a run-heavy offense. Austin Ekeler will take on the lead role after Melvin Gordon joined the AFC West rival Denver Broncos. Other key acquisitions on the offensive side of the ball include Bryan Bulaga and Trai Turner, who were brought in to revamp a leaky line. On the defensive side, the Chargers brought in Chris Harris Jr., Linval Joseph and first-round pick Kenneth Murray with an eye on slowing down the high-powered Kansas City Chiefs offense.
Camp battles
While it may seem like there will be a battle for the starting quarterback spot between Taylor and Herbert in training camp, the team appears to be confident rolling with Taylor while Herbert develops. There are three other training camp battles to keep an eye on. After the departure of left tackle Russell Okung, the competition will be between Sam Tevi, Trey Pipkins, Storm Norton, Forrest Lamp and Trent Scott. The front-runners are Tevi and Pipkins. Will Los Angeles roll with Tevi’s experience in the starting role or Pipkins’ unlocked potential? Looking to complement Keenan Allen, Mike Williams as the third wide receiver will be Andre Patton, Jason Moore and rookies K.J. Hill and Joe Reed. Ekeler will be the lead back, and the backup competition is between Justin Jackson and fourth-round rookie Joshua Kelley. Jackson has shown to be productive when healthy. Kelley has the skill set and durability to be effective in that role.