The Chargers’ 2023 rookie class looks particularly strong heading into the new season.
With multiple players in the group expected to take on important roles during the team’s 17-game schedule, head coach Brandon Staley will rely on his younger talent to buoy the team over the course of the coming season.
Asked about which players stood out to him during offseason workouts in a press conference after practice, Staley made it clear that Los Angeles’ first-year players have impressed and seem poised for a great season.
“I think all of the rookies that we drafted, I’m really excited to work with,” Staley explained. “I think they all proved themselves in one shape or form. Certainly, with the linemen, you’re not getting to see them in that way of the physicality and the pads and stuff.
“I think the guys that we drafted, and there are going to be some undrafted guys that I know that are going to make an impression on you guys in the training camp, I’m confident in that. The rookies, I think, really showed a lot of professionalism. They showed the ability that they’re going to be a factor come training camp.”
Particularly for the undrafted players in the rookie class, the training camp and preseason will determine their use in the Chargers’ game plans. Still, Staley’s words of praise are a sure sign that the up-and-comers will factor into the equation.
With a little over a month between the NFL hopefuls and their dress rehearsal for action in the league, the hype surrounding their potential seems to have reached a fever pitch.