The Chargers are just a little over a week away from their season opener against The Washington Football Team under new head coach Brandon Staley, and with that, the positions are set after finalizing their 53-man roster.

The team has yet to release the official depth chart, so let’s dive into how the defensive side of the ball could shape up heading into the 2021 season, highlighting who is likely to start and serve as depth pieces behind them.

Defensive line

	Starter	Backup	Reserve
DT	Justin Jones	Christian Covington
NT	Linval Joseph
DE	Jerry Tillery	Eric Banks

The Chargers have a stout starting front. With Tillery and Jones’ skillset coupled with the new scheme, the two could be due for breakout seasons. Forrest Merrill was set to back up Joseph at the nose tackle spot, but he was waived in favor of  Banks, the latest addition, a long interior defender who brings a penetrating style of play.

Edge defender

	Starter	Backup	Reserve
EDGE1	Joey Bosa	Uchenna Nwosu
EDGE2	Kyler Fackrell	Chris Rumph II

Bosa and Nwosu were seen as the starters coming into the summer, but Fackrell played his way into the job during the preseason. Regardless, both players are expected to still play often during the season because of the many different packages in Staley’s defense. Rumph will primarily be a special teamer, but he should still see the field at times on third-down situations.

Inside Linebacker

	Starter	Backup	Reserve
ILB1	Kenneth Murray	Kyzir White	Amen Ogbongbemiga
ILB2	Drue Tranquill	Nick Niemann

White and Tranquill will be co-starters alongside Murray at inside linebacker, which means all three will play a lot. Even though he had a stellar summer, Niemann isn’t likely going to be on the field all that much. Instead, he and Ogbongbemiga will be making their money on special teams.

Cornerback

	Starter	Backup
CB1	Michael Davis	Ryan Smith
CB2	Asante Samuel Jr.	Tevaughn Campbell
Nickel	Chris Harris Jr.

Multiplicity and disguise is a staple which means the secondary will be interchangeable. When the unit goes into nickel or dime packages, Harris will slide into the slot, while Samuel mans the boundary opposite Davis. Smith and Campbell are primarily special teams aces.

Safety

	Starter	Backup	Reserve
FS	Nasir Adderley	Mark Webb
SS	Derwin James	Alohi Gilman	Trey Marshall

James will be the “Star” of the defense. Adderley will line up in the slot on top of patrolling the deep parts of the field. Gilman will see playing time as a hybrid safety-linebacker (Money). Webb and Marshall can both play safety and nickel and dime backer.