The Chargers bolstered their defense on Wednesday by coming to an agreement with four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Chris Harris Jr.
The addition of Harris gives Los Angeles the label of being one of the top defenses in the NFL, which features the likes of defensive end Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram, safety Derwin James and cornerbacks Casey Hayward and Desmond King.
However, with Harris joining the Bolts, it means there will be some retooling to the back end of defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s defense.
Harris is arguably one of the league’s top slot corners, which is where he has spent the majority of his career playing. That is also the position King has played the past few seasons.
The 30-year old Harris did play on the outside last season, but he struggled in that role, allowing 731 yards and four touchdowns as opposing quarterbacks had a 114.3 passer rating when targeting him.
There was some speculation right off the bat that Harris might be able to rejuvenate in that role in a Cover 3 system. But according to Harris himself, the Chargers told him that he will be playing in the slot this upcoming season, according to the guys over at Pro Football Focus.
That means that King’s time in the inside has come to an end. So where does that leave the former Iowa product?
King played on the outside during college where he won the Jim Thorpe Award. But it appears that Los Angeles is going to be moving him to safety (which can also be heard in the video clip).
If that is indeed the case, it means that King will replace Adrian Phillips, who had a variety of roles on the defensive side of the ball, but mostly as the team’s dime linebacker and nickel linebacker.
King would be used near the box, where he would use his run defense skills to sniff out run plays while also using his coverage skills in the short-to-intermediate zones.
So if Harris is going to play in the slot and King is going to take on a hybrid linebacker role, what does that mean for the other outside corner position?
The coaching staff really likes Michael Davis, given the fact that they placed the second-round tender on him. Davis earned the starting job on the outside in his second season where he was decent in the role.
Another option is moving former second-round selection Nasir Adderley to the cornerback position full-time. Adderley was drafted to play free safety, but a hamstring injury kept him off the field. Rayshawn Jenkins started there all 16 games in 2019, and the coaching staff has faith in him in that role.
Moving Adderley to corner wouldn’t be a bad idea because he did play that position the first two seasons at Delaware and his skillset would make out to be an easy transition.
I do expect the Chargers to address the cornerback position at some point in the upcoming draft for the sake of depth and in case that potential plan mentioned doesn’t pan out.
The bottom line is that the addition of Harris makes Los Angeles’ defense a whole lot better, but now it’s just a matter of seeing how the bodies on the roster are going to see the playing field.
