Tag: Bolts

Chargers sign OL Ryan Groy

The Los Angeles Chargers signed a familiar face on Wednesday.

The Chargers signed offensive guard Ryan Groy to the 90-man roster on Wednesday.

Groy appeared in nine games for Los Angeles last season after signing with the team on Oct. 9. He played 36 offensive snaps and 37 on special teams.

Groy, the former Wisconsin product was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Bears in 2014. Groy played in 16 games in 2016 and 2017 and appeared in 15 contests in 2018, all for the Bills. He also spent time with the Patriots, Buccaneers and Saints.

Groy enters camp looking to earn a spot on the roster once again to serve as depth on the interior part of the offensive line and play on special teams.

Who is the Chargers’ ‘best kept secret’?

The Los Angeles Chargers might have a gem on the offensive line.

The left tackle position is arguably one of the weaker groups on the Chargers’ roster, given the lack of pure firepower. However, could there be someone that brings that this upcoming season?

Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport believes so. Insert Trey Pipkins.

Here’s what Davenport had to say about Pipkins being Los Angeles’ “best kept secret”:

Heading into the 2019 draft, Trey Pipkins III was considered a talented but raw tackle prospect after playing collegiately at Sioux Falls. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com labeled him a likely Day 3 pick.

“Developmental tackle prospect who offers NFL-caliber size, length and athletic ability for teams willing to work out the technique kinks,” Zierlein wrote. “Pipkins has quick feet but needs to prove he can gain adequate depth with his initial pass slides in order to work to his set points against edge speed. He has Day 3 draft potential, but the jump in competition makes him a likely practice squad candidate early on.”

But then the Chargers spent a third-round pick on Pipkins, traded veteran tackle Russell Okung and didn’t sign or draft an obvious replacement—despite the fact that Pipkins allowed four sacks in 251 snaps as a rookie.

As things stand today, Pipkins is the front-runner to be the blind-side protector for either Tyrod Taylor or rookie Justin Herbert when the Bolts travel to Cincinnati in Week 1.

Head coach Anthony Lynn and general manager Tom Telesco appear to have seen something in the young 6’6″, 304-pounder.

Soon enough, we’ll see if they are right.

Pipkins, the team’s third-round pick from the 2019 NFL draft, wasn’t expected to take a single snap in his rookie season. However, that narrative took a turn when Russell Okung dealt with a combination of a serious health issue and injuries.

Pipkins was forced into the action as early as Week 4 and saw the bulk of his playing time come starting in Week 10. Like any rookie offensive lineman, he experienced some struggles against NFL pass-rushers, but as he received more playing, his strengths became more apparent.

Plays like this exemplify what Pipkins is capable of doing.

Going into the 2020 season, the ball is in Pipkins’ court for the starting job after the team didn’t acquire a single left tackle this offseason. He will have to fend off others that will be in contention for the role, which includes Sam Tevi, Storm Norton, Trent Scott and possibly Forrest Lamp.

For most, not addressing the left side of the line was a mistake. But the team is hopeful that offensive line coach James Campen — one of the best developers of offensive linemen in the league — and a change in offensive scheme will elevate the play.

“He gets what you’re asking him to do. I think he has a lot of potential,” Campen said about Pipkins.

Chargers’ Pep Hamilton gives first impression of QB Justin Herbert

Pep Hamilton is already working on improving some of Justin Herbert’s weaknesses from college.

The Chargers made two changes to the quarterback room this offseason. They drafted Justin Herbert in the first-round of this year’s draft, and followed that up with giving him a mentor by hiring Pep Hamilton to fulfill the duties as the team’s quarterbacks coach.

So what does Hamilton think of his new project? NFL Media’s Jim Trotter recently spoke with Hamilton to get an idea how Herbert is doing in (virtual) rookie minicamp thus far.

“I asked him [Hamilton], what did you learn about your quarterback about you didn’t know before? He said, ‘Look, we knew about his intelligence, we knew about his athletic gifts but what I didn’t know is how important football is to him.’

And he told me that with Justin, one of the things is he wants more. He wants to understand all the conceptual things behind a play design. He wants to know the why, as opposed to just the what. And Pep told me that’s important because you have to understand and see the big picture to succeed at the position,” Trotter said.

One of the things that Herbert struggled with in college was not seeing the entire field and being late to locate coverage. In Oregon’s system, he did benefit from pre-determined reads at times, but that will have to change at the next level.

To work on this, Hamilton has already given Herbert an assignment during the offseason training.

“What Hamilton told me is that he’s given Herbert an assignment. And he wants him to basically make a mental checklist of everything he goes through while watching NFL defenses.

Pep said, ‘when you see a little, you see a lot. When you see a lot, you don’t see anything’ and by that, what he means is that Herbert should be focusing on certain keys pre snap to know what a defense is going to do and what that coverage is going to be,” Trotter said.

Hamilton has worked with many NFL and some college quarterbacks, including Andrew Luck at Stanford and with the Colts. The Chargers are hopeful that he will help elevate Herbert’s game as he looks to be the long-term answer at the quarterback position.

Chargers select WR K.J. Hill No. 220 overall

The Los Angeles Chargers rounded out their draft with wide receiver K.J. Hill.

The Chargers selected former Ohio State wide receiver K.J. Hill with the No. 220 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

After drafting Joe Reed, Los Angeles wasn’t finished adding to the wide receiver corps.

Hill finished as Ohio State’s all-time leader in receptions (201), with 2,332 yards and 20 touchdowns. He had 46 punt returns for 258 yards (5.6 average).

WATCH: Highlights of new Chargers WR Joe Reed

The Los Angeles Chargers are getting a fun player.

The Chargers continued to add pieces to the offensive side of the ball with their fifth-round pick wide receiver Joe Reed.

It remains to be seen if he can thrive on the outside at the next level because of his lack of route-running ability.

But he does have the ability to serve as a gadget player and high-upside return specialist, winning with his yards after the catch ability to turn short gains into big ones.

Take a look at what Los Angeles is getting in Reed:

Remaining Chargers needs entering Day 3 of 2020 NFL Draft

The Los Angeles Chargers have five more notable positions that need to be addressed.

The Chargers addressed the quarterback and linebacker positions in the first-round of the 2020 NFL Draft with the selections of Justin Herbert and Kenneth Murray.

After trading away their second and third-round picks to move up to grab Murray, Los Angeles wasn’t able to do anything on Friday evening.

As we go into Day 3, which marks the final day of the draft, here’s a look at the team needs that still need to be addressed in order of priority.

  1. Offensive tackle
  2. Cornerback
  3. Wide receiver
  4. Defensive tackle
  5. Running back

It’s up in the air whether the Chargers are rolling with Trey Pipkins as the regular season starter at left tackle. He certainly has the leg up, but offensive line coach James Campen may have say if he wants to draft one of his guys that he might like for competition purposes.

Players like Auburn’s Prince Tega Wanogho, St. John’s Ben Bartch, LSU’s Saahdiq Charles, Kansas’ Hakeem Adeniji and Auburn’s Jack Driscoll make a lot of sense for the Bolts because they all possess an athletic skillset which correlates to the zone scheme they’re going to incorporate.

The outside corner spot opposite of Casey Hayward was already a need coming into the draft, but it became more glaring after the Raiders and Broncos have spent their picks on bolstering their wide receiver corps.

Michael Davis has the advantage to start, but they need another playmaker, especially because he only has one more year on his contract. Virginia’s Bryce Hall, Tulsa’s Reggie Robinson, Notre Dame’s Troy Pride and Temple’s Harrison Hand are great fits for Gus Bradley Cover 3 scheme.

The Chargers have a dynamic duo with Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, but they need to give Tyrod Taylor and Justin Herbert a deep threat who can take the top off of defenses with straight-line speed. Rhode Island’s Isaiah Coulter, Boise State’s John Hightower, Michigan’s Donovan Peoples-Jones and Southern Mississippi’s Quez Watkins are all options.

Linval Joseph was a solid signing to replace Brandon Mebane. However, the depth behind him is nonexistent. If the Chargers don’t draft anyone, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them re-sign Damion Square or Sylvester Williams. Options in the draft that are intriguing include Utah’s Leki Fotu, Ole Miss’ Benito Jones and Baylor’s Bravvion Roy.

Finally, the last need that could be addressed in the draft is the running back position. With the expectation that Austin Ekeler will be used as a pass-catcher in the slot and out wide, the Chargers need a bigger back that could be used in short yardage situations. Cincinnati’s Michael Warren and TCU’s Sewo Olonilua make a lot of sense.

Chargers players react to selections of Justin Herbert, Kenneth Murray

Justin Herbert and Kenneth Murray were welcomed with open arms.

The Chargers selected quarterback Justin Herbert and linebacker Kenneth Murray in the first-round of the 2020 NFL Draft on Thursday evening.

While most fans were pumped with the addition of Herbert and Murray, current members of the Bolts were, too.

Players like running back Austin Ekeler, wide receiver Mike Williams, tight end Hunter Henry, safety Derwin James and cornerback Chris Harris Jr. made sure to welcome their new teammates with open arms.

Tom Telesco explains Chargers’ selections of Justin Herbert, Kenneth Murray

Los Angeles Chargers general manager Tom Telesco felt like Round 1 of the 2020 NFL Draft was a success.

The Chargers went into Thursday night with the hopes of deciphering the life after Philip Rivers.

Four picks went by and Los Angeles saw Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert still on the board, both of whom were commonly mocked to the Bolts throughout the pre-draft process.

When the Dolphins were on the clock, it was a little than 10 minutes until commissioner Roger Goodell announced that they were taking Tagovailoa with the fifth overall selection.

It was then when L.A. was face-to-face with Herbert and linebacker Isaiah Simmons. While many fans were hoping for the dynamic defender, Telesco elected to roll with the signal-caller.

“The quarterback position kind takes a little bit of precedent,” Telesco said, per The Athletic’s Daniel Popper.

Prior to the draft, we talked about how the Chargers were in a prime position to land one of the top quarterbacks and that they had to seize that opportunity rather than passing up, like they’ve done in years prior.

“You don’t pick sixth very often. Hopefully we never pick sixth again. I know as a general manager if you pick sixth too many times, there will be somebody else making these picks.

When you’re up there and you have a chance to take a quarterback that you think down the road could be a possible franchise-type quarterback, especially with the type of makeup and the physical skills (Herbert) has, it’s someone that’s hard to pass (on).

Look, quarterbacks are very difficult to find. It’s a very difficult position to play, and we think he’s got a lot of attributes that have a chance for a really positive success here,” Telesco said.

Even though Herbert was commonly criticized among the fanbase for some of his inconsistencies as a passer, he had too many great traits that outweighed the weaknesses, along with potential to be something special.

“It’s a combination of his physical skills, his style of how he plays and then his makeup is just really intriguing to us,” Telesco said. “He’s a big, fast, dual-threat quarterback, with still plenty of room to grow, and we really like his quarterback intangibles, his quarterback makeup, his leadership skills, his toughness, his mental toughness, being able to handle adversity.”

Herbert likely won’t see the field that much this upcoming season because Tyrod Taylor is slated to start, but it will allow him to develop and clean up any deficiencies in his game.

Since Los Angeles was unable to land Simmons, it was clear that they still wanted to land a premiere linebacker to replace Thomas Davis, who was released earlier this offseason.

So that’s why they had a fallback option. However, they didn’t think he would be there when they were on the clock with their second-round selection (No. 37 overall), which is why they were aggressive to secure him.

The Chargers traded up 14 spots with the Patriots (No. 23 overall) to select linebacker Kenneth Murray, who the entire coaching staff really loved.

“He plays with a really violent mentality. You can just kind of feel him on the field with the presence that he plays with,” Telesco said. “He’s a player our scouting staff, our coaching staff, our head coach are really, really excited about.

This is a guy that everyone was pounding the table on for weeks. So we felt like once it got to a certain point, it gave us that opportunity to go up and be aggressive and get him. There was 100 percent buy-in to add him to this football team.”

Murray primarily played the Mike linebacker role for the Sooners, but Telesco believes that he is capable of manning all three spots – Mike, Will and Sam.

“He can play any of the spots that we would ask him to,” Telesco said. “Whenever we get on the field, hopefully as soon as possible, we’ll see where everything shakes out.”

The Chargers won’t be on the clock until Saturday morning after sacrificing their second and third-round selections for Murray, but overall, Telesco and the rest of the team personnel was very pleased with their Round 1 haul.