Tag: Chargers cornerback

Why you should place bet for Chargers’ Asante Samuel Jr. to win Defensive Rookie of the Year

Asante Samuel Jr. has the opportunity to earn the prestigious award.

This is typically a prime time for betting for the upcoming NFL season.

There’s an individual award that should intrigue sports bettors, as cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. is tied for the eighth-best odds to win Defensive Rookie of the Year at +3000, per Tipico Sportsbook.

That means if you place a $100 bet and Samuel wins the award, you pocket $3000.

The current favorite is Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons who was taken with the No. 12 overall selection.

Like offensive tackle Rashawn Slater, somehow teams let Samuel Jr. fall to Los Angeles’ lap in the second-round where they drafted him.

Size concerns likely forced the slide, but that never held him back at Florida State as he stymied top receivers on a weekly basis en route to posting 97 tackles, 29 passes defensed and four interceptions over 31 games.

Now in the best situation possible by playing for defensive guru Brandon Staley, Samuel has been shining this summer. Whether it’s been in coverage or in run support, his presence his been felt.

While he appears to be a long-shot, I wouldn’t rule out Samuel as a serious contender for the award. His ability to always be around the football would tally up the stat sheet, which would then increase his chances.

The last two winners at the cornerback position were Marcus Peters (2015) and Marshon Lattimore (2017). The two posted eight interceptions and 26 passes defensed and five picks and 18 passes broken up respectively.

The bottom line is that if you’re a bettor, this is one you should place now rather than later into the season. Again, bet $100 to win $3500. Nothing to lose here.

Chargers 2021 Training Camp Position Battles: Who will play opposite CB Michael Davis?

The Los Angeles Chargers have a battle for the other outside cornerback spot.

The Chargers have two of their starting corners set, with those being Michael Davis and Chris Harris Jr.

Davis will play on the outside, as will Harris but just in base packages, which is what head coach Brandon Staley doesn’t play all that often in.

Instead, Los Angeles will be playing in sub-packages; nickel (five DBs) and dime (six DBs) for the majority of their defensive snaps.

When the unit goes into those packages, Harris will slide into the slot, which means they need to establish who will then line up opposite Davis.

At training camp, it will be a competition between rookie Asante Samuel Jr. and Brandon Facyson.

Drafted in the second-round, Samuel posted 97 tackles, 29 passes defensed and four interceptions over 31 games at Florida State.

His quickness, instincts and ball skills are NFL-ready and he should be able to step into a role right off the bat, but he has to still earn his playing time.

Pushing him for the spot is Facyson, who was in an unfavorable situation in Gus Bradley’s defense. At minicamp and OTAs, the majority of his snaps came with the first-team.

Facyson has excellent athleticism, size and length and experience in a variety of techniques and coverage, which are traits Staley covets.

While he hasn’t been able to put it all together on the field, the coaches believe they can help Facyson unlock his potential in this new system.

Normally, the experience outweighs the youth, but Samuel was taken in Round 2 for a reason. I believe he wins the job, and he will have an expanded role, too.

Like how Staley used Troy Hill with the Rams, Samuel will be in a similar situation, playing inside and outside.

With the newfound coaching coupled with his natural talent, Samuel can be a dynamic piece in this secondary.

Projecting the Chargers’ cornerback depth chart in 2021

Identifying the cornerbacks that the Chargers will start the 2021 season with on the 53-man roster.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been breaking down the depth chart at each position for the Chargers.

Quarterback

Running Back

Wide Receiver

Tight End

Offensive Line

Edge Defender

Interior Defensive Line

Linebacker

Next up, I project what the cornerback room will look like heading into the 2021 season.

Michael Davis

After originally signing with Los Angeles as an undrafted free agent in 2017, Davis steadily developed into a quality starter, with 2020 marking his best as a professional. He slowed some of the league’s top receivers and made a few big plays in critical situations en route to logging 64 tackles, 14 passes defensed and three interceptions, all of which were personal bests. Heading into the upcoming season, his versatility in coverage, length and athleticism make him a good fit near the boundary in head coach Brandon Staley’s defense. Only 26 years of age, Davis’ best football is still ahead of him

Chris Harris Jr.

Signed last offseason, Harris Jr. wasn’t as promising as prior years due to an injury that forced him to miss seven games and playing in a system that didn’t favor his skillset, only totaling 37 tackles, two passes defensed and an interception. In Staley’s defense, Harris will have more man coverage responsibilities, which is what he’s more comfortable with as opposed to heavy dosages of zone with former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley last season. He will be tasked with playing his natural position inside the slot on the outside and dimebacker.

Asante Samuel Jr.

Selected in the second round of this year’s draft, Samuel Jr. fell due to size concerns, but that never held him back at Florida State as he stymied top receivers on a weekly basis, where he posted 97 tackles, 29 passes defensed and four interceptions over 31 games. Now in the best situation possible playing for Staley, the coaching coupled with his natural talent could take his game to the next level. His quickness, instincts and ball skills should translate very well in this league. Like how Staley used Troy Hill with the Rams, Samuel Jr. will be in a similar situation, playing inside and outside.

Brandon Facyson

Relegated to a reserve player since entering the league in 2018, Facyson was re-signed earlier this offseason because the new coaching staff liked what they saw from a small sample size and felt like he has the traits they covet at the position. Standing at 6-foot-2 and 197 pounds, Facyson has excellent size and length and experience in a variety of techniques and coverage. While he hasn’t put it all together on the field, he has potential and it’s easy to believe that the coaches could help him unlock it.

Ryan Smith

Signed earlier this offseason after spending the past five seasons with the Buccaneers, Smith was brought in to aide in the special teams department, where he will aide in the coverage units. Last season, Smith appeared in all 16 regular-season games for the Buccaneers and played 78 percent of the special teams snaps (360). He also played at least 73 percent of the special teams snaps in each of the team’s four postseason games. In 2019, he led the team with a team-high seven stops on special teams.

Chargers GM Tom Telesco talks edge, cornerback positions ahead of NFL draft

Chargers general manager Tom Telesco implied that the team will address the positions in the draft.

Aside from left tackle, the other position the Chargers need to address in this year’s draft is cornerback.

The past few seasons under former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, the corners were primarily deployed in zone coverage.

With head coach Brandon Staley calling the shots now, his defensive backs are going to be versatile, and will be asked to do more than just playing off the line of scrimmage.

At Friday’s media availability general manager Tom Telesco said that the team is looking for corners who can perform at a high level no matter what coverages they’re in.

“We’re looking for corners who can play a variety of coverages,” Telesco said. We don’t want a corner who can only play zone-coverage, and we don’t want a corner who can only play man-coverage. That gives us some versatility to play a little bit of man and zone and keep people on their heels.”

In the first-round, South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn is seen as an ideal corner for Staley’s scheme.

But if the team was to take a tackle in Round 1, they could still benefit from a corner like Georgia’s Tyson Campbell or Eric Stokes, Syracuse’s Ifeatu Melifonwu, Michigan’s Ambry Thomas, Stanford’s Paulson Adebo, among others in Rounds 2 or 3.

Telesco was also asked about the state of the team’s edge defenders.

“As we sit here today, it looks pretty good. Obviously, I’m not going to talk about Joey. That one’s pretty much self-explanatory. And I think you guys pretty much know how we feel about Chenna.

I think Chenna can be a high-level player in this league. We love how he plays. And it was great to add Kyler to the group, both as a pass rusher, play the run, play special teams, proven production in this league. So pretty happy there.”

Uchenna Nwosu enters the season as a starting edge defender. Joey Bosa will play on the “edge” of the defense, but will move around a lot. Kyler Fackrell along with Emeke Egbule will come on the field as rotational pass-rushers.

To round out the group, Staley should be able to find one of his “guys”, one who’s lengthy and explosive with the ability to set the edge versus tight ends and dominate the edge in the run game.

If the position is addressed in the early rounds, Washington’s Joe Tryon, Texas’ Joseph Ossai, Penn State’s Jayson Oweh and Houston’s Payton Turner make sense.

In the middle rounds, Tulane’s Cameron Sample, Northern Iowa’s Elerson Smith, Florida State’s Joshua Kaindoh, Janarius Robinson and Iowa’s  Chauncey Golston could also be targets.

“You can never have enough pass-rushers and corners,” Telesco added.

2021 NFL draft: 5 sleeper cornerbacks Chargers could target

The Los Angeles Chargers will go into this year’s draft, looking to bolster the cornerback room.

Every draft class includes a handful of sleepers waiting to surprise the rest of the league and force senses of regret upon the teams that passed on them.

The Chargers could take a cornerback in the early rounds, but the chances of head coach Brandon Staley wanting to build the secondary with his own guys are high. Therefore, he could choose to take more than one.

With that being said, here are five cornerbacks who aren’t receiving a lot of buzz that Los Angeles could target in this year’s draft.

Benjamin St-Juste, Minnesota

St-Juste, a transfer from Michigan to Minnesota, didn’t necessarily fill up the stat sheet. Over 18 games played between the two schools, he only logged 62 total tackles, 11 passes defensed with zero interceptions. However, the numbers don’t necessarily replicate his actual impact on the field.

Hailing at 6-foot-3 and 208 pounds with a wingspan of more than 80 inches, St-Juste uses his length and strength to his advantage to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage and at the catch point to disrupt throwing lanes. He also has fantastic agility and flexibility.

With L.A., St-Juste could be a versatile defensive back who plays on the outside and some safety. His deep speed, length and strength would carry over well as a gunner or jammer on special teams, as well.

Tre Brown, Oklahoma

Starting 33 out of 51 games, Brown made his impact as the Sooners’ outside cornerback. In four seasons, he posted 141 tackles, 31 passes defensed, 8.5 tackles for loss and four interceptions. Despite having a smaller stature at 5-foot-9 at 188 pounds, he was a shutdown outside corner over his college career.

Brown is an excellent athlete who possesses speed, explosiveness and quickness. Those traits show in press-man coverage, where uses his quick feet to mirror and break quickly with receivers at the top of the route and make plays, even against wideouts 30 pounds heavier.

With the Chargers, Brown could be a versatile corner who plays both inside or outside due to his quickness. He also has a ton of special teams experience that would serve him well in a variety of roles, whether it’s as a returner, gunner or jammer.

Shakur Brown, Michigan State

Brown burst onto the scene in 2020 for the Spartans, playing the best football of his collegiate career. The 5-foot-11 and 190-pound corner posted 25 tackles, five interceptions, four passes defended in seven games played.

Brown was one of the nation’s top playmakers, showing plus instincts, use of hands in press-man coverage, and awareness to decipher route combinations. Along with that, he does a fine job at playing with his back to the quarterback and shows good ball skills to come away with the rock.

Brown missed multiple games in 2019 due to an injury. But those concerns aside, he has key traits that can’t be taught that will allow him to rise to the top of a depth chart quickly, capable of playing inside or outside at the next next level.

Rodarius Williams, Oklahoma State

Williams, the younger brother of Browns corner Greedy, started 48 consecutive games who showed outstanding development during the course of his career, becoming one of the top corners in 2020. He finished with 27 passes defensed and two interceptions.

Standing at 5-foot-11 and 189 pounds, Williams solidified himself as one of the top corners in man coverage, showing hip fluidity, speed and short-area quickness to stay glued to receivers. While he didn’t post a lot of interceptions, Williams is always in position to make a play on the ball.

Williams does need to improve against the run, but with his skills in coverage and his traits tailor-made to be a core special teamer, he could be primed for a long and successful NFL career.

Olaijah Griffin, USC

The son of famous rapper Warren G, Griffin, a highly touted five-star recruit, played for three seasons with the Trojans. In 15 starts, Griffin accounted for 67 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 13 passes defended, and one interception.

Standing at 6-foot and 175 pounds, Griffin shows excellent athleticism, acceleration to turn and run with receivers, competitive nature & good use of hands at the line of scrimmage in press to disrupt the release, and the short-area quickness to close on receivers.

At the next level, Griffin must add some mass to his frame, improve his play strength and discipline in man coverage. But overall, his intriguing traits will enable him to become a starting corner down the road, projecting best on the outside where he can utilize his deep speed and reactive quickness.

2021 NFL draft: A cornerback for Chargers in each round

The Los Angeles Chargers need to get younger and add more talent at cornerback.

Cornerback sits near the top in regards to positional groups that need to be addressed in the upcoming draft for the Chargers.

Luckily, this year’s crop has talent from the first day of the draft all the way until Day 3.

With that being said, here’s one from each round that could fit in Los Angeles:

Round 1 | Caleb Farley, Virginia Tech

Farley opted out of the 2020 season but racked up 12 passes defensed and four interceptions in 11 games in 2019 en route to earning first-team All ACC honors.

Farley, the wide receiver convert, is still relatively new to the position. However, he has just scratched the surface of how good he could become, as he possesses the size, burst, agility and ball skills to become a solid NFL corner.

Farley projects as a high-end outside corner at the next level, who can step in immediately and contribute for the Chargers. Plus, he would only benefit from having defensive guru Brandon Staley’s expertise while he continues to grow into the position.

Honorable Mention: Jaycee Horn, South Carolina

Round 2 | Greg Newsome, Northwestern

Newsome was a key piece in a Northwestern defense that finished No. 1 nationally in team pass efficiency defense and No. 5 in scoring defense (15.5 points per game). He totaled 71 tackles, 20 pass breakups, one interception and one fumble recovery in three seasons for the Wildcats.

As Northwestern’s boundary corner, Newsome was tasked with eliminating the short side of the side, either in quarters or press-man coverage. The 6-foot-1 and 190-pound corner is a technician who has fluid hips to stay with receivers, good eye discipline and physicality against the run.

Newsome would be an immediate contributor for the Chargers and has the ability to be a strong starter for years down the road.

Honorable Mention: Asante Samuel, Jr., Florida State

Round 3 | Keith Taylor, Washington

Through his four seasons for the Huskies, Taylor posted 90 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 10 passes defended. He went on to participate in this year’s Reese’s Senior Bowl, where he was arguably one of the best corners on display.

It’s noteworthy that Taylor didn’t produce any interceptions in college.

While there’s some concerns with his ball skills to create turnovers, he displays the athleticism, spatial awareness, competitiveness and length to stay attached to receivers, projecting as someone to grow into a long-term solution in the secondary as a strong No. 2 corner.

Honorable Mention: Trill Williams, Syracuse

Round 4 | Shakur Brown, Michigan State

One of my sleepers in this year’s class, Brown burst onto the scene in 2020 for the Spartans, playing his best football of his collegiate career. The 5-foot-11 and 190-pound corner posted 25 tackles, five interceptions, four passes defensed in seven games played.

Brown was one of the nation’s top play-makers, showing plus instincts, use of hands in press man coverage and awareness to decipher route combinations. Along with that, he does a fine job at playing with his back to the quarterback and shows good ball skills to come away with the rock.

Brown missed multiple games in 2019 due to an injury. But those concerns aside, he has key traits that can’t be taught that will allow him to rise to the top of a depth chart quickly, capable of playing inside or outside at the next next level.

Honorable Mention: Benjamin St-Juste, Minnesota

Round 5 | Olajiah Griffin, USC

The son of famous rapper Warren G, Griffin, a highly touted five-star recruit, played for three seasons with the Trojans. In total, Griffin accounted for 67 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 13 passes defensed and one interception.

Standing at 6-foot and 175 pounds, Griffin shows excellent athleticism, acceleration to turn and run with receivers, competitive nature & good use of hands at the line of scrimmage in press to disrupt the release and the short area quickness to close on receivers.

At the next level, Griffin must add some mass to his frame, improve his play strength and eye discipline in man coverage. But overall, his intriguing traits will enable him to become a starting corner down the road.

Honorable Mention: Rodarius Williams, Oklahoma State

Round 6 | DJ Daniel, Georgia

Daniel joined Georgia in 2019 as a JUCO transfer. In two seasons, he recorded 51 total tackles, including three tackles for loss, and nine passes defended. Lost in the shuffle due to the presence of Tyson Campbell and Eric Stokes, Daniel still showed out in the secondary.

Daniel has an ideal build for the position at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds with plus length, smooth hips, and quick feet. He has the long speed and reactive athleticism, but needs to improve his play strength, especially in the run game. Overall, Daniel can grow into a high end contributor by Year 3.

Honorable Mention: Robert Rochell, Central Arkansas

Round 7 | Deommodore Lenoir, Oregon

Lenoir was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2019 and started 33 consecutive games. The 5-foot-11, 203 pounder recorded 158 tackles, six interceptions, 21 passes defended, four tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery during his Oregon career.

Lenoir is at his best man coverage using physicality at the line of scrimmage, good change of direction to stay in phase and good ball skills to break up passes. However, he does lack ideal long speed, needs to anticipate the ball better downfield and show consistent effort defending the run.

Overall, with growth in the areas mentioned above, you can expect to see him get more playing time further on into his professional career.

Honorable Mention: Bryan Mills, North Carolina Central

2020 NFL Draft: Oklahoma State Pro Day attracts Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers national scout was in attendance for the Cowboys’ Pro Day.

The NFL Pro Day slate is in full swing, where hundreds of draft prospects are given the opportunity to work out in front of scouts, coaches and general managers to either improve their draft stock, or simply get on teams’ radars one last time.

Oklahoma State held their annual Pro Day. The Cowboys drew the attention of Chargers national scout Tom McConnaughey, according to Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline.

Oklahoma State boasts a few prospects, but the main attraction there was cornerback A.J. Green.

Green, the 6-foot-1 and 197 pounder played primarily on the outside in Oklahoma State’s defense where he was used both in zone and man coverage. The Texas native played in 48 games, starting 39 of them.

In four seasons for the Cowboys, Green amassed 147 tackles, 21 passes defensed and six interceptions.

Green has the length to disrupt receivers, the turn-and-run ability to stay on the hip of the wideout along with adequate eye discipline and closing speed to make plays on the football, making him an ideal fit for defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s zone scheme.

At his Pro Day, Green ran the 40-yard dash in the low 4.5’s, jumped 34 inches in the vertical jump and 9-foot-6 in the broad jump.

Green currently projects as a third or fourth-round selection.