Tag: Chargers linebackers

Chargers 2023 roster review: LB Eric Kendricks

Eric Kendricks will be a huge boost to the Chargers defense this season.

The 2023 season is just a month away, and with weeks of dead time during the quietest part of the NFL offseason, Chargers Wire is endeavoring to document each of Los Angeles’ players before the start of the team’s training camp.

The Chargers made just one notable external free agent signing this offseason, adding linebacker Eric Kendricks.

Kendricks returned to California, where he was born and played college football at UCLA after spending the past eight seasons with the Vikings.

Kendricks, 31, was selected by Minnesota in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft. His best season came in 2019 when he was named to the Pro Bowl and earned first-team All-Pro recognition. He led the team in tackles in seven of his eight years with the team.

Last season, he started in all 17 games, where he tallied 124 tackles and one sack.

Kendricks, the former All-Pro and Pro Bowler, is one of the more decorated veteran linebackers in this league. Not only will his play-making be a boost to the positional room but so will his experience and leadership to aid a young group.

Kendricks is set to wear the green dot this season as the primary defensive communicator and the one who relays Brandon Staley’s play calls in from the sideline.

Contract (2023): Kendricks signed a 2-year, $13,250,000 contract, including a $5,500,000 signing bonus, $6,750,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $6,625,000.

Acquired: On Mar. 14, 2023, Kendricks signed.

Quote: Staley on Kendricks:

“For a player of his caliber, of his accomplishments — he’s an All-Pro, Walter Payton Man of the Year, this is one of the top players that has position over an entire decade — so that respect means a lot. I’m really happy that he’s proud to be a part of us. I love that the fact he’s fit in so well with his teammates.

I know that he’s going to help us be a championship-caliber team. I think that should make all of us feel like we’re on the right track,” Staley continued. “But I also know that he is going to really add to what we have. He’s going to help make our culture even better, even stronger.”

Highlight:

Chargers’ Brandon Staley sounds off on loss of Drue Tranquill, addition of Eric Kendricks

Chargers’ Brandon Staley heaped high praise on Eric Kendricks.

The Chargers lost one of their top free agents, as Drue Tranquill signed with Los Angeles’ rivals, the Chiefs on a one-year deal.

Tranquill proved to be one of the best defenders in the final year of his rookie deal. But despite his production on the field, the Chargers elected to go in a different direction at the position by signing veteran Eric Kendricks to a two-year deal.

“It was more about the opportunity to onboard Eric Kendricks,” Brandon Staley said Monday. “Very appreciative for Drue. I thought Drue played really well for us, and I wish him a lot of luck in Kansas City.

It’s the tough part of this position is seeing people that you care about, seeing people who played well for you move on. But I think this is more about the opportunity to add what we feel like is one of the best linebackers in the NFL.”

Kendricks, 31, was selected by Minnesota in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft. His best season came in 2019 when he was named to the Pro Bowl and earned first-team All-Pro recognition. He led the team in tackles in seven of his eight years with the team.

This past season, he started in all 17 games, where he tallied 124 tackles and one sack.

Kendricks is one of the more decorated veteran linebackers in this league. And Staley couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to add him to the positional room and make him the presumed defensive play-caller in 2023.

“He’s one of the most complete linebackers in the last decade,” Staley said of Kendricks. “His instincts, his key diagnose, his ability to communicate, that energy in the middle, that true commander, a tackling machine, sideline to sideline, in the box, the physicality.

He’s one of the best passing game linebackers in the last decade. He comes from a pattern match scheme in Mike Zimmer, which is how we play, so the scheme transition is seamless.”

What the signing of LB Eric Kendricks means for the Chargers

It’s a homecoming for Eric Kendricks.

The Chargers made their only external move of the day late on Monday, securing a homecoming for former Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks.

Kendricks, who turned 31 in February, was a cap casualty for a Minnesota team embracing a youth movement at multiple positions. After cutting Kendricks on March 6, the Vikings also moved on from wide receiver Adam Thielen and cornerback Cameron Dantzler Sr. to prepare for the opening of free agency.

While he’s never quite matched the level of play that garnered 2019 All-Pro honors, Kendricks is a reliable tackler whose lowest single-season combined tackle number of 92 came as a rookie in 2015. Over the last two seasons, the UCLA product had over 130 combined tackles, culminating in a career high of 143 in 2021. He’s also stayed relatively healthy in his career, playing in double-digit games in each of his eight NFL seasons to date.

Schematically, Kendricks is a bit of an odd fit for the Chargers. While he still had over 130 tackles last season, his play was noticeably a step below his usual standard. It was his first experience with a Vic Fangio-style defense under since-fired coordinator Ed Donatell. The Chargers run a similar defense under Brandon Staley. Still, the 31-year-old brings spot-drop experience as a zone defender and is a sure tackler in the run game, the latter point of which is especially salient for a Chargers team that struggled to bring opposing ball carriers to the ground.

Chargers HC Brandon Staley lauds linebacker group

Kenneth Murray, Drue Tranquill and Kyzir White form a solid second-level trio.

Most teams have one solid linebacker. Some have two. But very few have three that can be counted on to step on the field and perform at a high level.

The Chargers fall under the latter, having a dominant trio made up of Kenneth Murray, Drue Tranquill and Kyzir White.

Today at media availability, head coach Brandon Staley was asked about the position and he went on to call it a “strength of this football team,” adding that Murray, Tranquill and White have all played “winning football.”

In Staley’s defense, all three players will have roles that should benefit that side of the ball, given the fact that their responsibilities will cater to their strengths.

For Murray, he will be tasked with playing more downhill by using his speed and physicality to shine against the run and as a blitzer.

Tranquill’s intelligence, communication skills and high level of play as a run defender and coverage player will pay dividends at the second level.

White has the versatility to be flexed in the slot (Star) and fill a sub-package safety-linebacker hybrid role (Money), with his ability to cover tight ends and support the run.

Given how much success Staley had with the Rams linebackers last season, I see big years from the three in this new scheme.

Chargers rookie LB Nick Niemann is special teams ace with starter upside

The Los Angeles Chargers may have themselves a gem in linebacker Nick Niemann.

The Chargers drafted linebacker Nick Niemann in the fifth-round with the intentions of him aiding a special teams unit that finished last in the league last season.

While the majority of his money will be made in that department in his first season, Niemann profiles as a player that can make an impact on the defensive side of the ball.

Niemann comes from a school that has a knack for producing quality NFL linebackers, with the likes of Ben Niemann (Nick’s older brother), Christian Kirksey, Anthony Hitchens, Josey Jewell.

Niemann had a solid career at Iowa. Even though he didn’t start until his last season, he was a key piece as an every-down weak-side linebacker, in which he posted 77 tackles (team high) and helped the team finish as a top-10 national defense in scoring and yardage.

Niemann, however, really turned heads at the Hawkeye’s Pro Day, where he posted a 40 time of 4.45, a shuttle time of 4.14, a 10-yard split in 1.48 seconds, which would have tied Jonathan Taylor for the fastest at the 2020 combine and a 6.67 second three-cone drill.

The testing numbers are eye-popping, but Niemann’s tape shows a player with the core traits that can contribute at the position at this level.

Niemann’s calling card is his tackling ability, as he ranked fourth in the Big 10 in tackles per game last season, averaging 9.6 hits per game.

Niemann is good interior run defender, showing very good mental processing to recognize blocking schemes quickly, which allows him to maximize his quickness to attack gaps, displaying physical toughness on contact to secure tackles in his gap.

Against outside runs, he shows the speed and range to be able to cover the field sideline-to-sideline. In addition, his processing ability helps him take good angles to intersect the ball carrier, helping raise his pursuit ability.

While Niemann does a great job of evading blockers in space and makes for a difficult second-level target for offensive linemen, he does lack technique and strength which will force him to struggle to match at the point of attack.

In today’s NFL, playing linebacker is more than just run defense, however.

Even though Niemann wasn’t tasked with a lot of responsibilities in coverage compared to other linebackers, he did enough sufficiently in that department to fare well in this league.

In man coverage, he has the speed to hang in space with slot receivers, and he should have no issue doing the same with athletic running backs and tight ends in the NFL.

In zone coverage, he shows comfort and route recognition skills across the middle as well as in the flats. When he sees the ball in the air, he has impressive movement skills to close the distance.

Finally, Niemann brings quickness and sufficient effort as a blitzer.

The bottom line is that Niemann is a talented linebacker who looks to fit the mold of the NFL’s new-age linebackers. He has the ability to make stops inside and outside the tackles and the coverage instincts and athleticism to stay on the field on third down.

Drue Tranquill, Kenneth Murray and Kyzir White stand above him on the depth chart at the moment, but if an injury were to occur, Niemann is the ideal guy that can be counted on to start in the upcoming season.

By Year 2 or 3, Niemann could be in a position where he is fighting for a starting job for the Chargers, given the fact that White will be a free agent at the end of the season and Tranquill will be at the end of the 2022 season.

With his skillset and developmental potential, Los Angeles might have a good one on their hands for years to come.

Projecting the Chargers’ linebacker depth chart

With the addition of rookie Kenneth Murray, Chargers Wire examines the linebacker corps.

The Chargers have steadily looked to enhance the linebacker room over the course of the past few years. The team looked through free agency and the draft, but the results from the positional group were still average at best.

After a couple key additions, they look to boast a promising unit this upcoming season.

Below, I take a crack at projecting Los Angeles’ linebacker depth chart for the 2020 season:

MIKE: Denzel Perryman

Perryman is entering the final year of his contract, and will have to do a lot in order to stay on the roster beyond the 2020 season. 2019 was the first time since Perryman’s rookie campaign in which he played in 14 or more games, finishing with 68 tackles (50 solo), one interception and one forced fumble. However, his playing time decreased due to the emergence of rookie standout Drue Tranquill, who took a significant amount of snaps away from the former Miami product. Going into this year, Perryman will likely see the field first, but him and Tranquill will split snaps. Perryman will play on rushing downs while Tranquill will play on passing downs. By the end of the year, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the second-year player with more snaps taken.

Backups: Drue Tranquill, Nick Vigil, Malik Jefferson

WILL: Kenneth Murray

The Chargers weren’t aggressive in trading up for Murray in this year’s draft to serve as a depth player. The team clearly had a role for him and that’s to start in the spot that was played by Thomas Davis last season. Murray needs to needs to clean up his overaggressive tendencies and enhance his ability in coverage, but the combination of his instincts, range and closing speed quickness will translate to remarkable production in the running and passing game. With his leadership and football IQ, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the one responsible of handling defensive play calls.

Backups: Nick Vigil, Malik Jefferson

SAM: Kyzir White

White started last season as the starting middle linebacker while Denzel Perryman was nursing an ankle injury for the first two games. White struggled in that role, so Perryman took over. With Thomas Davis serving as the starting WILL, that only left White with one option: SAM. With the Chargers playing a lot of nickel packages, that means the SAM doesn’t see the field as much. Because of that, White didn’t play as much as many were expecting. When White did see the field, he was making plays. The former West Virginia product finished with 40 tackles, two passes defensed and one tackle for loss. Desmond King, Rayshawn Jenkins and Nasir Adderley will likely be the candidates as the team’s sub-package linebacker, which will limit White’s playing time.

Backups: Uchenna Nwosu, Emeke Egbule