Tag: Chargers minicamp

Chargers OC Kellen Moore ‘excited’ to work with RB Austin Ekeler

Kellen Moore should get a lot out of Austin Ekeler.

The Chargers will have a crucial piece of their offense in the fold this upcoming season, as running back Austin Ekeler agreed to a revised contract with incentives up to $1.75 million.

Plenty of people are excited to see Ekeler in the blue and gold for the 2023 season, especially his new offensive play-caller Kellen Moore.

“Excitement,” Moore said. “Really excited to get to work with Austin. I think that he’s been, obviously, one of the top guys in this league. He has had such an impact on this place. Really excited to start building this thing together and building his role in this offense. I’m really, really excited.”

Los Angeles hopes to improve their run game, led by Ekeler, after finishing near the bottom of the league last season. And with Moore calling the shots, there’s a good chance for a turnaround, as he engineered three top-10 rushing offenses in the four seasons as the Cowboys offensive coordinator.

Additionally, Ekeler should continue to be a weapon as a receiver. Dallas implemented RB Tony Pollard heavily in the passing game. Pollard had a 21.8% target share when on the field for receiving snaps, which ranks 23rd among 116 running backs from 2019 to 2022.

Chargers mandatory minicamp, which begins on June 13, should mark the first time Moore and Ekeler are able to start establishing a concise connection and get a good game plan going.

See it: Chargers’ Justin Herbert, Quentin Johnston gets reps together for first time

Justin Herbert linked up with his newest weapon for the first time on Monday.

Phase 2 of the Chargers’ offseason program continued at Hoag Performance Center in Costa Mesa, CA, on Monday.

Following the team’s rookie minicamp, most of the veterans took the field, marking the first time quarterback Justin Herbert and his newest weapon, wide receiver Quentin Johnston, linked up.

In his media availability this past Friday, Johnston said that Herbert hadn’t reached out to him since he was drafted but had followed him on Instagram.

It’s good to see Herbert and Johnston getting reps and developing chemistry early on.

The former TCU product will use this summer to refine his route running and clean up drops that he dealt with in college, but there is still plenty of excitement surrounding the speed and yards-after-the-catch ability he is bringing to the offense.

Chargers WR Quentin Johnston talks about getting acclimated to life in the NFL

Chargers WR Quentin Johnston talked about transitioning to the NFL and his conversations with the veteran receivers.

The Chargers held their rookie minicamp this past week at Hoag Performance Center in Costa Mesa, CA. The sessions had all of the team’s draft selections and undrafted rookies, headlined by first-round pick Quentin Johnston.

“Yeah, now it does,” Johnston said when asked if it ‘feels like’ he is in the NFL yet. “The meetings and stuff, I felt like I was still in that before the Draft stage, just getting ready for it, still anxious. As soon as I put my cleats on and got out on the field, it was a real moment.”

Johnston joins the pros with a rare combination of size and athleticism, which immediately popped on the practice field. Still, one of the things that he will have to fine-tune is his route running. Luckily, Johnston will be in a wide receiver room with plenty of knowledge in that department.

After his introductory press conference, Johnston said he stopped back at his hotel, and Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Joshua Palmer went over to say hello and converse with him on the team and life in the NFL.

“Letting me know that we were all family,” Johnston said. “Letting me know what to expect. Kind of a crash course they gave me of what to expect, how stuff is run, a baseline so that I could get an understanding and feel for the football team, as much as I can at that point.”

After dominating at TCU, replicating that same success in this league might take time while he learns the finer details of the position. But Johnston knows that he is in good hands, and being mentored by a solid corps could go a long way to boosting his game.

“I feel like I came into a good situation, starting off initially under some guys that have been in the league and have been playing at a high level for a minute,” Johnston said. “So I feel like I can pick a lot of their game, apply it to mine, what’s needed in mine, and kind of expand from there.”

Johnston said Justin Herbert has not yet reached out to him. “He followed me on Instagram when I first got drafted,” Johnston said. “I ain’t really get a chance to talk to him yet. But hopefully soon.”

Kellen Moore not letting Austin Ekeler’s absence affect Chargers offseason prep

Kellen Moore said that Austin Ekeler’s absence isn’t getting in the way of his unit’s preparation for the Chargers’ minicamp.

The Chargers are still at an impasse in negotiations with star running back Austin Ekeler but aren’t letting the situation surrounding his availability impact their 2023 off-season program.

When queried about whether Ekeler’s absence was affecting the Chargers’ preparation in minicamp, offensive coordinator Kellen Moore make it clear that the team is moving ahead without him as they focus on fundamentals.

“Right now, we’re just so focused on really the foundation of the system, of offensive football,” Moore explained. “Just kind of building a really solid foundation focusing more on the bigger picture, the big picture from a scheme standpoint.

Then, as you get into Phase Three of OTAs, training camp and as you get into the season, we start narrowing that thing, getting specific from player-specific responsibilities and what not. Right now, we’re at such a wider lens that we’re really teaching for everyone.”

Ekeler is an important piece, but his positional value does not seem to be crucial enough for Los Angeles to be worth paying him more. However, the case for Ekeler is that he has been not only productive but healthy, which is something rare at the position; he has missed only one game in the past two seasons.

Ekeler has 38 total touchdowns in the past two seasons, the most among NFL skill players.

Incremental improvement will be key for Los Angeles if they intend to change their luck in the playoffs next season, and the team can’t afford to let one holdout de-rail the progress being made at this point in the offseason.

Ekeler’s current contract qualms surely aren’t working in the Chargers’ favor. Still, if they can get him back on the field in time for the regular season, Los Angeles’ offensive attack shouldn’t skip a beat given the additions they made to the unit in free agency and the draft.

Austin Ekeler needs Chargers’ running backs to step up

Running back will be one of the most monitored positions during the Los Angeles Chargers training camp.

Running back has been one of the larger points of discussion in the Chargers fandom this offseason, but Austin Ekeler gave us a glimpse into the potential future.

“I was mainly a special teams guy, and then I was splitting with Melvin [Gordon], and now we’re in a position where I’m looking for some of these young guys to come up and earn some more reps,” Ekeler said.

The sixth-year pro called the running back by committee approach his “upbringing” and something he wants to work back towards this season after logging a career-high 206 carries in 2021.

For Ekeler, longevity is a focus. He said on Wednesday that “I wanna play a long time, so I want guys to come in and earn some reps.” But despite these desires, the candidates to contribute as complements to Ekeler are far from proven.

“I want someone to be like, no, we wanna get this guy in here because he’s showing he can play.”

You could easily argue that in 2021, none of the backfield options behind Ekeler saw time because they showed they could play. While Justin Jackson was the best amongst them, the Chargers elected not to retain his contract. He’s now at Cardinals minicamp on a tryout basis.

2021 rookie Larry Rountree III averaged a paltry 2.4 yards per carry, while second-year pro-Joshua Kelley averaged 3.1. Meanwhile, Ekeler plugged away for 4.4 YPC. It’s little wonder why Ekeler said that “all those guys are gonna have to grow.”

Ekeler was asked a number of times about rookie Isaiah Spiller, who seems poised to take over that secondary running back position. While the veteran couldn’t give too much of a character assessment considering he met Spiller earlier this week, he did say that the rookie has stood out in terms of being vocal in the meeting room.

Ekeler talked at length about what his role as a team leader means for guys like Spiller, especially in terms of helping them find ways to avoid getting overwhelmed.

At the end of the day, Ekeler said, “I want these guys to come challenge me.” To him, that means an obligation to help them be the best football players and men off the field they can be. The sixth-year pro yearns for competition, at one point asking the other guys to “bring it”, because that atmosphere only helps him be at his best as well.

At the end of the day, I think it’s unlikely that any of Spiller, Kelley, or Rountree are going to take a huge amount of carries away from Ekeler. It’s more likely that they become embroiled in battles further down the depth chart, both against one another and against undrafted rookies Kevin Marks Jr. and Leddie Brown, both of whom will be eager to try to follow in Ekeler’s footsteps from the anonymous camp body to the star-quality starter.

Spiller is and has been since the day he was drafted, the most likely player to replace Justin Jackson’s 68 carries from a season ago. But first and foremost, he’ll have to adjust to being an NFL player in a new city and new offense. Kelley is the highest investment on the roster in terms of draft capital, but he’s had ball security issues since entering the pros and will need to prove he can hold on to the rock.

Rountree profiles as a power back, but a lack of plus vision held him back even in short-yardage situations as a rookie. Perhaps another year to marinate in Joe Lombardi’s offense unlocks something in him. Brandon Staley did also say Wednesday that both Kelley and Rountree have approached their potential roles on special teams with a renewed mindset this offseason.

Whoever it may be, it’s clear Ekeler wants a running mate as he had with Melvin Gordon. It’s a proposition that’s beneficial to both team and player: Ekeler stays fresh and has a longer career, the Chargers get an additional playmaker and don’t run their established one into the ground. The only question now is who it’ll be.

Chargers’ Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack heap praise on each other

Chargers’ Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack discussed what it could mean to be potentially the best pass-rushing tandem in the NFL.

Quarterbacks, the past few seasons, had to worry about Joey Bosa coming off the edge whenever they faced the Chargers. But now, they will have another terror in their faces in Khalil Mack, who was acquired via trade.

Between his time with the Raiders and Bears, Mack has a resume that includes the 2016 Defensive Player of the Year, three All-Pro selections, six Pro Bowl nods, and four straight years with double-digit sacks from 2015 through 2018.

Up to this point in the offseason stage, Mack has been limited as he is coming off a foot injury that forced him to miss the final ten games of the 2021 season. Still, the star-studded edge defenders have steadily been feeding tips to each other.

“It’s amazing. Just to have another guy like that to lean on, to look at,” Bosa said about Mack. “He’s great to talk to. Along with that, he’s obviously an unbelievable player, so having a guy like that on the other side is going to be really fun.”

Bosa added that he has looked up to Mack since he was a young player in the NFL and that their opposite skill sets will complement each other’s perfectly.

Mack will not only benefit from rushing opposite another premier pass rusher but playing for Brandon Staley, who boasts a similar scheme to former head coach Vic Fangio.

The year Staley was outside linebackers coach in Chicago in 2018, Mack enjoyed a solid campaign that year, finishing with 68 pressures, 48 hurries, and 12.5 sacks.

“That’s the thing. Strangely enough, the defensive calls are pretty much all the same. It’s just different wording,” Mack said on the defensive scheme. “Just figuring out the different tangibles as far as what coach Staley and the defensive staff want from myself, first and foremost, making sure I’m able to affect games the way I know how to affect games.”

Mack said it’s going to be very fun playing with Bosa, calling him “very smart,” adding that he’s looking forward to their joint film sessions during the season.

Last season, Los Angeles ranked 19th in pressure rate overall, and on third-and-longs, the team ranked 25th in pressure rate. Now, with Mack’s explosive power and burst and Bosa’s athleticism and hand usage to threaten blockers, these numbers should improve drastically.

Chargers excited about Mark Webb’s potential in Year 2

A knee injury kept Mark Webb from seeing the field more in 2021.

The Chargers will have some new members in the secondary, but a few familiar faces will also be vying to make contributions in 2022. Among them is second-year Mark Webb.

Drafted in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL draft, Webb appeared in seven games. Two of them were on defense, including Week 3 against the Chiefs when Derwin James missed the second half with a shoulder injury.

While his playing time was limited, Webb was on his way to seeing the field more frequently, but a knee injury that landed him on the injured reserve stopped that from coming to fruition.

Webb is still rehabbing his injury and has been out of the team’s organized team activities (OTAs) up to this point, but the plan is for him to be ready for training camp.

“He’s going to add a lot of competition in the secondary, we’re expecting a lot from him,” Brandon Staley said. “He’s a guy that was on the verge of playing a lot of football for us and then he had the injury. We’re hopeful for him, and I’m excited to see him compete.”

With Webb’s return, he will supply safety depth along with rookie JT Woods and Alohi Gilman behind James and Nasir Adderley.

Should he stay healthy, Webb has the skillset to play both in the slot (Star) and a sub-package safety-linebacker hybrid role (Money).

4 quotes from Week 3 of Chargers OTAs that stood out

Donald Parham was among four Chargers that spoke at media availability in Week 3 of OTAs.

The Chargers continued their voluntary organized team activities (OTAs) this past Tuesday, which was then followed by media availability where three players and one coach spoke.

Here’s some of what they had to say:

DC Renaldo Hill: “We have a lot to work with right now.”

Hill’s time on the podium was all about diversity on the defensive end, something he said was a focus for the team going into the offseason. Hill also mentioned that most of the additions were guys they felt fit the defensive scheme better than last year’s players did and said linebacker Kyle Van Noy as a “jack of all trades” that the team is excited to have in the building. Later on, Hill also emphasized the importance of competition in the secondary in ensuring that backups are prepared to play if their number gets called.

That competitive atmosphere and its benefits can probably be extended to the defensive line as well, where several players have uncertain roles or roster spots heading into the heat of summer. It sounds as though year two of Staley and Hill’s scheme will emphasize versatility, which could lead to some surprise roster decisions down the line. It also means that the defense should be better equipped to deceive opposing offenses.

DL Morgan Fox: “I’m grateful and happy to be part of this room.”

Fox confirmed what’s been shown on Twitter for the last few days by telling reporters that the defensive line room has been getting along swimmingly despite so many new additions this offseason. He also confirmed that the calls and verbiage of the defense are the same as when he played for Staley on the other side of town.

While there’s not any evidence that morale was low on the defensive line last season, it’s refreshing to see that the entire room is having as good of a time as they are this year. Locker room morale is an oft-underrated aspect of on-field performance, and the early returns this season seem to suggest that these successful new relationships between teammates will engender more success on the field.

Another point of comfort for Chargers fans: if all the nuances of the defensive scheme are truly the same as they were for the Rams in 2020, the defense has a leg up on fine-tuning their knowledge with so many former Rams now in the building to serve as tutors. Fox, Joseph-Day, and linebacker Troy Reeder all have prior experience in the system and should be able to pass along their tips and tricks to the rest of the team, which could lead to big returns.

LB Kyle Van Noy: “I’m trying to get the most out of players around me.”

Van Noy echoed Hill’s comments about competition, saying that he wants every guy on the team to do well because that competitive atmosphere will inspire him to be his best. He also said that everything about the Chargers organization convinced him to come to play in LA before telling reporters that his exact role in the defense is a “secret.”

Van Noy’s enthusiasm for the culture that the Chargers have built under Brandon Staley is excellent news for keeping talent home and convincing them to come to LA. While traditionally a “big market” team, the Rams have always seemed to have better luck luring talent to the City of Angels than the Chargers have. Van Noy’s comments suggest that it may be shifting in favor of the Bolts, although it’ll still be even at best given the Rams’ continued hyper-aggressiveness.

The fact that Van Noy declines to tell reporters what his exact role in the defense is going to be is notable, as it implies that he’s going to be asked to do just about everything on the field. That’s something that many fans guessed when he was signed, but I think it does lend credence to the theory that he’ll spend time at off-ball linebacker to supplement Drue Tranquill and Kenneth Murray. Of course, that’s in addition to his role as a secondary edge rusher behind Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack.

TE Donald Parham Jr.: “I had to take my time and just think about if this was something that I wanted to do for the rest of my career.”

Parham was candid with the media in saying he wasn’t sure he’d ever return to the field after a nasty concussion against the Chiefs in week 15 that kept him from playing for the rest of the season. He said he didn’t feel back to normal until the end of February to early March. Now, Parham is fully healthy and feels motivated by a locker room that he said: “makes me feel like part of a family.”

On the one hand, it’s a frightening look at the reality of concussions to hear that Parham didn’t feel himself until nearly three months after his injury occurred. Nobody could blame him for not being willing to risk returning after an injury like that. On the other hand, it’s again a testament to the culture Staley and GM Tom Telesco have built that Parham feels so strongly about his teammates that he decided he was willing to battle back from such a severe setback.

Few players have worked more challenging to get to where they are than Parham, who has risen from the XFL to even be on the roster, let alone play such a significant role as the second tight end next to Gerald Everett. We should all hope he breaks out in a big way and stays healthy in 2022.

6 quotes from the first week of Chargers OTAs that stood out

Highlighting six quotes that stood out from Justin Herbert, Brandon Staley and Derwin James.

The Chargers completed their first week of voluntary organized team activities (OTAs), which also marks the first media availability for most members of the organization since the draft.

Here’s some of what they had to say:

Justin Herbert: “We’re miles ahead of where we were last year.”

Entering his third season in the NFL, Herbert has been afforded continuity this offseason that many young quarterbacks lack early in their careers. With offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi returning, neither Herbert nor any returning offensive players need to learn a new offensive system. That allows the team to focus less on lining up correctly and more on pure execution, which could pay huge dividends early in the season. With two divisional games leading the schedule off, LA will take any advantage.

Herbert: “You can go to Chase Daniel and you trust him.”

Herbert credited Daniel for filling in the gaps in his knowledge a year ago, calling the veteran “another coach out there.” The third-year signal-caller also said that he’d be comfortable with Daniel stepping in for him if he had to miss time, an endorsement that many Chargers fans should be happy to hear. Of course, keeping veterans like Daniel around is always a point of contention for some fans. On the one hand, he’s thrown just 261 passes in 12 seasons, and the proposition of going from Herbert to him if Herbert were to miss time would be indeed bleak the season outlook. But on the other hand, having a second coach on the field who Herbert trusts can go a long way toward unlocking his seemingly limitless potential.

Derwin James: “My job right now is to help guys like Khalil Mack, and JT Woods get up to speed.”

James fielded a few questions on Monday about his upcoming contract negotiations, which seem poised to make him one of the NFL’s highest-paid safeties. James himself doesn’t seem too worried about it at this juncture, saying that “whenever that takes care of itself, it will take care of itself.” There’s little reason to think that James put pen to paper, considering he’s been among the NFL’s best players regardless of position when healthy. Whether the extension comes this summer or during the season, expect Derwin to remain in powder blue for the foreseeable future.

Brandon Staley: “Both of those guys played quality football for us.”

“Both of those guys” refers to right tackle options Storm Norton and Trey Pipkins here, as Staley again insisted that Norton and Pipkins will be the leading two players battling for the starting job next to rookie guard Zion Johnson. The right tackle competition has been a gigantic debate point this offseason, and rightfully so. On paper, it’s the only hole on the entire offense, and another season of poor play could be just enough to tip the scales out of the Chargers’ favor. However, Staley did say that left guard Matt Feiler and “some of these young guys” – likely Brenden Jaimes and Jamaree Salyer, who played tackle in college, could be in the mix if the staff is unimpressed by both Norton and Pipkins this summer.

Staley: “[Jerry Tillery is] going to fit into that competition of guys that’s going to have to earn a role.”

After Tillery’s unexplained absence at OTAs on Monday, Staley used a question about it to discuss the competition on the defensive line. LA’s head coach singled out Sebastian Joseph-Day and Austin Johnson as “proven NFL players,” all but confirming that they will be 2 of the three starters on the interior against the Raiders in Week 1. Beyond that, Staley characterized everyone else as “guys trying to prove themselves”: Tillery, rookie Otito Ogbonnia, the recently signed Morgan Fox, Christian Covington, Breiden Fehoko, Joe Gaziano, and Forrest Merrill. Ogbonnia, Fox, and Covington were listed as virtual locks for the roster by The Athletic’s Daniel Popper, which brings the group to 5 players, as many as they carried in 2021.

This season, a sixth is likely, and I’m not convinced Covington is as strong of a lock as Popper suggests. Fehoko was arguably the best run defender on the team a season ago and could take Covington’s job this offseason. As for Tillery, Fox seems like his 1-to-1 replacement as an interior pass rusher while also providing more of a presence against the run. OTAs rarely mean much, but Staley’s comments on Monday show that Tillery may have a looser hold on a roster spot than many thought.

Staley: “We just feel like that versatility is really going to help us”

Staley’s quote here refers to linebacker Kyle Van Noy, but the same sentiment was expressed when talking about Bryce Callahan. Staley praised Callahan’s chops in the slot, calling him one of the top slot corners in the league, but also made sure to mention that he’s played on the outside during his NFL career. When the topic shifted to Asante Samuel’s role, Staley pointed out that Callahan’s addition doesn’t force LA to play the second-year corner on the inside. Instead, this summer will be about finding “our best combination of secondary players,” per Staley.

As for Van Noy, Staley mentioned the veteran’s ability to play on the edge or off-ball and praised his instincts, calling him a “playmaker.” I think it’s interesting that there’s so much emphasis on Van Noy’s versatility, especially considering the lack of depth at linebacker behind Kenneth Murray and Drue Tranquill. While Van Noy’s likely role will be as a third pass rusher, I think Monday’s offerings show that he may also get thrown in the mix as an off-ball linebacker, perhaps in some disguised pressure packages.

Chargers announce 2022 offseason workouts, OTA dates

Find out when the Chargers will start their offseason workout program.

The start of the 2022 regular season is still four months away, but preparation for it is set to get underway soon.

The NFL released the schedule for each team’s offseason workout programs, including the Chargers’ dates.

Below is the team’s official news release on the program schedule.

  • First Day: April 18
  • Organized Team Activities (OTAs): May 23-24, May 26, May 31-June 1, June 3, June 6-7, June 9
  • Mandatory Minicamp: June 15-16