Tag: Chargers PFF

Chargers PFF grades: Best, worst performers in Week 5 win over Browns

Spotlighting Pro Football Focus’ studs and duds from the Chargers’ win over the Browns.

In Week 5 of the 2021 regular season, the Chargers took care of business against the Browns.

En route to victory, there were a handful of players that helped guide them along the way.

With that being said, here are the best and worst performers from Sunday’s contest, according to Pro Football Focus’ player grades.

Top 5 Offense

QB Justin Herbert — 83.0

TE Donald Parham — 73.6

C Corey Linsley — 72.6

OT Storm Norton — 70.0

WR Mike Williams — 68.6

Top 5 Defense

CB Chris Harris Jr. — 76.9

EDGE Chris Rumph II — 70.0

LB Kyzir White — 68.8

CB Michael Davis — 67.2

S Nasir Adderley — 66.2

Bottom 5 Offense

WR K.J. Hill — 55.7

RB Joshua Kelley — 55.1

RB Austin Ekeler — 53.3

TE Jared Cook — 53.2

WR Josh Palmer — 49.9

Bottom 5 Defense

S Derwin James — 52.9

DT Linval Joseph — 46.5

S Alohi Gilman — 45.7

DT Forrest Merrill — 35.0

CB Asante Samuel Jr. — 28.1

Chargers PFF grades: Best, worst performers in Week 3 win over Chiefs

Spotlighting Pro Football Focus’ studs and duds from the Chargers’ win over the Chiefs.

In the Week 3 of the 2021 regular season, the Chargers took care of business on the road against the Chiefs.

I chose five players that I felt made a huge impact on the game, but there were a handful of other top performers.

With that being said, here are the best and worst performers from Sunday’s contest, according to Pro Football Focus’ player grades.

Top 5 Offense

WR Mike Williams — 86.4

QB Justin Herbert — 85.6

OL Corey Linsley — 83.1

WR Keenan Allen — 78.8

OL Matt Feiler — 77.7

Top 5 Defense

EDGE Joey Bosa — 79.2

CB Tevaughn Campbell — 77.1

DB Alohi Gilman — 75.8

CB Asante Samuel Jr. — 68.4

LB Drue Tranquill — 67.8

Bottom 5 Offense

TE Stephen Anderson — 52.6

WR Jalen Guyton — 51.4

TE Jared Cook — 47.9

OT Trey Pipkins — 41.7

RB Larry Rountree III — 29.8

Bottom 5 Defense

DT Christian Covington — 45.8

CB Michael Davis — 45.6

DB Mark Webb — 45.3

EDGE Uchenna Nwosu — 38.5

LB Kyzir White — 28.8

Chargers PFF grades: Best, worst performers in season opener vs. Washington

Highlighting Pro Football Focus’ studs and duds from the Chargers’ season opener against Washington.

In the opening game of the 2021 regular season, the Chargers took care of business on the road against Washington.

I chose three players that I felt made a huge impact on the game, but there were a handful of other top performers.

With that being said, here are the best and worst performers from Sunday’s game, according to Pro Football Focus’ player grades.

Top 5 Offense

QB Justin Herbert – 84.7

WR Mike Williams – 79.7

WR Keenan Allen – 75.3

OL Rashawn Slater – 73.5

OL Matt Feiler – 73.2

Top 5 Defense

S Derwin James – 90.0

EDGE Joey Bosa – 82.8

LB Kyzir White – 82.6

CB Chris Harris Jr. – 76.6

LB Kenneth Murray – 75.0

Bottom 5 Offense

RB Austin Ekeler – 58.6

OL Corey Linsley – 58.5

RB Larry Rountree III – 57.2

OT Bryan Bulaga – 55.8

TE Donald Parham – 53.6

Bottom 5 Defense

DL Justin Jones – 54.8

EDGE Kyler Fackrell – 50.9

CB Michael Davis – 46.8

DT Jerry Tillery – 43.7

DT Eric Banks – 29.7

Chargers PFF grades: Best, worst performers in preseason loss to 49ers

Highlighting Pro Football Focus’ biggest winners and losers from the Chargers’ preseason loss to the 49ers.

In the second preseason game of the year, the Chargers came up short against the 49ers, 15-10

For the most part, the starters remained sidelined while the majority of the playing time went to those in the middle to the back end of the depth chart who are vouching for a role or a spot on the 53-man roster.

With that being said, here are the best and worst performers from Sunday’s game, according to Pro Football Focus’ player grades.

Top 5 Offense

OL Nate Gilliam — 73.7

RB Joshua Kelley — 71.1

OL Brenden Jaimes — 69.2

RB Darius Bradwell — 67.1

OL Ryan Hunter — 66.4

Top 5 Defense

EDGE Kyler Fackrell — 91.1

CB Tevaughn Campbell — 75.9

DT Forrest Merrill — 73.1

CB John Brannon — 68.3

CB Kemon Hall — 67.6

Bottom 5 Offense

WR Tyron Johnson — 48.7

QB Chase Daniel — 48.2

TE Stephen Anderson — 47.7

TE Matt Sokol — 47.1

OL Kyle Spalding — 28.7

Top 5 Defense

EDGE Uchenna Nwosu — 43.9

DT Christian Covington — 41.6

LB Kyzir White — 36.1

LB Cole Christiansen — 32.9

LB Drue Tranquill — 29.7

Chargers RB Larry Rountree III among top offensive rookies in preseason Week 1

The Chargers’ sixth-round pick provided a big surge in the running game.

The Chargers’ running game did not have any juice in the early going of the preseason opener against the Rams. That was until RB Larry Rountree III stepped on the field.

Rountree, the sixth-round pick, succeeded Justin Jackson and Joshua Kelley and made the most of his playing time by rushing eight times for 63 yards, including a carry that went for 25 yards, which was the longest of the game for either team.

The former Missouri product displayed explosiveness, burst, smooth footwork and second-level vision.

Rountree’s performance was so impressive that he earned the second-highest grade by any offensive rookie in the first week of preseason play (87.7), which came behind Titans tight end Miller Forristall (91.1).

I expected that yards after contact would be coming — and they sure did,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said about Rountree. “It was kind of what I was hoping for and kind of what I expected. There were high expectations, so I was very pleased with what he did in the game.”

As it currently stands, Rountree is still competing for the third spot with Kelley. But if he continues to perform like how he did this past weekend, he could garner a decent amount of snaps, especially with Jackson drawing durability concerns again.

Who’s Chargers’ best value NFL draft pick?

The Los Angeles Chargers have had a few players exceed their perspective draft slots.

The Chargers have seen a slew of talented players come through the draft. While they’ve hit home runs in the early rounds, some of their best players have come in the mid- late-rounds.

Among the few is star wide receiver Keenan Allen, who was selected in the third-round of the 2013 NFL draft.

In the eyes of Pro Football Focus’ Mike Renner, Allen is Los Angeles best value draft pick dating back to 2006.

Allen famously fell to the third round after running a slow 4.7 40-yard dash while returning from injury. That hasn’t mattered one iota for Allen on the football field, as he went for over 1,000 yards as a rookie and never looked back.

Coming out of Cal, Allen was projected to go anywhere from the mid-first round to the mid-second round after setting the school record in receptions. But a red-flagged drug test and slow 40-yard dash time caused his slide.

In his first year as the organization’s general manager, Tom Telesco struck gold by getting Allen with pick No. 76.

Early on in his professional career, Allen was dinged by injuries. However, he has managed to stay healthy over the course of the past four seasons, averaging 100 receptions and over 1,000 receiving yards in that timespan en route to four Pro Bowl appearances.

Pair of Chargers make PFF’s first-quarter All-Pro team

Two offensive players for the Los Angeles Chargers made the cut.

The Chargers may be currently sitting with a 1-3 record, but there have been a few standout players that have helped the team come close to defeating the Chiefs and Buccaneers.

Among the crop are two skill players, running back Austin Ekeler and wide receiver Keenan Allen. Both players were recognized on Pro Football Focus’ first-quarter All-Pro team.

Ekeler made first-team as a FLEX while Allen was tabbed as second-team behind Vikings’ Justin Jefferson.

Prior to getting hampered with a hamstring injury, Ekeler was a valuable piece in the running and passing game. The shifty back was averaging 5.1 yards per carry while adding 144 receiving yards.

Sadly, an injury knocked Austin Ekeler out of this week’s game against Tampa Bay and will sideline him for a while, but he picked up where he left off before and has been one of the best all-around weapons in the league. Ekeler is one of two running backs in the league to have PFF grades of at least 75.0 as both a rusher and receiver, and he has been doing his work behind one of the league’s worst offensive lines. Ekeler has an elusive rating of 91.5 for the season, seventh-best in the NFL, and has been averaging 3.6 yards after contact per carry.

Meanwhile, Allen continues to do what he does best by consistently getting open with his savvy route running, which has led to becoming the primary target for rookie quarterback Justin Herbert. The former Cal product has 32 receptions for 327 yards and a touchdown.

Pro Football Focus lays out best, worst case scenario for Chargers in 2020

If everything goes in their favor, what will the Los Angeles Chargers’ record look like in 2020?

The Chargers are hoping for a different outcome in 2020 after finishing with a 5-11 record and last place in the AFC West in 2019.

After breaking down each game, I believe that Los Angeles is capable of going 9-7 this upcoming season. But what do other media outlets believe they’re going to do?

Pro Football Focus is the latest to make their predictions, and they listed the best and worst case scenarios for each team by using their analytics system. For L.A., their best case scenario is finishing with a 9-7 record.

This defense stifles opposing offenses, and Taylor looks more like the guy who had success with the Buffalo Bills than the one we last saw in Cleveland. This is no doubt one of the more talented secondaries in the NFL. Getting back a healthy Derwin James and Nasir Adderley and adding a talent like Chris Harris Jr. does wonders for a group that allows very little through the air. Meanwhile, Taylor’s ability to improvise via the scramble helps assuage some of the offensive line concerns. His care with the football — just 34 turnover-worthy plays during his three-year stretch as a starter with Buffalo — is a welcome addition after Rivers’ carelessness in 2019 (32 turnover-worthy plays), as well.

If everything doesn’t go to plan, PFF believes that the Chargers could finish worse than they did last year, listing their worst case scenario with a 4-12 record.

Tyrod Taylor opens the season with a few poor performances — just as he did in Cleveland in 2018 — and the calls for Justin Herbert begin. Relying on Herbert as the starter this season could lead things to go off the rails quickly, particularly with the questions surrounding the left side of the Chargers’ offensive line.

In terms of PFF wins above average, Herbert’s 2019 season with Oregon ranks 18th among 20 first-round quarterbacks taken since 2015. He beat out only Jordan Love and Josh Allen. The college-to-pro projections developed by PFF’s research and development team weren’t overly favorable to Herbert, either. He may develop into a solid quarterback given time, but it seems unlikely that will be the case if he’s called upon early as a rookie.

PFF has similar views as I do when it comes to what is ultimately going to determine how Los Angeles’ season shakes up. Health of key players, quarterback and offensive line play, and third-down defense will be crucial if they wish to have success.

It will be difficult to fend off the Chiefs for the division title, but if everything goes in their favor, the Bolts are more than capable of making the playoffs, especially with their being another postseason spot added starting this season.