Tag: Chargers training camp

Who will claim backup running backs spots for Chargers in 2021?

The backup running back spots will be one of the most compelling position battles at Chargers training camp.

We are a little less than three weeks away until Chargers training camp begins, which marks the period that players will fight for spots on the 53-man roster.

Among the most intriguing positional battles lie in the backfield, where a few players will be auditioning for the spots behind RB Austin Ekeler, with those being Justin Jackson, Joshua Kelley, Larry Rountree III and Darius Bradwell.

Jackson, who’s entering Year 4, has only played in 29 out of 48 regular season games. While he’s struggled to stay healthy, he’s been a good compliment to Ekeler, averaging 4.8 yards per carry.

Jackson brings great vision and elusiveness coupled with pass-catching skills.

Kelley, the 2020 fourth-round pick, dealt with some growing pains last season. He experienced back-to-back fumbles early on in the season, which deteriorated his confidence when running the ball and on special teams.

Prior to that, Kelley was one of the most impressive players at training camp last year, showing out in all phases.

Rountree, the sixth-round pick, joins L.A. after being one of the most productive backs in the SEC the past three seasons at Missouri, having posted 3,720 yards and 40 touchdowns.

Rountree is an explosive runner who has good feet, contact balance, second-level vision and ball protection awareness, as well as passing game impact and special teams ability.

Bradwell, a former undrafted free agent, was one of Anthony Lynn’s guys, so he will really have to prove himself to the new coaches to earn a roster spot.

You can make the argument for Jackson getting cut because he has missed 19 games due to injuries. However, he’s arguably the team’s second-best back when healthy.

You can make the argument for Kelley getting cut based on his showing in his rookie campaign. However, he could make a major turn for the better in his sophomore season.

Given the fact that the new coaching staff used one of their draft picks on Rountree, I can’t see a scenario where he’s let go of unless he was to get hurt.

This will be one of the toughest decisions that the coaches will have to make, which could ultimately come down to who performs more optimally on special teams this summer.

My prediction is that it will be Ekeler, Jackson and Rountree, with Kelley resorting to the practice squad. But I wouldn’t be all that surprised if the team includes Kelley into the mix heading into the regular season.

Chargers DT Justin Jones loves how new defense gets players in favorable matchups

Brandon Staley’s defense should allow Justin Jones to have more opportunities to make plays.

Chargers defensive tackle Justin Jones has flashed in glimpses since entering the league back in 2018, but he hasn’t put it all together.

That could change for Jones this upcoming season.

In head coach Brandon Staley’s defense, Jones will have a role that will get him in favorable matchups and give him and his teammates more opportunities to disrupt plays.

“This year, I feel like I’m gonna get a lot more one-on-ones and that’s gonna let me really showcase my abilities and talents,” Jones said.

Last season, the Rams led the league in sacks with 53 under Staley while the Chargers had only nearly half of that.

The reason why the Rams were consistently getting home was because Staley utilized multiple fronts/alignments and schemed twists/stunts, pressure packages and 1-on-1 matchups.

The past few seasons, Jones was primarily used as an interior defender to use his strength to hold his own at the point of attack against run, but he has shown the movement skills and baseline pass rush moves to win matchups.

Other members, Linval Joseph, Jerry Tillery, Joey Bosa, Uchenna Nwosu, among others will be in ideal situations to dominate in the trenches.

“We’ve got a lot more space now which frees a lot of us up. That’s going to give us opportunities to get these one-on-ones and expose them.”

Here’s an example of how Staley puts his front in position to succeed.

Aaron Donald crashes the B-gap to draw the double team and Sebastian Joseph-Day twists to only have a wide opening en route to sacking Russell Wilson.

Here, the guards are threatened with Leonard Floyd and Justin Hollins applying pressure and Aaron Donald aligned outside to draw the tackle. Morgan Fox now only has the center blocking him. Wins with quickness + swipe/rip to bring down Kyler Murray.

Chargers’ Keenan Allen named NFL’s second-best slot receiver

Keenan Allen is one of the league’s most under-appreciated players.

Despite proving himself on the field and having the stats to back it up, Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen still doesn’t get the recognition that he deserves to this day.

In the eyes of Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar, however, Allen is regarded as the second-best slot receiver in this league, only behind Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill.

Below, Farrar justifies Allen’s ranking with a brief explanation and numbers from this past season.

Allen has been one of the NFL’s more underrated receivers since the Chargers selected him in the third round of the 2013 draft out of Cal. Allen doesn’t blow you away with explosive plays — he doesn’t really have the straight-line speed for that — but when it comes to understanding and exploiting coverages from anywhere on the field, there are few better.

In 2020, Allen caught 43 of 60 slot targets for 441 yards and six touchdowns. Those numbers put him behind other slot receivers on this list, but the tape really doesn’t. When a defensive back doesn’t have the advantage of the boundary to deal with Allen’s route trickiness, the task becomes exponentially more difficult.

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.

This upcoming season, despite the change in offensive system, Allen, who’s established himself as one of the league’s most efficient route-runners, should do what he does best by getting open consistently to leave a wide-open target for quarterback Justin Herbert.

I’m predicting Allen to finish the year with 157 targets, 106 receptions, 1,273 yards and eight touchdowns.

Poll: Should Chargers extend WR Mike Williams?

Is the big-bodied wide receiver for the Los Angeles Chargers worth a contract extension?

The Chargers have a few big-name wide receivers set to hit the free agency market next year, and among the crop is wide receiver Mike Williams.

Williams, who’s set to be due $15.7 million in 2021 after having his fifth-year option picked up last year, will have the third-highest cap hit of any player on the roster.

Rather than waiting until next year to re-sign Williams, Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski believes that Los Angeles should extend him before the new season begins.

Sobleski highlights that L.A. should take a long-term approach by making sure quarterback Justin Herbert has the talent around him to excel for the foreseeable future.

Would the Chargers be wise to extend Williams? At the moment, you can make the argument for both sides.

You can make the case that he is not worth extending because Williams has not played like a first rounder, failing to surpass 50 catches, has just seven touchdowns over the past two seasons and has dealt with a slew of injuries along the way.

On top of that, the Chargers have ascending talent in Tyron Johnson and Jalen Guyton, as well as a promising rookie in Josh Palmer. Not to mention, there’s plenty of wideouts in next year’s draft who could offer plenty of upside to fill that role.

On the other hand, Williams is well-liked as a person, is one of the hardest workers on the team, comes up in clutch situations and there is plenty of reason to believe that he could experience his best season to date, given the new system and how it favors the role that he will be playing.

With that being said, I want to know what you all think. Click and vote in the poll below.

Sleepers to watch at each position on defense in Chargers training camp

Identifying some under-the-radar defensive players who could generate some buzz at Chargers training camp.

Each year, there are a few players for the Chargers who fly under the radar who come to the forefront in training camp.

With that being said, let’s a look at some sleepers at each position on the defensive side of the ball you may want to keep an eye out on this summer.

IDL: Breiden Fehoko

Linval Joseph, Jerry Tillery, Justin Jones and Christian Covington are the presumed interior defensive linemen to make the 53-man roster. There is likely a fifth and final spot that will need to be filled, however. Last offseason, Fehoko was signed as an undrafted free agent out of LSU. Promoted from the practice squad, Fehoko was active for two games during the regular season. While he didn’t record any stats, he still showed flashes. Look for Fehoko to show off his strength and effort to make plays, as well as his infectious energy to be a highlight of camp.

EDGE: Kyler Fackrell

Starting edge defenders Joey Bosa and Uchenna Nwosu have stolen the majority of the headlines. But Fackrell, who was signed earlier this offseason, could be a valuable rotational defender. Since entering the league in 2016, Fackrell has wreaked havoc in opposing backfields. He has 20.5 sacks in five seasons. Fackrell is tall, long, and flexible with athletic range, closing burst and competitiveness to make plays when rushing the passer and defending the run.

LB: Kyzir White

Kenneth Murray and Drue Tranquill are slated to start in head coach Brandon Staley’s defense, but White should still see the field quite a bit. Last season, White started in 10 games in which he amassed 77 tackles, four tackles for loss and three passes defensed. This season, White has the versatility to be flexed in the slot (Star) and fill a sub-package safety-linebacker hybrid role (Money). His skillset should allow him to cover tight ends and support the run, which is what he did well coming out of college.

CB: Brandon Facyson

Michael Davis, Chris Harris Jr. and Asante Samuel Jr. make up the starters, but Facyson is not to be forgotten. This spring, Facyson impressed the coaching staff, as he worked with the first team at outside corner when Harris Jr. would move in the slot. Standing at 6-foot-2 and 197 pounds, Facyson is a long press-man coverage CB, which makes him an ideal scheme fit for Staley’s defense. Facyson is an unfinished product, but he has unlocked potential and it will be intriguing to see if he can put it all together under the new coaches.

S: Mark Webb

Drafted in the seventh-round, Webb’s physical mentality and tackling ability were highly coveted to serve as a key special teamer, but like I’ve said before, don’t be surprised to see him make an impact on defense early on in his career. His versatility, athleticism and traits in coverage and against the run will serve him well in the secondary, whether that be in the deep parts of the fields, as a dimebacker or lined up in the slot. Seeing how he’s utilized at camp is something I’m looking forward to.

Sleepers to watch at each position on offense in Chargers training camp

Identifying some under-the-radar offensive players who could generate some buzz at Chargers training camp.

Each year, there are a few players for the Chargers who fly under the radar who come to the forefront in training camp.

With that being said, let’s a look at some sleepers at each position on the offensive side of the ball you may want to keep an eye out on this summer.

QB: Easton Stick

With only three players at the position, Justin Herbert being the starter and Chase Daniel and Stick being behind him, there isn’t a clear-cut sleeper. It’s likely that Daniel will win the backup role since he’s well-versed with Joe Lombardi’s offense and he offers mentorship to Herbert, but Stick is still going to be competitive to remain on the roster. However, maybe, just maybe, Stick is used in the same gadget role as Saints’ Taysom Hill. It would certainly be cool to see if the coaches have plays designed for him in that capacity, taking advantage of his athleticism.

RB: Larry Rountree III

There’s Austin Ekeler at the top of the depth and the spots behind him remain to be seen. Rountree, the team’s sixth-round pick, was drafted with the intentions of him serving as a special teamer, but he is more than capable of carving up a role in the backfield early on. Rountree is the type of back to drop his pad level, run through contact and be able to run between the tackles and push the ball to the edge as well as offer the ability to impact the passing game due to his catching and blocking skills.

WR: Austin Proehl

The battle for WR3 behind Keenan Allen and Mike Williams will steal the spotlight, but there should be a final spot to be earned between a few wideouts, including Proehl. The Chargers mark Proehl’s fifth team since entering the league in 2018, but he has yet to make a 53-man roster. But with but with his surprising speed, ability to get open in all three areas of the field competitiveness and special teams upside, Proehl could be the guy Los Angeles benefits from having on the squad.

TE: Tre’ McKitty

Jared Cook and Donald Parham sit atop of the depth chart, but McKitty was drafted in the third-round for a reason. He may be relegated to in-line blocker role, but I’m banking on him raising some eyebrows with his receiving skills. McKitty has the athleticism, ability to separate at the top of routes, a solid frame to stack defenders and great hands to reel in the football.

OT: Storm Norton

The starters are in place with Rashawn Slater and Bryan Bulaga, but there will be a battle for the swing role. Norton, who was signed last offseason, played well in his three starts in 2020. He offers the athleticism and movement skills to provide insurance if an injury occurred. One thing I’m looking for this summer is if he got stronger and dials it up with his leverage, given the fact that he’s towering at 6-foot-8 and has a thinner frame.

IOL: Brenden Jaimes

To this day, I believe that Jaimes, the team’s fifth-round selection, may go down as one of the steals of the draft. While lack of physical traits likely force him to kick inside to guard, Jaimes has the lower-body athleticism, efficient hand usage and high football IQ to be able to keep pass rushers at bay and generate movement in the run game in this league. Oday Aboushi will likely lock up the starting right guard job, but Jaimes should push him for it in camp.

Communication key for Chargers new-look offensive line

Chargers OT Bryan Bulaga talks about the core quality of the offensive line in 2021.

The Chargers boast one of the most talented offensive lines that the team has had in years after the offseason acquisitions of veterans Corey Linsley, Matt Feiler and Oday Aboushi, as well as rookie Rashawn Slater.

On paper, the group looks capable of giving quarterback Justin Herbert plenty of time to distribute the wealth and clear holes in the running game. But to make it all come to fruition, the unit must be on the same page at all times.

Right tackle Bryan Bulaga stressed the importance of communication in order to achieve success this upcoming season.

“First things first, with us up front, it’s all about communication,” Bulaga said. “I think when you can have good communication in the offensive line room, that’s only gonna help the group perform better on Sundays.

Obviously, throughout a game week or throughout training camp or what we’ve been in right now, especially with the new scheme, we’re installing things and seeing it for the first time, so being on the field with it for the first time, there’s gonna be a lot of questions.

There’s gonna be things that we don’t have the answers to right now because this is new to all the guys, but having a coach who’s able to communicate those things and be clear about what we need to do and make sure there’s no gray area is great.”

Offensive line coach Frank Smith’s philosophy of “clear, consistent, concise communication,” is what he wants to engrave to build the group’s culture and vision as they adjust to working together and getting accustomed to the new offense and blocking schemes.

By understanding each other, making the right calls, being able to read defenses, tell how they’re going to play certain ways and how they’re going to take on certain blocks should see it all work out.

During the spring in classroom sessions and OTAs, the line began the gelling process. Heading into training camp later this month, the group will throw on pads and get live reps, which should enhance their communication skills ahead of the regular season.

Last season, Pro Football Focus had Los Angeles ranked as the worst offensive line in football, and the run blocking was far too inconsistent.

The Chargers are certainly hoping that good things will happen in 2021 for this new-look offensive line, which could dictate a good portion of the offense’s success.

Chargers’ salary cap update as training camp approaches

A look at the Los Angeles Chargers’ salary cap position heading into training camp.

The Chargers agreed to terms with a handful of players who should be big contributors. Most importantly, aside from Corey Linsley who became the highest-paid center, the team didn’t break the bank to acquire them.

With the exception of first-round pick offensive tackle Rashawn Slater and third-round selections wide receiver Josh Palmer and tight end Tre’ McKitty, L.A. has all of their rookies signed to deals.

With that being said, L.A. has $19,850,826 million in salary cap space, per Over The Cap. That is good for the fifth-most in the NFL.

This number will drop after the Bolts ink the three first-year players mentioned to deals. A common curiosity is wondering if the Chargers will sign anymore players.

When looking back to previous years, the chances of general manager Tom Telesco doing so are slim. However, if the team does pull the trigger, they could benefit from additional depth at the safety, running back and defensive tackle positions.

Projecting the Chargers’ linebacker depth chart in 2021

Forecasting how the second-level defense will look like for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be 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

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

Kenneth Murray

Selected in the first-round of the 2020 NFL draft, Murray showed flashes in the run game, but he was a liability in coverage since he was tasked with a large load with both safety Derwin James and Drue Tranquill, two of the team’s best coverage defenders, out with injuries in Gus Bradley’s zone-heavy defense. Despite having a mixed bag of a rookie season, Murray still managed to finish the 2020 campaign with 107 total tackles (most by rookie since 2000), one sack, five tackles for loss and one quarterback hit. Looking ahead to this upcoming season, head coach Brandon Staley’s defense will play more to his strengths, which are as a run defender and a blitzer, playing more downhill.

Drue Tranquill

Drafted in the fourth-round of the 2019 NFL draft, Tranquill became a key piece on the defensive side of the ball. In 15 games played, three of which he started, Tranquill racked up 64 tackles (50 solo), four tackles for loss and one pass defended. On top of that, he finished tied for the most special teams tackles by any rookie (11). After enjoying his solid rookie season, it was expected that he was going to take another step in Year 2, but an ankle injury in the first game of the season put everything to a halt. Now heading into his third year, Tranquill will be one of the starting linebackers alongside Murray. His strengths as a run defender and coverage player will be dividends with what he will be asked to do.

Kyzir White

A fourth-round pick of the 2018 NFL draft, White flashed as early as his rookie season. The sample size was small because he was hindered by an injury that year. In 2019, he didn’t play that much because he struggled in the role as the starting middle linebacker, relegating him to a SAM linebacker, and in Bradley’s nickel-heavy defense, the playing time for the position is limited. Last season, White started in 10 games in which he amassed 77 tackles, four tackles for loss and three passes defensed. This upcoming season, White could be in for his best year yet in Staley’s defense. White has the versatility to be flexed in the slot (Star) and fill a sub-package safety-linebacker hybrid role (Money), and he is strong against the run and pass.

Nick Niemann

Niemann was drafted in the fifth-round of this year’s draft out of Iowa with the intentions of him aiding a special teams unit that finished last in the league last season. Even though that will be his primary role in Year 1, Niemann could be a reliable option if an injury was to occur. Niemann is a talented player 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.

Amen Ogbongbemiga

Ogbongbemiga, the undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State, has already caught the attention of special teams coordinator Derius Swinton II. Ogbongbemiga was a promising linebacker for the Cowboys, but his calling card right off the bat would be on special teams. He amassed over 500 ST snaps in college, and his range and solid tackling ability would make him a valuable asset on coverage units for the Bolts from Day 1.

Poll: Which Chargers uniform combo is the best?

The Los Angeles Chargers have the best uniforms in the NFL, but which one ranks No. 1?

The Chargers possess arguably the best-looking uniforms in all of football, with those being the ones that were unveiled last year.

With that being said, now that Los Angeles has worn every single combination, I want to know which one sits atop of the throne.

Considering they’re all clean, it’s difficult to pick one. But the poll should allow us to gauge the general population’s clear cut No. 1 choice.

For reference, here are all the combinations:

  1. Powder Blue on Yellow
  2. White on White
  3. Powder Blue on White
  4. Royal on Royal
  5. White on Yellow
  6. Navy Blue on Navy Blue

Vote in the poll below to let us know which one ranks superior:

[crowdsignal poll=10870920]