The Chargers signed former Saints OL Will Clapp on Tuesday.
Here are four things to know about the newest Bolt.
First football foray outside Louisiana
Clapp is a New Orleans native who attended Brother Martin High School in Crescent City before accepting a scholarship at LSU, where he played his college ball. He was then drafted by the Saints in the seventh round in 2018, meaning that his first home game as a Charger will also be his first home game outside Louisiana.
Highly decorated college football player
After earning All-SEC first-team honors at guard in 2016 and center in 2017, Clapp became the first LSU offensive lineman in a decade to be named All-SEC twice in his career. He was also a finalist for the 2017 Rimington Award as the nation’s top center and was named a permanent team captain for the Tigers. He and his father Tommy are the only father-son duo to be named permanent team captains in the history of the LSU program.
Called the LSU passing game explosion under Joe Brady
Back in 2018, Brady was an offensive assistant with the Saints. After Brady was hired by LSU as their new passing game coordinator in January 2019, Clapp quote tweeted the news saying that Brady was about to take “this passing game to a new level”. What followed was LSU’s undefeated run to a national championship, as now-Bengals QB Joe Burrow threw for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns under Brady’s guidance.
Can play all five offensive line positions
Versatility is an important quality for depth offensive linemen, and Clapp has shown this throughout his NFL career. As a Saint under new Chargers offensive line coach Brendan Nugent, Clapp played center, tackle, and tight end in jumbo packages across 132 snaps in 2021. With experience at guard in previous seasons and in college, he figures to be a key depth piece in LA.
