Tag: Chargers

Gus Edwards speaks on why he signed with Chargers

The Chargers want to run the football more efficiently, so part of the process was signing Gus Edwards.

The Chargers want to run the football more efficiently, so part of the process was signing running back Gus Edwards to a two-year deal.

Edwards, who previously played with the Ravens for six seasons, came to Los Angeles alongside his former offensive coordinator Greg Roman.

“I just thought it was a great opportunity,” Edwards said. “The coaching staff they’ve been putting together is incredible. [I’m] real familiar with coach Roman and his game. And I just wanted to be part of it because I already know what his mindset is.”

Edwards played for Roman in 2019, 2020 and 2022. In those seasons, he averaged at least five yards per carry. He is coming off his most productive season as a pro, as he finished with 810 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.

Jim Harbaugh has made it known that he wants to pound the rock, and Edwards will be crucial in making that happen.

“And same with coach [Jim] Harbaugh, I already know what his mindset is — being a physical team,” Edwards added. “And I just want to be a part of that.”

In the early stages, Edwards noted that Harbaugh has been heavily involved in the action as the Chargers are underway in Phase 1 of the offseason program.

“I know his mentality — he wants to win,” Edwards said. “He’s been very into everything. He’s been in the meeting rooms with us. He hasn’t been staying away from the team. He’s been in the weight room with us. It’s been great to just see his face around.”

2024 NFL draft: Chargers hosting RB Isaac Guerendo for visit

The Chargers are bringing in a workout warrior from the NFL combine.

The Chargers are hosting Louisville running back Issac Guerendo for a pre-draft visit, according to uStadium.

Guerendo finished his lone season with the Cardinals with 132 carries for 810 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also caught 22 passes for 234 yards and had 11 kick returns for 211 yards.

Guerendo played at Wisconsin for four seasons before transferring to play for Louisville. He finished his Badger career with 99 carries, 582 yards, six TDs, 20 receptions, 124 receiving yards and one receiving score.

At 6 feet and 221 pounds, Guerendo is a well-built running back who possesses the speed and burst to make plays on the ground and in the air.

A winner at the NFL Scouting Combine, Guerendo posted a blazing 4.33 official time with a 1.55 10-yard split. His 40 time was the fastest among running backs.

Even though they signed Gus Edwards, the Bolts are still likely to add to the positional room and it appears Guerendo could be a target on Day 3.

Hayden Hurst on joining the Chargers: ‘It was kind of a no-brainer to come here’

Chargers new tight end Hayden Hurst attributed the offensive scheme and familiar faces to why he made the move to Los Angeles. 

Chargers new tight end Hayden Hurst attributed the offensive scheme and familiar faces to why he made the move to Los Angeles. 

“For me, it was kind of a no-brainer to come here,” Hurst said. 

Hurst was the No. 25 overall pick by the Ravens in 2018 so he already had some connections to various Chargers personnel. 

“[Chargers General Manager] Joe Hortiz, [Chargers Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman], [Run Game Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach] Andy [Bischoff], getting back into the Harbaugh system — that’s who drafted me and brought me into the league, gave me my first opportunity,” Hurst said.

“It’s a lot of broad strokes from the Baltimore days — 2018-19, when I was there,” Hurst later added. “They’re reliant upon their tight ends, the receivers have to get open. It’s going to be a hell of a run game. It’s just cool seeing that playbook pop up there, familiar words, just kind of getting back to my roots.”

Under offensive coordinator Greg Roman, Hurst experienced how the run game would operate under Roman’s system. Though it was just one year with Roman in Baltimore, Hurst knew coming to Los Angeles the level of dominance on the ground the Chargers could have. 

“You have to be solid up front,” Hurst said about Roman’s run game. “You have to have smart guys all across the board — tight ends, offensive linemen, running backs. I think the most important part has just been that wherever he’s been, it’s just been a collective effort.

“When I was in Baltimore, those were two of the closest teams that I’ve ever been on, just guys fighting for one another,” Hurst continued. “It’s not that individualized stuff like you see in the NFL, it’s really a family. It’s a family.

“It’s what I signed up for, playing for the guy next to me, giving it my all to make sure that he gets his job done,” Hurst added. “It’s just a collective effort. I think that’s the beauty of it.”

Hurst spent two seasons with the Falcons before signing with the Bengals in 2022 and the Panthers last season.

Hurst has two seasons with at least 50 receptions. His best year was with Atlanta in 2020, when he had 58 catches for 571 yards and six touchdowns.

Hurst knows how important his position at tight end is for the offense to run successfully.

“You have to be able to do everything,” Hurst said about tight ends in the scheme. “Obviously, besides quarterback, I think that tight end, in this offense, probably has the most on their plate with run game protection stuff and pass game stuff.

“You have to be on your P’s and Q’s,” Hurst added. “From what I know of Andy and G-Ro, there’s not going to be specialized stuff, you have to be able to do everything. You have to be a well-rounded tight end in this offense.”

Although this is Hurst’s first time playing for Jim Harbaugh, he’s had experience with his brother, John Harbaugh, so the philosophy is quite similar. 

“He’s just very positive,” Hurst said of Jim Harbaugh. “A lot of coaches make this about themselves and their egos get in the way. But with him, he just wants to win, and he wants the guys to get better. He wants guys to get healthy. He wants guys to have success.

“Even in meetings, I’ve met him over the phone, but just seeing him in-person, how eccentric he is in meetings — he’s getting up, he’s showing guys how to do stuff. It just makes it fun because I think we all know that this can be a really, really long season if you don’t have the right people in place, it can kind of drag along,” Hurst added. “But, if you have a guy like that in the building who’s just enthusiastic about football and wants to win, then that’s infectious.”

Harbaugh has made it clear that he wants the Chargers to play physical football this season, and Hurst is eager to demonstrate this mentality on the field. 

Report: Chargers interested in WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling

The Chargers are scoping the free agency market for a wide receiver.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Chargers have expressed interest in free agent receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. This comes after a report earlier in the week linking them to preliminary interest in Bengals WR Tyler Boyd.

Fowler’s report mentions that the Chargers are looking for speed at the wide receiver position. Valdes-Scantling certainly offers a deep ball skillset as he can access that part of the field. Valdes-Scantling was a Kansas City cap casualty, as he had a cap hit of $12 million entering the 2024 season.

Known for his drop against the Eagles last year, MVS doesn’t necessarily have the best hands. For his career in the regular season, his drop rate is around 10%.

However, the drop problem seems slightly overstated when looking at the data. Valdes-Scantling had a 12.5% drop rate last year with three dropped targets. But combining his 2021 and 2022 campaigns, Valdes-Scantling had just an average drop rate of 5.3% between seasons, with five drops in total. On 38 postseason targets, he has zero drops in his career.

There probably won’t be any movement regarding the Chargers signing a free-agent wideout until after the draft. However, one advantage of pursuing Valdes-Scantling is that he wouldn’t factor into the comp formula if signed right now as a previous cut.

Of the remaining receivers in free agency, you’re not relying on any of them to be an offense’s No. 1 wide receiver. However, from a speed component and stretching-the-field standpoint, MVS could fill a greatly needed role for the Chargers pre- or post-draft.

Report: Saints to host Boston College OL Christian Mahogany on pre-draft visit

Add another name to the list of 30 official pre-draft visits for the Saints. Get to know Boston College guard Christian Mahogany:

Add another name to the list of New Orleans Saints official visits ahead of the 2024 NFL draft. Boston College offensive guard Christian Mahogany is one of the 30 prospects meeting with the Saints at their headquarters in Metairie this spring, per NFL draft analyst Jared Tokarz.

Mahogany has been on our radar for a while — he’s someone we put on our 2024 draft watch list last summer, and who was linked to the Saints in way-too-soon mock drafts before the season started. His college career began at left guard before the Eagles asked him to move to the right side, where he’s started in 2021 and 2023 (Mahogany missed the 2022 season with a knee injury).

Mahogany has done well for himself. He weighed in beneath the Saints’ previously-established standards for a guard at 6-foot-3 and 314 pounds but that’s right in line with the thresholds Klint Kubiak valued in his previous stint as an offensive coordinator, and his impressive movement skills should serve him well as a pro; Mahogany posted a 9.63 Relative Athletic Score which ranked 58 out of 1,523 guards since 1987.

Boston College has been an offensive line factory in recent years with several high draft picks like Zion Johnson (Los Angeles Chargers in 2022) and Chris Lindstrom (Atlanta Falcons in 2019), and Mahogany could be next. He was talked up as the best player on the field at East-West Shrine Bowl practices earlier this offseason. He’s currently projected to be a second- or third-round pick, so Mahogany could be in play when the Saints are on the clock at No. 45.

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2024 NFL draft: Chargers hosted LB Edgerrin Cooper on visit

Edgerrin Cooper is a speedy, rangy and explosive linebacker.

The Chargers hosted Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper on a pre-draft visit on Thursday, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

Cooper is a speedy, rangy, explosive linebacker whose coverage skills and ability to defend the run and blitz are high-quality NFL traits.

For his Aggie career, Cooper finished with 205 tackles, 30.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, 17 quarterback hurries, three forced fumbles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Los Angeles signed Denzel Perryman, who will likely be one of the starters. They also added Troy Dye in free agency and they return Daiyan Henley and Nick Niemann. But they need to add depth to the middle of the defense.

Cooper projects as a Day 2 selection and one of the first linebackers to be off the board.

Was Malik Nabers house hunting during top-30 visit with Chargers?

Malik Nabers appeared to be looking at houses in California.

LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers had his top-30 visit with the Chargers on Wednesday. While he was there, it appears that Nabers was looking at houses, according to his Instagram story.

“It would be nice to walk outside my house like this,” Nabers said.

 

The footage created a whirlwind of reactions on social media, with many assuming that Nabers is getting prepared for the Chargers to draft him and others thinking that he could just be looking for an offseason house.

Nabers has been commonly mocked to Los Angeles at No. 5 throughout the pre-draft process.

The Bolts have a big need at the wide receiver position after the departures of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, and Nabers would provide a huge boost if they selected him.

Ben Herbert highlights the goal of Chargers offseason program

Executive Director of Player Performance Ben Herbert shared his approach and thoughts on the new training regimen. 

The first day of the Chargers’ offseason program began on Tuesday and Executive Director of Player Performance Ben Herbert shared his approach and thoughts on the new training regimen. 

Herbert made a questionnaire that the players filled out to give him a better understanding of where the players stand at the moment.

The foundation of Herbert’s program is consistency and attention to detail. 

His goal for the program is to develop stronger and “harder to break” players. To accomplish this, he will focus on five key areas: neck, shoulders, hips, hamstrings, and ankles.

“Consistency is incredibly valuable to me,” said Herbert, who also relayed a story about why putting weight back correctly on the rack is important.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s the second plate of the 10th plate, it goes back precisely,” Herbert said. “It’s no different than a DB’s eyes of his footwork. Or an offensive lineman’s hand placement.

“We practice attention to detail,” Herbert added. “We train a certain way but it’s also how we keep the room.”

Herbert made it clear that his approach is not to break the players down and build them back up, but rather, he hopes to equip them to endure the challenges of playing in the NFL.

He is also keen on building rapport with the players in order for them to be successful in their training. 

“I’m here to impact them and this team in the most positive way.”

Chargers trade back with Vikings in Field Yates’ latest 2-round mock draft

The Chargers go all offense.

The Chargers may trade back to receive more draft capital to retool their roster. That’s the case in ESPN’s Field Yates’ latest mock draft, as he sees Los Angeles trading with the Vikings, who come up to No. 5 to get their quarterback of the future in J.J. McCarthy.

As for the Bolts, they acquire the 11th and 23rd selections from Minnesota. With their first pick, they select Alabama offensive tackle JC Latham.

Following the projected move down, the Chargers can now get to work building this roster how new coach Jim Harbaugh and GM Joe Hortiz envision it — which I expect will be through the trenches. Though the Chargers have Trey Pipkins III under contract for another two seasons, Latham would represent a short- and long-term upgrade. And he has the positional versatility to play guard if Los Angeles wanted to keep Pipkins on the field. Latham’s overwhelming strength is a perfect fit for a team that will want to wear opponents out with its physicality.

The Chargers want to run the ball more efficiently, which Latham could aid in that department.

Hulking at 6-foot-6 and 360 pounds, Latham is a force in pass protection and the run game with a great combination of size, strength, physicality and agility, projecting as a starter from Day 1.

Latham would likely replace Trey Pipkins at right tackle, but he possesses the versatility to play guard.

Later in the first round, Los Angeles takes Texas wide receiver Adonai Mitchell.

There is a plausible scenario in which the Chargers stand pat at No. 5 and take the best wide receiver available. After releasing Mike Williams and trading Keenan Allen, they have to reshape their wide receiver room. But here Los Angeles can stockpile picks and still take advantage of a deep receiver class, landing a buttery smooth route runner in Mitchell. He has excellent size, great speed and reliable hands, with just one drop in his lone season at Texas (he transferred from Georgia). He also averaged 15.4 yards per catch last season and would be a good fit with quarterback Justin Herbert.

After the departures of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, the wide receiver room is rather thin, so it’s imperative that they address that early on.

With a 4.34 40-yard dash, Mitchell is a speedy wideout with great size and ball skills. He could step in and immediately be a threat at all three levels of the field.

In the second round, the Bolts select West Virginia center Zach Frazier.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that Jim Harbaugh wants to build up his offensive line aggressively this offseason. Frazier is super tough and exactly the type of guy Harbaugh and GM Joe Hortiz would covet. He did not allow any sacks over 328 pass-block plays in 2023.

The Chargers signed Bradley Bozeman, but they won’t shy away from selecting the long-term fix at the position, especially since Jim Harbaugh wants to build through the trenches.

One of the top centers in this year’s class, Frazier is a pro-ready player with the athletic ability, anchor strength, highly impressive awareness and toughness. He started 47 games for the Mountaineers, so he possesses plenty of experience playing the position.

Ben Herbert kicks off Chargers offseason program

Executive Director of Player Performance Ben Herbert began his offseason training regimen with the Chargers on Tuesday. 

Executive Director of Player Performance Ben Herbert began his offseason training regimen with the Chargers on Tuesday. 

As the head of the offseason program, Herbert had the opportunity to meet the players as a group. 

“To say I was excited for today would be an understatement,” Herbert said.

This is Herbert’s first time leading a program in the NFL. Herbert comes from the University of Michigan, where he spent six seasons. In that time, he developed 22 NFL draft picks, including six first-round selections. 

As the offseason program started, Herbert chose not to converse much with players throughout their weight room sessions. Instead, he showed the group how he wanted things done. 

His philosophy is to show, not tell. 

“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say,” Herbert said. 

The saying may sound familiar since it is often used by head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Herbert said it was a “no-brainer” when Harbaugh asked him to join the Chargers coaching staff, especially since the two share similar football philosophies. 

“The game of football, building a team, coaching a team is very important to him,” Herbert said. “If you see it that same way and it’s important to you … if you’re willing to sacrifice and commit … you’re going to have a great relationship and great rapport with Coach.”

The Chargers are still months away from the regular season, but Herbert ensures that they will be ready as they will seek peak performance every day.

“The time we spend together will have value. I’m confident they realize it after Day 1,” Herbert said. “With each passing day, they will reap the rewards of what we do in that training environment.”