Despite finishing third in the AFC West last season, many believe that the Chargers are equipped to go from one of the worst to first in the upcoming season.
Los Angeles will once again have stiff competition with the Chiefs, who are seeking their sixth-straight divisional crown, but there’s plenty of reason to believe that the Bolts will snap that.
Here are four reasons why the Chargers will win the division in 2021:
Justin Herbert
In 2020, Herbert set the league on fire, setting rookie records for total touchdowns (36), passing touchdowns (31), completions (396), multi-passing touchdown games (10), games with 300 yards passing (8) and three-passing touchdown games (6).
The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year accomplished of this all while dealing with incompetent offensive line play and inconsistent availability of the top skill players due to injuries or COVID-19-related reasons.
Heading into the new season, Herbert could be in for an even bigger season, given the fact that he will have all key skill players from last year returning, along with the additions of Jared Cook and Josh Palmer.
Most importantly, Herbert will have plenty of time to distribute the wealth to those guys knowing that he will have a revamped offensive line that features All-Pro center Corey Linsley, Matt Feiler, Oday Aboushi and first-round pick Rashawn Slater.
Many assume that have a new play-caller in Joe Lombardi will present some learning curve issues, but Herbert, who has had five different play-callers dating back to his freshman year of college, should be able to master the system due to his high football IQ.
Don’t forget, Herbert went toe-to-toe with the Chiefs in his professional debut last season, which almost resulted in a victory in favor of the Chargers.
Brandon Staley is a man on a mission
The Chargers hired Brandon Staley to be the man in charge after overseeing the Rams defense, which was the top-ranked unit in the NFL in 2020.
Staley’s defensive expertise — combined with playmakers led by Derwin James, Joey Bosa, Kenneth Murray, Michael Davis, Chris Harris Jr. and rookie Asante Samuel Jr. — should draw some plenty of concern for opposing offenses.
Staley has a knack for getting the most out of his players, which means that Uchenna Nwosu, Jerry Tillery, Nasir Adderley, among others are going to be in a great position to breakout.
Staying healthy will be key but this defense has a good chance of finishing as a top-5 unit by the end of the season.
Aside from maximizing the defensive side of the ball, Staley should be better in areas where former head coach Anthony Lynn’s failures cost the Chargers a lot of close games, such as game management and strategy in crucial situations.
Special teams should be better
A few of the Chargers’ games from last season were lost due to the poor special teams department. The first step to fixing the unit was hiring Derius Swinton II as the new coordinator and game management assistant.
Swinton has 13 years as a special teams coach under his belt. He previously served as the Cardinals’ assistant special teams coach. Swinton has worked as the 49ers’ special teams coordinator in addition to coaching with the Bears, Broncos, Chiefs and Rams.
Swinton is confident that he will be able fix what went wrong with the players that were a part of the disastrous product.
The work didn’t stop there.
The team brought in experienced special teams players via free agency and the draft to give Swinton to work with, including two new kickers to compete with Michael Badgley, with those being Tristan Vizcaino and Alex Kessman.
In addition, reliable coverage players were added like veterans Ryan Smith and Kyler Fackrell and rookies Chris Rumph II, Nick Niemann, Larry Rountree III and Mark Webb.
Minimal injuries
The Chargers have plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, but player availability is going to play a big role in determining their success.
The team has seen a handful of their top players go down with injuries in recent years, which has hindered their chances of making a deep run.
Fortunately, the team Anthony Lomando as their new director of sports performance.
Lomando spent the past nine years with the Broncos as their assistant strength and conditioning coach. Prior to that, he spent three seasons working on the strength and conditioning staff for the Jaguars.
Lomando also worked with the Qatar National and Olympic Soccer teams in 2007 and was responsible for preparing them for the World Cup and Olympic qualifying matches.
With Lomando’s expertise, the hope is that he will oversee a staff that provide elite strength and conditioning practices, while better protecting the players from injuries and helping them develop and perform at a higher level.
If and when the Bolts can stay healthy, they can make some serious noise this season.