Tag: Christian Covington

Chargers activate Joey Bosa, Drue Tranquill off reserve/COVID-19 list

The Los Angeles Chargers activated Joey Bosa and Drue Tranquill and promoted three players from the practice squad.

The Chargers have activated edge defender Joey Bosa and linebacker Drue Tranquill off the reserve/COVID-19 list, which means the two will play on Sunday against the Steelers.

Bosa, who is unvaccinated, was listed as a close contact earlier this week, which meant that he had to test negative every day. Meanwhile, Tranquill was placed on the list last week and missed the game against the Vikings.

As for the other two on the COVID-19 list, defensive tackles Jerry Tillery and Christian Covington were not activated and will not play tomorrow night.

Therefore, Los Angeles is likely to be without Tillery, Covington and Linval Joseph, who is currently doubtful with a shoulder injury.

Breiden Fehoko was signed to the active roster earlier this week. Forrest Merrill and Andrew Brown were also promoted from the practice squad to add some reinforcements.

Furthermore, cornerback Kiondre Thomas was elevated from the practice squad.

Chargers make few roster moves

The Chargers did some retooling along the defensive line.

The Chargers made various roster moves on Wednesday.

Los Angeles placed Christian Covington on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. To fill the vacancy, the team signed Breiden Fehoko to the active roster. To replace Fehoko on the practice squad, L.A. signed Caraun Reid.

Covington joins Joey Bosa, Jerry Tillery, and Drue Tranquill on the COVID-19 list.

Fehoko has appeared in four games and has logged 18 defensive snaps this season.

Reid spent one season with the Bolts back in 2016, in which he logged five tackles, two tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

Since then, he has spent time with the Lions, Cowboys, Cardinals, Jaguars, and Titans.

Chargers’ run defense problematic in loss to Cowboys

The Chargers currently have the fourth-worst run defense in the NFL.

Leading into the Chargers’ Week 2 matchup against the Cowboys, I talked about how critical stopping the run was going to be.

Despite their rushing attack being nonexistent in the season opener, the Cowboys knew that run defense was a weak spot for Los Angeles. They resorted to it early and often, and had plenty of success with it.

Dallas finished with 198 yards rushing on 31 carries (6.4 yards per carry). Tony Pollard totaled 109 yards on just 13 carries, while Ezekiel Elliott had 71 yards on 16 carries.

With Zack Martin back in the starting lineup at right guard, the 30-year old had his way against Linval Joseph, Jerry Tillery, Christian Covington, Eric Banks and Joe Gaziano.

Holes were consistently opened and tackles were missed far too often by the second and third lines of defense, with Kenneth Murray and Michael Davis being the primary culprits.

“We were just a little bit off in the first level, which caused our second level to be a little bit off,” head coach Brandon Staley said.

“We have to play more physical at the point of attack so the ball doesn’t get to the second level as often as it did. And then when the ball does get to the second level, we have to be where we need to be and we need to tackle. We need to tackle physically.”

It did not help that Justin Jones, an active contributor in the trenches, was out with a calf injury. But there were other factors into the run defense woes that went beyond Jones’ absence.

Staley often shows light boxes, which is when there are fewer than six defenders in the box due to his frequent use of nickel and dime packages. Therefore, it invites the run, specifically between the tackles, since there are natural gaps that form as a result of the alignment.

As far as the product on the field, the front allowed blockers to gain initial leverage, had no point-of-attack strength or counters once tied up, no answers against double teams and were easily turned from run lanes as a result, and too many missed tackles, of course.

It’s easy to point to the penalties as to what held the Chargers back on offense, but how the defense played the run was entirely in their control, which could’ve helped with the outcome. Unfortunately, they simply lacked execution.

Los Angeles needs to make adjustments now, whether that be in the playbook or elevating someone like Forrest Merrill or Breiden Fehoko, or else it will continue to be a major concern for the rest of the season.

Chargers’ defensive position battles heading into preseason finale

See where the Los Angeles Chargers have their biggest position battles on defense heading into their final preseason game.

The preseason finale is set for Saturday night, as the Chargers will take on the Seahawks at Lumen Stadium in Seattle, WA.

Here’s a closer look at the top positional battles on the defensive side of the ball ahead of Los Angeles’ matchup against Seattle.

Interior defensive line

The guys up front have all been impressive this past month, which has made the evaluation process rather difficult. Cortez Broughton has looked like the best that he has since entering the league, but Joe Gaziano and Willie Yarbary have also made some noise. Meanwhile, Breiden Fehoko and Forrest Merrill have been neck and neck for the backup spot to Linval Joseph. All eyes should be on the play in trenches tonight.

Linebacker

There are four players that will fill out the room, with those being Kenneth Murray, Drue Tranquill, Kyzir White and Nick Niemann. If the team decides to roll with five, it will likely be filled by either Amen Ogbongbemiga or Cole Christiansen. Ogbongbemiga is not going to play, as he is dealing with an AC joint sprain. Despite not playing, Ogbongbemiga still has the slight leg up due to his special teams upside. However, Christiansen has been a tackling machine, which could change the coach’s minds.

Cornerback

Like the linebacker group, there are four spots that are locked up by Michael Davis, Chris Harris Jr., Asante Samuel Jr. and Brandon Facyson. The team will likely carry nine defensive backs, leaving one for a corner. Ryan Smith was seen as a lock, but he’s been out with a core muscle injury. Los Angeles could place Smith on injured reserve, and he would be allowed to return sometime during the season. Kemon Hall, John Brannon and Tevaughn Campbell, who have all shined, will be fighting for the job.

Kicker

It appeared to be all Tristan Vizcaino throughout the summer, but Michael Badgley kicked his way into having a slight advantage this past week. Head coach Brandon Staley said that he wants both kickers to have a fair shot, which likely means more field goal opportunities will be given on a rotational basis. Leg strength on kickoffs will also be an important deciding factor.

Projecting the Chargers’ interior defensive line depth chart

Breaking down what the defensive tackle room might look like for the Los Angeles Chargers heading into the 2021 season.

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

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

Linval Joseph

The Chargers signed Joseph last offseason to serve as the clog of the defense, which ended up paying dividends in 2020. Playing 725 snaps this past season, Joseph not only contributed as someone who commanded double teams, but he made high effort plays against the pass and run. He finished with 62 tackles, 14 quarterback pressures, three tackles for loss and two QB hits. Heading into this year, Joseph will resume the role as the team’s nose tackle, doing the dirty work in the trenches and still constantly hunting for the football.

Jerry Tillery

After failing to live up to his first-round status in his rookie season, Tillery made some made some strides last season. His ascend came when he was experimented as a defensive end. Tillery saw his tackles (17 to 30), sacks (two to three), quarterback hits (three to 14), pressures (nine to 22) and forced fumbles (zero to two) all uptick. Looking ahead to Year 3, Tillery is in a prime position to take a step even further, as he will be in a scheme that favors his skillset and play for Brandon Staley, who has a history of elevating front-seven players. Tillery’s versatility will serve him well and his traits profile more optimally to a 3-4 defense, given his length, strength and power.

Justin Jones

In each of his three seasons, Jones has steadily improved as a player. Jones amassed his first career sack last season and five tackles for loss, which marked a career-high. While he’s stronger against the run, Jones has put the pieces together as a pass-rusher. Now entering his fourth season in Staley’s defense, like Tillery, Jones could is in a great position for his best year yet since he’ll be aligned at multiple spots along the defensive line in the new scheme and his skillset meshes well what Staley will be asking him to do, which is using his strength and powerful play to demand blocks.

Christian Covington

Heading into the offseason, the Chargers had a need to fill out the interior part of the line with someone to compliment Joseph, Tillery and Jones. Following the draft, the team signed Covington to a short-term deal. Throughout his career, Covington has been a valuable rotational piece along defensive line. He has 132 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. Covington is a guy who is capable of disrupting the backfield, whether it’s rushing the passer or stopping the run due to his great lateral quickness and burst to jump off the snap as well as length and strength to hold his own against double teams.

Breiden Fehoko

The fifth and likely final spot will likely be given to a nose tackle to back up Joseph, which is why Fehoko gets the nod over Cortez Broughton. After going undrafted in last year’s draft out of LSU, Fehoko was signed as an undrafted free agent. Promoted from the practice squad, Fehoko was active for two games during the regular season but didn’t record any statistics in his rookie season. Fehoko is a run-stopper who clogs rushing lanes to provide opportunities for his teammates from the second and third level to make, as well as the strength and effort to collapse the pocket.

Bleacher Report names one expendable player for Chargers

If the Los Angeles Chargers were to trade a player, who would that be?

While the majority of rosters are pretty much set ahead of training camp, there are trades that could still occur between now and the regular season.

Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon named a player on each of the 32 NFL teams that could or should be traded and for the Chargers, he listed defensive tackle Justin Jones.

Jones isn’t expensive, but he’s not as accomplished as Joseph or as talented as Tillery and there’s a decent chance the Chargers lose him next offseason anyway. Might as well see if anyone is willing to pay for the 24-year-old’s combination of experience and upside, especially if his workload is expected to drop off in L.A. anyway.

It’d be a cheap one-year experiment for a team in more desperate need of defensive line help than the Chargers, but there’s also little reason for Los Angeles to pull the trigger unless the front office gets a solid return for a key player like Jones.

Jones, the former third-round pick, is entering the final year of his contract. In each of his three seasons, Jones has steadily improved as a player.

Jones amassed his first career sack last season and five tackles for loss, which marked a career-high. While he’s stronger against the run, Jones has put the pieces together as a pass-rusher.

Now entering his fourth season in head coach Brandon Staley’s defense, Jones could be in a prime position for his best year yet since he’ll be aligned as a defensive end in the new scheme, a perfect role for his skillset.

Even after the acquisition of Christian Covington, the interior part of the defensive line is thin in terms of depth, so moving Jones wouldn’t be a great idea. Plus, he could turn out to make an impact this season, more than people realize.

2021 expectations for Chargers’ newest free agent signings

Chargers Wire’s Gavino Borquez lays out the roles that the free agents from this offseason will have in 2021.

In part of the roster reconstruction, Chargers general manager Tom Telesco didn’t shy away from adding a few earlier this offseason.

With that in mind, here is what fans can expect from each of Telesco’s acquisitions heading into the upcoming season:

C Corey Linsley

The acquisition of Linsley fills the void at center in a big way, as he is a former All-Pro player and perhaps the best center in football. Linsley will help both in the passing game, especially with stunts up the middle, and the running game, as well as aid quarterback Justin Herbert in his pre-snap assessments and protection adjustments. A proven veteran like Linsley is a massive upgrade to the offensive line.

G Matt Feiler

After acquiring Linsley, the Chargers picked up Feiler to serve as the starting left guard, despite having experience at both tackle and guard. His primary position from Day 1 will be along the interior, but if an injury occurred to Bryan Bulaga, Feiler is capable of playing right tackle. He will be a key piece in both the passing and running game. In 1,499 pass-blocking snaps, Feiler only blew 31. In 903 run-blocking snaps, he only blew eight, per Sports Info Solutions.

G Oday Aboushi

The Chargers failed to get consistency at the right guard position from Trai Turner last season. The team released Turner and went out and signed Aboushi in correspondence. Aboushi was a great value signing at one year, $1.6 million. He will have some competition in fifth-round Brenden Jaimes this summer, but given the fact that he is coming off his best season yet as a pro with the Lions, Aboushi should lock up the starting spot. Aboushi gives the team a physical blocker in both departments as well as a gritty presence in the room.

TE Jared Cook

With Hunter Henry signing with the Patriots, the Chargers needed to acquire a starting tight end. Cook was that guy. More experienced as a receiver than a blocker, Cook will provide a big frame in the middle of the field and down the seam for quarterback Justin Herbert. Cook is familiar with offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and the scheme he will try to run, so it will help in the learning curve.

CB Ryan Smith

While he has experience as a starter in the secondary, Smith’s money with the Chargers will be made on special teams, where he will aide in the coverage units. Last season, Smith appeared in all 16 regular-season games for the Buccaneers and played 78 percent of the special teams snaps (360). He also played at least 73 percent of the special teams snaps in each of the team’s four postseason games.

EDGE Kyler Fackrell

The Chargers entered the offseason with a need at the position knowing that the depth was thin, with the only other players they had were Joey Bosa, Uchenna Nwosu and Jesse Lemonier. With Bosa and Nwosu slated to start, Fackrell will come in as rotational pass-rusher, with the majority of his work coming on special teams, having played over 1,000 special teams snaps in his career.

DT Christian Covington

The Chargers did not address the position in the draft, despite it being a group that needed additional depth. To fulfill it, the team signed Covington. Covington possesses versatility up front as he has experience playing anywhere from nose tackle to outside of the tackles. Similar to Damion Square, Covington will likely back up Jerry Tillery and Justin Jones. He is a guy who is capable of disrupting the backfield due to his great lateral quickness and burst to jump off the snap as well as length and strength to take on double teams.

6 things to know about Chargers DL Christian Covington

Get familiar with the newest member of the Los Angeles Chargers, defensive lineman Christian Covington.

The Chargers signed defensive tackle Christian Covington to a one-year deal on Monday.

To get familiar with him, here are six things to know about the 27-year old.

Dad was a stud in the CFL

Covington’s father, Grover, was a star defensive end for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1981-1991. He is the league’s all-time sack leader (151). In 2000, he was inducted to the CFL Hall of Fame.

Collegiate career

Covington, the Canada native, played college football at Rice. He posted 78 tackles, 11.5 sacks and two forced fumbles in three seasons, and was named to the All-Conference USA team after his sophomore year. Covington was then drafted by the Houston Texans in the sixth-round of the 2015 NFL draft.

Played out his rookie contract

It doesn’t happen that often where a sixth-round pick stays on the same team throughout his entire rookie contract, but Covington was among the few. Appearing in 50 games over four years, he had 65 tackles, 7.5 sacks and a forced fumble in those appearances. His best season came in 2018, a year where he posted eight quarterback hits and 3.5 sacks in 12 starts.

Bounced around the league

After experiencing his best football with the Texans, Covington has not been a mainstay. The past two years, he’s played for the Cowboys, Broncos (practice squad) and Bengals.

What he brings to the table

Covington is a long-armed interior defender who possesses great lateral quickness and burst to jump off the snap and get up field in the snap of a finger. When double-teamed, he utilizes his length to his advantage and strength & leverage to dominate them. Covington is versatile, capable of playing inside and outside of the tackles.

Could be in for a big year

Given the fact that his best playing days came with Houston in their 3-4 scheme, Covington could make an impact for the Chargers and their defensive system that features a three-man and hybrid fronts, even if it’s just as a rotational role.

Chargers sign DT Christian Covington

The Los Angeles Chargers are gaining additional depth up front.

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The Chargers are signing defensive tackle Christian Covington to a one-year deal, according to his agent David Canter.

Los Angeles did not address the position in the draft, despite it being a group that needed additional depth.

Covington, 27, brings six years of experience in the NFL, having played for the Texans, Cowboys and Bengals.

Covington possesses versatility up front as he has experience playing anywhere from nose tackle to outside of the tackles.

For his career, Covington has 132 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.

Texans GM Nick Caserio names the hardest trait to scout for in the draft

The NFL draft is chock full of information on players, but Houston Texans GM Nick Caserio says there is one no metric can account for.

Houston Texans director of college scouting James Liipfert does an excellent job of presenting his year-long work scouting college players to the decision-makers in the front office.

Liipfert has a new boss in general manager Nick Caserio, and as good as Liipfert is, there is one trait that is difficult for anyone to scout across all 32 teams in the NFL.

What type of work ethic will a prospect bring at the pro level?

“That’s one of the hardest things to ascertain because you don’t know how they’re going to respond to some of the other elements that come along with being a professional football player,” Caserio told Texans Radio play-by-play Marc Vandermeer and sideline reporter John Harris on April 20. “There’s a few more distractions. There’s some things that can kind of lead you astray. There’s more competition. No one is on scholarship. You go from being on a roster of 85 and 90. You get to keep 53 on your team and there are 12 on your practice squad. So, basically, you can work with 65 or 70 players. So, are you doing enough on a day to day basis to count for one of those spots? Do you deserve one of those spots? So, nobody is handed anything regardless of where you were drafted or where you were picked.”

https://youtu.be/uMo1vSW8NjI

Given that the Texans do not make their first selection until Round 3 at No. 67 overall, Houston will not necessarily have the best talent to choose from, which makes identifying work ethic pivotal.

“That’s kind of the most difficult thing, and you can’t measure it, and you don’t really know it until you actually see it and they actually get here,” said Caserio. “And that’s probably one of the more challenging things that you face because you can only rely on so much information. ‘Oh, he’s a great kid. He was great.’ Okay, well, that was in college. This is a totally different situation. How are they going to adapt? How are they going to adjust and do they actually embrace this as a profession, which is what it is?”

The Texans have had a dry spell in selecting players with staying power in the sixth and seventh rounds, the final two rounds of the draft. The last Texans player taken in that range who played out his rookie contract was defensive lineman Christian Covington, selected at No. 216 overall in Round 6 of the 2015 NFL draft.