Breaking down some film of the newest member of the Los Angeles Chargers, Morgan Fox.
One of the Chargers’ primary focuses this offseason was reconstructing their defensive line after their unit from last season was the culprit as to why they finished near the bottom in run defense.
Los Angeles rightfully did so, signing Sebastian Joseph-Day and Austin Johnson, drafting Otito Ogbonnia, and bringing back Christian Covington.
However, even after it appeared the group was revamped, the work did not stop there as the team went out and signed Morgan Fox earlier this week.
Fox previously played with the Panthers, where he appeared in all 17 games, starting nine of them. He accounted for 34 tackles, 26 pressures, two tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits, and 1.5 sacks.
Before his stint with Carolina, Fox had his best season under Brandon Staley, who was the Rams’ defensive coordinator in 2020. Fox played nearly 40 percent of the snaps and finished with 27 tackles, 25 pressures, eight tackles for loss, and seven sacks.
While improving the run defense was the priority, bettering the pass rush from the interior was also a key focal point that was factored in.
Last season, Jerry Tillery was the team’s top pass-rushing defensive tackle with just 31 pressures and five sacks on 486 opportunities. Behind him was Justin Jones, who totaled 18 pressures and two sacks on 286 opportunities.
Insert Fox, who will be the interior pass rusher that the Chargers needed.
Fox has seen most of his snaps come as a 4i or 3-technique lineman. However, he has also taken some snaps on the edge.
Fox displays a high level of technicality to get to the quarterback, something he works on with pass-rush coach Eddy McGilvra, who hones in on the small details that make a huge difference in the few seconds of the rush.
In the clip below, Fox sells with a quick jab step inside to set up the pass rush and finishes with a club-rip to clear his path.
In the following clip, Fox sets up his rush with nice footwork by going with a euro cross chop into a club/arm over to beat the right guard.
In this clip, Fox beats the left guard with an inside swipe and swim move to pressure the quarterback.
In this clip, Fox is off the edge where he gets inside hands and then frees himself up with a rip move.
Besides being technically sound with his upper and lower half, Fox also plays with great leverage and power to push linemen back in the pocket.
Another one of Fox’s strengths is that he has the closing speed and motor to make plays, as seen here to chase down Bills’ Josh Allen and get to him to force a throwaway.
While pressuring opposing quarterbacks is his forte and where he will make the majority of his money with the Chargers, Fox is strong against the run, where he shows great lateral movement, heavy hands to control his man and leverage gaps, and the eye discipline to find flow in the backfield.
In this clip against All-Pro tackle Trent Williams, Fox gets extended, rides laterally, controls him, and once the running back gets vertical, he violently sheds him and makes the play.
The bottom line is that the addition of Fox is going to impact Los Angeles’ defense positively.
With his pass-rushing ability, Fox will provide quality depth on the defensive line. Staley’s familiarity with Fox will allow L.A. to play him according to his strengths. While primarily expected to play inside, his ability to flex out to the edge should open up multiple options up front.
