September is fast approaching and so is the Chargers’ preseason.
These games give opportunities to rookies and backups to shine – and even allow some players to fight amongst themselves for a roster spot to make their case.
Here are a few things we can expect this pre-season, starting when they kick off their preseason against the Rams at Sofi Stadium on Aug. 12.
Resting Starters
In previous preseasons, Brandon Staley was adamant about resting starters. Justin Herbert and Derwin James along with their respective units will most likely both stand on the sidelines and analyze the game and the players that they see on the field. It will be interesting to see how Staley navigates the pre-season matchups and what his new athletic team says about complete rest. In the past, many starters have struggled with injuries due to a lack of playing time before the start of the season, including one of the most important players on the Chargers: Keenan Allen. There is an argument to be made for resting your starting players, but ultimately giving them a chance to see the field – especially the offensive guys who have a new scheme to learn – could be greatly beneficial.
Shining Rookies
The pre-season is what fans who pay close attention to the draft wait for. This is the chance for rookies to come out and prove themselves as true NFL-caliber starters. They’ll be working within their first NFL scheme and playing against other newcomers and backups. A few Chargers rookies to watch out for this pre-season will be Daiyan Henley, Quentin Johnston, and Tuli Tuipulotu. These young guys have the opportunity to make a big impact on the pre-season and get fans excited for the season to come as well as the future of the team. All three of these picks are listed higher on the “backups” portion of the first Chargers depth chart released this earlier this week, so they will see the NFL field in the regular season pretty early on.
Kicker Competition
There’s been a lot of Chargers’ kicker coverage lately, and the kicking competition will continue to heat up in pre-season. Cameron Dicker and Dustin Hopkins are both listed as the No. 1 kicker on the current depth chart. Still, with Hopkins resting recently from a previous injury it is likely that we will see Dicker take on most of the load during the pre-season. Dicker currently sits as the starting kickoff specialist with Hopkins as the starting kicker.
Other players to watch
Keep an eye on wide receiver John Hightower. Hightower has had a fantastic camp, scoring touchdowns almost daily and beating defenders left, right, and center. Hightower gives the team a burst of speed and is currently the type of player that could make the 53-man roster over Jalen Guyton who continues to sit on the PUP list.
Cornerbacks Ja’Sir Taylor and Asante Samuel Jr. are also must-watches. They might not see the field in preseason, but with their current situation up in the air as to who will start come week one, there is a chance that they might take a few snaps.
Kellen Moore’s offense
Last but not least, this is the first chance for Chargers fans to witness the new Moore offense. Although the stars will be missing from the lineup, the scheme and playcalling should be more explosive and interesting overall. Moore won’t reveal the entire playbook during the pre-season, but the general fluidity and speed of the offense will be very different from Joe Lombardi’s previous scheme.
Tackling in space
Staley’s defensive scheme has posed a unique challenge for incoming players in the past. This is an opportunity for rookies and backups to put their skills to the test and execute a scheme that at one point was the best in the NFL. Over the past several years the Chargers’ run defense and tackles in open space was a detriment to the team, allowing opposing offenses to continuously score points and run through holes for added yardage. Recently, the defensive squad has been practicing exactly these issues in camp this past week – they’ve even gone so far as to name Taylor a possible starter instead of Samuel due to his ability to tackle running backs. The Chargers are serious about fixing this issue, so this will be something to watch closely come Saturday.