There are just a little over three weeks left until the Chargers kick off training camp for the 2023 season.
Everyone on Los Angeles’ roster will enter the final stage of the offseason process with something to prove, but there’s more pressure on certain players than others.
This group of five has a lot on the line, from both an individual standpoint to their impact on team success.
CB J.C. Jackson
CB J.C. Jackson
This one’s pretty obvious. J.C. Jackson enters the second season of a pricey five-year contract after rupturing his patellar tendon in 2022. Before his significant injury, Jackson battled through preseason ankle surgery and looked inconsistent in five games for Los Angeles.
The team impact is pretty obvious. The Chargers signed Jackson to be their lockdown CB1. Michael Davis and Asante Samuel Jr. played well in his absence last season, but the true vision of Brandon Staley’s defense that he hopes to achieve in 2023 involves the former Patriot returning to form.
An interesting aspect of Jackson’s contract also looms large. The second season of his deal is the last with guaranteed money, as the $40 million he initially signed for will be paid out by the end of 2023.
To put it bluntly, Jackson needs to stay healthy and perform well to get to years three through five on his contract. If he were to reaggravate his knee injury or not return to form, Tom Telesco effectively does have a contractual out he can use.
There’s no Charger with higher stakes in their 2023 individual impact and potential future with the team than Jackson.
RB Austin Ekeler
Ekeler’s 2023 campaign will be critical to his contractual situation. A depressed running back market does not bode well for him, but another career year could still see him paid well in free agency. On the other hand, a season where Ekeler underperforms would be brutal for both him and the rest of the players at his position entering the market next year.
Everyone knows the history of running backs approaching 30 on the free agent market. Ekeler will look to reverse that trend in his effort to put up another 18+ touchdown, 1500+ scrimmage yards type of season in 2023.
Some really interesting takes about Austin Ekeler on the TL over the last few days.
Regardless of your feelings, he was one of the most efficient and valuable runners in the league in 2022 despite all the various issues the Chargers offense had last year. https://t.co/edb2ceVQub
— Steven Haglund (@StevenIHaglund) June 15, 2023
Ekeler is one of the most efficient running backs in the league for the volume of his usage. Aside from his contract, the Chargers need him to be at his peak production with little depth behind him. Joshua Kelley was solid as RB2 last year, but his role should be limited to that in the offense. As Isaiah Spiller heads into his second season, he remains a wildcard that the Chargers probably can’t exclusively rely on for a breakout campaign behind Ekeler.
RB Isaiah Spiller
The reality for the Chargers is that Ekeler probably won’t be back in 2024. This is his last season with the Chargers. It also might be Joshua Kelley’s final season as he enters a contract year.
Spiller, Los Angeles’ 2022 fourth-round selection, has to play a more significant role in the 2023 campaign than he did last season. On 18 carries, he averaged just 2.3 yards per attempt. For the most part, he was an offensive afterthought behind Ekeler, Kelley, and even Sony Michel.
Considering the draft capital they used to select him, the Chargers want Spiller to be their main running back in the post-Ekeler era. But if there isn’t a significant step forward in both usage and efficiency from the former Texas A&M running back in 2023, Los Angeles would have to start to wonder just how viable that option is.
LB Kenneth Murray
Murray enters the 2023 season as just the second Charger in the Telesco era to have his fifth-year option declined. It’s the same position that defensive tackle Jerry Tillery was in last season. Hopefully, the results will be different for both the team and Murray this year.
Murray was decent in pass rush and coverage last year. Per PFF, it was Murray’s highest coverage grade in his career. However, the defining problem of Murray’s career continues to be the running game. Murray had a 13.1% missed tackle rate in 2022 and was graded as the second-worst linebacker against the run out of the 85 that qualified for a run defense grade.
Eric Kendricks will fix some of the Chargers’ run defense woes as LA’s main component of the second level. But Staley also has to hope that Murray becomes a more resolute tackler in taking better angles for his defense to work.
S Alohi Gilman
Unless the Chargers make another signing at safety this offseason, Gilman will enter the season as Derwin James’ primary running mate in the secondary. Gilman saw his role increase towards the end of the 2022 campaign when he effectively replaced Nasir Adderley as starting safety. Adderley played two defensive snaps to Gilman’s 74 in the playoff game at Jacksonville.
With Adderley retiring, Gilman is a clear-cut starter on this roster. This is a massive opportunity for him as he continues to expand his role in year four.
Like his 2020 draft classmate Kenneth Murray, Gilman will enter unrestricted free agency next offseason. An efficient season while playing next to James could pay the former Notre Dame product well, whether with the Chargers or another team.
