The Chargers stayed fairly quiet this offseason, signing just three external free agents and holding on to each of their seven original draft picks.
Of those 10, which ones are poised to have the biggest impact on the 2023 squad?
1. LB Eric Kendricks
This one should be fairly obvious. The 2019 first team All-Pro selection decided to come back home to California in March after eight years in Minnesota, instantly bolstering a terrible linebacker unit that lost Drue Tranquill to the Chiefs. The 31-year-old Kendricks is on the downswing of his career – he struggled in Ed Donatell’s defensive system in his final year as a Viking – but he brings name value and veteran presence that the position has long been lacking.
2. EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu
Despite being the team’s second round pick, Tuipulotu is poised to have a bigger role – and therefore a bigger impact – than any of the other rookies on the Chargers’ depth chart. Yes, Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa stand in front of him on the two deep, but pass rushers rotate in and out much more frequently than other positions. Mack and Bosa have also not been the picture of perfect health in recent seasons. Chris Rumph has yet to make a jump, even with ample opportunity in 2022, leaving the runway clear for Tuipulotu to become the baby of a formidable trio.
3. WR Quentin Johnston
Johnston, the Chargers’ first-round selection, will have to fight his way to targets as an NFL player. There’s Keenan Allen and Mike Williams ahead of him in the pecking order, of course, but Josh Palmer also showed flashes last season when Allen and/or Williams missed time. That said, a strong summer session and draft investment look like they’ll propel the TCU alum over Palmer to start the season, likely with a healthy dose of substitutions to keep everyone fresh. Should the veterans be bitten by the injury bug again – a likely outcome, given their histories – Johnston will have an early opportunity to show he’s the future of the position.
4. WR Derius Davis
Davis clocks in this high less because of his receiving ability and more because he’ll more than likely be LA’s primary kick and punt returner. While a proficient punt returner, DeAndre Carter spearheaded a unit that ranked third to last in kick return yard average a season ago. (To be fair to Carter, his attention was required on offense due to injury.) Davis’ task will be to continue the momentum on punt returns while adding his collegiate 22 yards per return on kickoffs to make the offense’s task a bit easier.
On offense, Davis could push for a bigger role if Jalen Guyton is slow to regain momentum from his torn ACL early last season. Beyond that, he seems to be stuck in a WR5 or 6 position.
5. LB Daiyan Henley
Henley, should he develop to his full potential, is a future starter in this league. But to start the 2022 season, he’ll be the Chargers’ third linebacker, which in the modern NFL makes him a sub-package player. Kendricks will man one of those spots, with former first rounder Kenneth Murray opposite him. It seems as though the plan is to groom Henley to be Kendricks’ understudy, but if Murray struggles again to start the season, the rookie could begin eating into those snaps as a platoon starter. In the meantime, Henley will be a core special teamer on a young unit that has repaired the team’s image under the guidance of Ryan Ficken.
6. DL Scott Matlock
With Austin Johnson and Otito Ogbonnia coming off injuries and Breiden Fehoko now in Pittsburgh, there could be snaps up for grabs along the Chargers defensive line, at least early in the season. Should those go to a new addition, I lean towards Matlock earning them rather than veteran Nick Williams (more on him in a second). An athletic freak who made play after play after play at Boise State, Matlock adds a pass-rushing dimension from the interior that LA currently is deficient in.
7. DL Nick Williams
The 33-year-old Williams feels like a hedge signing in the event that Johnson and/or Ogbonnia aren’t ready to start the season. A veteran who the coaching staff is fond of – Brandon Staley coached him in 2018 with the Bears – Williams is a cheap veteran who will be ready to play if needed. At the very least, he’ll understand what Staley wants to do on defense, something he can confer to the other players on the roster. If everyone is healthy, I’m not sure there’s a spot on the final roster for Williams, however.
8. OL Jordan McFadden
Whereas Williams has a path to playing time, albeit an unlikely one, the remaining three players on our list should really only see the field in 2023 if a new injury occurs. (Knock on wood.) McFadden will be the most quality depth of those three, sliding into Jamaree Salyer’s role of swing guard and break in case of emergency tackle. That’s about the best he can hope for – all five starting spots along the offensive line are set heading into training camp.
9. QB Max Duggan
If Duggan sees the field beyond the preseason or garbage time, the season is over. Nothing against Duggan – it would just mean that Justin Herbert is injured, and that would mark the effective end of the team’s championship hopes. The seventh-rounder will compete with Easton Stick for primary backup duties in what will be one of the bigger battles of the preseason.
10. WR Darrius Shepherd
The six wide receivers on the Chargers’ final 53 seem pretty set in stone – Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Quentin Johnston, Josh Palmer, Jalen Guyton, and Derius Davis. Shepherd had a nice season in the XFL this spring, but his signing in June seemed to be more about a potential practice squad addition than anything else.
