Chargers’ training camp is weeks away as the long offseason marathon reaches its final stretch. While Los Angeles still has an opportunity to make some signings before and during camp, their roster for the most part is close to set.
Which positions do the Chargers have the most depth at? Do positions lower on the ranking pose a threat to Los Angeles’ Super Bowl hopes? From worst to best, here’s how the roster is looking at each position.
11. Linebacker
Upgrading from Drue Tranquill to Eric Kendricks is a win for Brandon Staley’s run defense. The most high-profile addition of the Chargers’ offseason should be a pretty seamless addition to the group.
That being said, the Chargers still did lose Tranquill in the free-agent market to Kansas City. Depth is the biggest question mark here. Kenneth Murray figures to be Kendricks’ running mate as a starter as he heads into a contract year. But Murray’s 2022 was plagued with inconsistency amid a few of the flashes shown in games against the 49ers and Dolphins.
Murray just isn’t a solid enough run defender to move this position up the list, even with the signing of Kendricks. Behind those two, it’s still a bit of a mystery. Chargers’ third-round draft selection Daiyan Henley figures to get some meaningful defensive snaps, but special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken has referred to Henley as a core special teams player this year. How quick his transition to the NFL will go a long way in determining whether he gets significant defensive snaps.
Behind the three linebackers mentioned above are Nick Niemann and Amen Ogbongbemiga. Both provide solid special teams value.
10. Interior defensive line
In theory, if there were guarantees that each player on the roster was healthy, the interior defensive line may be higher on this list. But the attrition at the position is too high to ignore. Both Austin Johnson and Otito Ogbonnia are recovering from season-ending injuries. It’s still uncertain whether either is ready for the start of the season in September.
On the positive side of things, you’re rightfully expecting solid play from Morgan Fox and Sebastian Joseph-Day after their seasons last year. Fox is coming off his best career season as a pass rusher. Joseph-Day is a stabilizing force on the inside.
Nick Williams and sixth-round draft pick Scott Matlock also likely make the roster assuming the Chargers go with six on the defensive line.
For the most part, it all comes down to health. The Chargers will need the help of Austin Johnson against the run on the interior specifically.
9. Tight end
Somewhat quietly, Gerald Everett had the best year of his career in 2022. The former Seahawk racked up career highs in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns during his first season in Los Angeles.
Everett isn’t necessarily a premium tight end in the league as he’s probably more of a fringe top-10 player at the position. But for what the Chargers need, he’s very solid. He’ll absolutely be a significant part of the receiving game still with his yards-after-catch ability in Kellen Moore’s scheme.
The reason this position is relatively lower on the list is the depth. The Chargers coaching staff does want to work Donald Parham Jr. in more and make him the true offensive threat that he can be in the red zone. Unfortunately for Parham, he’s only played 20 out of a possible 34 games in the last two seasons. Availability has limited his potential ceiling in LA.
At the third spot, Tre’ McKitty is still looking for a breakout season in year three. In both run blocking and receiving grades on PFF, McKitty ranked bottom five at his position. There’s still hope to turn things around, but it’s not something to bank on heading into the season.
If the Chargers were to acquire a solid blocking tight end prior to September, I’d feel a lot more confident about the group. Names like Geoff Swaim and Marcedes Lewis remain available.
8. Running back
Like most years, the Chargers know what they’re getting out of Austin Ekeler. The trade request and contract adjustment are in the rearview mirror at this point. Ekeler finished 2022 with 915 rushing yards, 4.5 yards per carry, 722 receiving yards and 18 scrimmage touchdowns.
Joshua Kelley proved he can be a solid complement as RB2. In an under-the-radar fashion, 2022 was Kelley’s best season. The former UCLA back did put up 4.7 yards per touch last year, a full yard increase from 3.7 in 2021.
The real variable that can move this position up or down the rankings in 2023 is the upcoming sophomore season for Isaiah Spiller. Like most Chargers’ Day 3 running back selections in their rookie seasons, there just wasn’t much of an opportunity for him last year. When he did play, it was rather underwhelming production in a limited sample size.
This is a big year for Spiller with both Ekeler and Kelley heading into the last year of their respective deals. If he can be the tackle-breaking force he was at Texas A&M, this group should be in good shape. If he’s still limited, the group again will only go as far as Ekeler takes them.
7. Special teams
The Chargers brought in Ryan Ficken to fix the special teams after Brandon Staley’s first season as head coach. It’s safe to say that he over delivered in 2022. In theory, there’s an argument for this group to be even higher on the list than it is.
The Chargers finished seventh on Rick Gosselin’s special teams rankings. They were really accurate on field goals and extra points, despite having three kickers play during the season. The Chargers went 100% on extra points and missed just two field goals. Dustin Hopkins and Cameron Dicker figure to have a really healthy competition for the top kicker spot in training camp. It’s the best spot the Chargers have ever been in at place kicker going into a season in recent memory.
J.K. Scott and Josh Harris made for really solid additions last season. The Chargers allowed just 3.1 yards per punt return. The hang time philosophy involved in originally signing Scott was certainly executed very well.
The one question mark here is Derius Davis. The fourth-round draft pick looks to replace DeAndre Carter’s role as primary PR/KR. Davis was one of the most consistent punt returners in college football with truly explosive speed. Kickoff returns were a pretty consistent weakness for Carter last season, but considering the new kickoff return rules, Davis may not need to show too much improvement to provide value.
6. Cornerback
From a potential standpoint, the sky is the limit. If J.C. Jackson does return to his New England form as a lockdown corner, this is a deep group. Michael Davis had arguably the best season of his career last year and Asante Samuel Jr. made strides.
But Jackson returning to form is a rather big if. He’s ramping up for the season after a torn patellar tendon derailed his season last year. Prior to that injury, 2022 was rather up and down for him. Preseason ankle surgery and his recovery from that clearly made him less effective toward the beginning of the year.
The other main variable in play is the play of second-year cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor. Taylor figures to take over Bryce Callahan’s role in the slot to some extent at the beginning of the season. Once Jackson is fully healthy, he may end up sharing that responsibility with Samuel.
5. Safety
As long as the Chargers have Derwin James, this position group can never be outside of the top five on the team. James was a second-team All-Pro last season. He matched most of his career highs from his first-team All-Pro season in his 2018 rookie campaign. James hit his career high in sacks and allowed the lowest passer rating of his career.
Going down the depth chart provides some question marks, but perhaps not as many as in previous seasons. Alohi Gilman came on strong in replacing Nasir Adderley towards the end of last season. While not a refined product yet, Gilman made strides as a tackler and run defender.
Raheem Layne and JT Woods will likely be the other two safeties they keep as of now. Woods is still a rather interesting prospect athletically and questions will loom as to what his role could be come training camp.
🤠🤠🤠
@iamjohnthethird @AyyyeeeMoFox pic.twitter.com/fPD8Oyt9p0— Sebastian Joseph-Day (@SJD_51) July 4, 2023
And for some speculation: free agent safety John Johnson III is still available. He was seen recently working out with Fox and Joseph-Day. Staley’s former green dot player with the 2020 Rams has been a rumored addition to the Chargers for some time. He’d certainly make the group considerably deeper.
4. Offensive line
The offensive line has continued taking massive steps up from where it was at the beginning of the Justin Herbert era. The Chargers invested two first-round picks into Zion Johnson and Rashawn Slater. They get All-Pro caliber play out of 2021 free agent signing Corey Linsley in the middle. And while Trey Pipkins and Jamaree Salyer were question marks in terms of what they’d give the team prior to last season, both are now turning into draft hits.
Will Clapp is decent depth behind Linsley for what it’s worth and the team drafted Jordan McFadden to continue building out their depth in case anything happens to the top-line guys. At the NFL level, McFadden probably projects more as a guard. But there’s still a chance for him to push players like Foster Sarell or Brenden Jaimes during training camp.
With the return of Slater at left tackle and replacing an older Matt Feiler with Salyer at left guard, this is arguably the best Chargers’ offensive line in over a decade.
3. Edge defender
Health is the concern here. The ceiling and floor of the edge defender group depend on Joey Bosa’s availability. Bosa’s groin injury limited him to five games last season.
If the Chargers have Bosa and Khalil Mack, it’s pretty hard to have them lower than three or four on this list. Mack wasn’t quite at his peak 2018 Bears form last season, but his production was solid considering he didn’t get the chance to play alongside Bosa as originally intended. Most importantly, Mack did play all 17 games last year.
If Los Angeles had decided to let Kyle Van Noy walk and progress with Chris Rumph II as their EDGE 3, I’d have serious concerns given the lack of development so far for the former Duke product. But the Chargers invested a second-round draft selection into USC’s Tuli Tuipulotu. Tuipulotu had 13.5 sacks and 22 tackles for loss for the Trojans last year. Both figures were career highs.
2. Wide receiver
This is the deepest Chargers’ wide receiver group in the Tom Telesco era. Outside of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, they now have a great third offensive weapon to utilize in Quentin Johnston. The former TCU wideout provides both dynamic playmaking and real depth if one of Allen or Williams were to get hurt.
In an NFL arms race where teams are trying to build two or three-headed monster units in the receiver room, the Chargers took an aggressive approach this offseason.
And the unit is still really solid past the top three players as well. Joshua Palmer had 769 yards last season and has been pretty consistent throughout his Los Angeles tenure. Jalen Guyton is coming back from injury. Want more speed? Here comes the fastest player in college football in Derius Davis.
For the first time in a while, the Chargers’ receiver room feels really diverse from a skillset perspective. They have quality route runners, receivers who can play above the rim, and open-field threats. Yes, a lot of it will still come down to Allen and Williams’ respective health statuses this season. They cannot miss 10+ games again. But so far, so good.
1. Quarterback
Pretty simple. As long as the Chargers have a top-five quarterback in Justin Herbert, it’ll always be the best position on the roster. Even in a relative “down year” for Herbert, he managed to put up nearly 5000 yards, had a 68% completion percentage, and was clinically efficient in not turning the ball over. As the offense opens up under Kellen Moore, there will be more touchdowns for Herbert this season.
Easton Stick takes over as QB2 and the Chargers added TCU’s Max Duggan in the draft.
