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San Diego Chargers Daily Links: Is Melvin Gordon ready for a breakout season?

Your daily dose of San Diego Chargers news & notes from around the web.

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

10 Things to Watch: The Battle at Kickoff Returner - Ricky Henne
In addition to his duties returning punts, Benjamin will get a look at kickoffs as well.  He has returned 18 over his four year career, averaging 26.0 yards per return including an 86-yarder in 2013. The speedster isn’t the only WR in the running for KR though as Javontee Herndon, Isaiah Burse and DeAndre Reaves look to make a case as well.

Offseason In Review: San Diego Chargers - Dallas Robinson
Aside from the offensive line, the other area targeted by the Chargers during the free agent period was the secondary, which makes sense given that the club ranked 19th in opposing passer rating, 18th in passing yards allowed, and 21st in passing defense DVOA. While Jason Verrett remains one of the best corners in the NFL, veteran Brandon Flowers struggled with conditioning and admittedly grew complacent after landing a large deal last spring. Flowers was moved inside last season, but he’ll move back out after San Diego agreed to terms with slot cornerback Casey Hayward.

Fantasy football profiles: Melvin Gordon, RB, Chargers - Michael Beller
All that turmoil along the line goes a long way toward explaining Gordon’s lackluster rookie season. He had just 641 yards on 184 carries, which comes out to a paltry 3.5 yards per carry. How much of that was on Gordon, though? When you look at the things he can control—missed tackles and long runs, for instance—you start to see a much different picture.

Sneaky strength of every NFL offense - Aaron Schatz
Philip Rivers gained 7.2 yards per pass against blitzes compared to just 6.2 yards per pass otherwise. Sometimes these stats fluctuate from year to year, but Rivers has gained more yards against blitzes in four of the past five years. (In the other year, 2013, he had the exact same average against blitzes that he had against a standard pass rush.)

Will Joey Bosa show up when Chargers begin training camp? - Eric Williams
Fresh off signing a four-year contract extension worth up to $45 million this summer, Keenan Allen has shown no ill effects from a lacerated kidney that ended his 2015 season. The Cal product caught everything during offseason work and appears even faster heading into his fourth NFL season. Allen had 67 catches through eight games last year. If he can stay healthy, a 100-catch season is within reach.