What Will the Los Angeles Chargers Look Like in Five Years?

There are few changes as big as relocating the franchise to another city, but there is still more change on the horizon. So, with that in mind, here are five predictions about how the Los Angeles Chargers will look over the next five years.

The Chargers will become a defensive football team. The Chargers took the first step in this direction last year when they used the third overall pick in the NFL Draft to select Joey Bosa out of Ohio State. He is already one of the faces of the franchise and will likely remain one of, if not the, best players on the team for years to come. The defense, on a per play basis, was already better than the offense last season and they have a very talented, very young core group of players with the likes of Jatavis Brown and Jason Verrett among others.

Anthony Lynn will still be coaching this team in five years. Tom Telesco’s first head coaching hire was a disaster. Mike McCoy was one of the worst coaches to ever come through the Chargers organization (and they have had some bad coaches over the years). 2017 will be Anthony Lynn’s first full season as a head coach, but he is already impressing. I truly believe that Telesco found the right guy to guide the team he has assembled. Lynn knows what he wants in a player and he knows how to get what the team needs from those players.

The Chargers will become a run-first offense after Philip Rivers retires. Rivers only has a few years left in him and when he chooses to retire he will leave an incredible void on offense. Even if the Chargers find another capable starter, it is terribly unlikely that they find one anywhere close to as good as Rivers who will retire as arguably the best quarterback in franchise history. Just think of how long it took after Dan Fouts retired for the Chargers to find another great QB. Also, Lynn will put his stamp on the team and that means they will run the ball and likely run it very well.

The drafting of Forrest Lamp was the first step toward building a dominant offensive line. Tom Telesco and the current coaching staff showed us this past weekend that they recognize the importance of building the offensive line. They spent both of their Friday night picks on linemen and then they spent a third on a developmental lineman the next day for good measure. Lynn clearly knows what kind of player he wants along the line and Telesco appears committed to bringing them in for him. Lamp was a great start and the line should be well on its way toward greatness next year.

The Spanos family are not selling the team. Dean Spanos will likely fade from the spotlight as his children take over, but the family itself is not going anywhere. They have wanted the Los Angeles market for years and now that they have it they are going to do everything they can to make the most of it.