FanPost

Offseason Review and Early 53 Man Projection

At the start of the offseason I wrote a piece highlighting the team needs. After a successful offseason adding players in Free Agency, the Draft, and Undrafted Free Agents we can take a look back and see what improvements were made, if any.

Right Tackle

2018 starter: Sam Tevi

Expected 2019 Starter: Sam Tevi

The Chargers had a serious need at Right Tackle this year and the only move made was to draft a developmental Trey Pipkins at the end of the third round. Tevi struggled in Pass Protection while Trey Pipkins gave up only 2 sacks his entire collegiate career, but to inferior opposition in D2. Trey needs to polish his technique and needs to live in the weight room after only putting up 15 reps on the bench. Even still, he could battle his way into the lineup given Tevi’s struggles.

RT Grade C-

Mike Linebacker

2018 starter: Perryman

Expected 2019 starter: Perryman

Despite the fact that Perryman has yet to finish a 16 game season, TT extended Denzel Perryman with a 2 year contract. When he’s on the field, he’s a force to be reckoned with. He’s a thumper against the run. Hopefully this year he can turn the page and stay healthy into the post season. This was where I was hoping TT would spend some money in free agency on a legit 3 down Mike. However Perryman came in at half of what a FA would’ve got. That earns him higher marks.

Grade: B

Nose Tackle

2018 starter: Brandon Mebane

Expected 2019 Starter: Brandon Mebane

This one is a head scratcher. Mebane has declined each year he’s been here. He is a great locker room guy, but I just don’t see that justifying a raise and another year on the team. He got pushed around a bit and had to rotate with other guys a lot to be fresh. We all feel horrible about his daughter and will continue to keep them in our prayers. However, on the field I would’ve rather seen him extended for cheaper as the expected backup and drafted a bigger/better replacement.

Grade: C-

Defensive Tackle

2018 starter: Philon/Liuget

Expected 2019 Starter: Jerry Tillery

Last year it was defensive tackle by committee. It seemed to get the job done for the most part. They lacked a consistent pass rush from either interior spots. Philon was good, not great. Liuget was the same and even lost playing time to Philon. Drafting Tillery in the first round is a major improvement for the interior pass rush. He should be able to start and rotate with Justin Jones. They could both be on the field at the same time as interior rushers. I actually see the Tillery/Jones combo as a huge upgrade over Liuget/Philon.

Grade: A


Free Safety

2018 starter: Jahleel Addae

Expected 2019 Starter: Nas Adderley

Addae was a box safety trying his best to play Free. It didn’t work. We are stacked at box safety with Derwin James and Adrian Philips, keeping Addae at his rate was not logical, he needed to be cut and was. Just that move alone would’ve secured an A grade from me. Jalen Watkins was extended and Rayshawn Jenkins wasn’t too bad in the playoffs. But that doesn’t matter now, cause we got Nas. I would’ve been perfectly fine with selecting Nasir Adderley with the 28th overall pick, and we got him at 60. What a steal. We couldn’t have gotten a better fit for the position. Nas has the speed and range to cover sideline to sideline. The only question is can he make the jump from D2 to the NFL smoothly? Only time will tell. But after He settles in, Nas and Derwin should be a nasty pair for a long time.

Grade: A+


Backup QB

2018: Geno Smith

Expected 2019: Tyrod Taylor

Even though Philips Rivers has never missed a start, the Chargers still feel the need to have a backup QB. Last year they brought in Geno Smith for a one year deal. He rode the bench admirably. With his contract expiring we did need a backup. For some reason they chose to sign the top backup available in Tyrod Taylor. He has starting experience and is a pretty good QB in his own right. I don’t like the price we paid due to the limited salary cap space we have. I also don’t like that he’s nothing like PR. He’s a mobile QB, not necessarily a stand in the pocket and deliver kind of QB. If Rivers goes down and all of a sudden we have to switch the entire playbook around, we’re not likely to have good results in the short term. What I do see is that they are trying to cover all the bases. They don’t want what happened to Minnesota and Teddy Bridgewater happen to us. We want to be prepared cause this team is just that good. So even though we did get an upgrade in talent, the lower grade is due to the price paid.

Grade: B


Linebacker Depth

2018: Kyle Emmanuel, Hayes Pullard, Dzubnar, Jatavis Brown.

Expected 2019: Thomas Davis, Drue Tranquill, Emeke Egbule

This years linebacking corps should include Kyzir White, Denzel Perryman, Uchenna Nwosu, Jatavis Brown, Thomas Davis, Drue Tranquill and Emeke Egbule. This will be the deepest this position has been in recent memory. The new rookies Tranquill and Egbule score off the charts in athleticism. They can cover the pass as well as the run. They may not make an immediate impact, but with the leadership of Davis and Perryman, this young squad should grow into something great. We all know the injuries led us to playing with no linebackers against Baltimore. It worked that week, but not so much the following week. This was a major need on the roster and now it’s loaded with depth and talent. If you start asking who will play where, it gets a little fuzzy. Most of these guys can play 2 of the OTTO/MIKE/WILL positions. With that in mind, training camp will be key for these guys to earn a starting spot or just snaps in general. Having a guy like Perryman that gets injured a lot, and an older guy like Davis, not playing every snap may be a very good thing. Keeps everyone fresh and ready for the playoff push. This should be a fun group to watch this summer.

Grade: B+


Guard

2018 Starters: Dan Feeney and Michael Schofield

Expected 2019 Starters: Forrest Lamp and Feeney/Schofield

Last year the Guard play was poor and we’ll leave it at that. Former 2nd round "steal" Forrest Lamp saw all of a dozen or so snaps. They said he "wasn’t ready" or they "didn’t want to break up the chemistry" or whatever the f last year was. None of that matters now. All three guys are presumably healthy and have a full offseason to earn a spot. The only Guard brought in was UDFA Chris Brown. So very little competition would also presume that this is a 3 pony race. Of the three, Forrest Lamp is the most talented and I expect him to earn one of the spots easily. He was drafted the highest for a reason. As long as he shows he’s willing to work and put in the time, he should be a shoe in for one of the spots. Schofield has been pretty consistently average for the team. Someone you could find an upgrade for, yet if you had to go into the season with him it’s not the worst thing in the world. I’m not going to expect some huge leap in ability, that’s just not logical. Now Feeney is the wild card. As a high 3rd round pick he was drafted with all the traits you want to see in a Guard. However, his play took a hard step back last year. The team could’ve chosen to replace him, but didn’t or couldn’t. So now I see this as his job to win. If he can go out in camp and prove last year was a fluke, he can earn the starting job. If not, we end up with Schofield, and it’s not the end of the world.

Grade: B


#2 Corner

2018 starter: Trevor Williams/Mike Davis

Expected 2019 Starter: Trevor Williams

After losing Jason Verrett to the training room and subsequently the 49ers, the Chargers still had Trevor Williams across from Casey Hayward. Trevor was just coming off of a very stellar season but ended up being held back by injuries last year and was placed on IR. Enter Mike Davis. After being burned time and time again Davis actually started to get better as the season rolled on. In fact, I saw a stat that he did not give up a Redzone TD in the second half of last year or something to that effect. He’s speedy but can’t seem to find the ball in the air. So I could have seen drafting a later round CB to develop and overtake. You really can’t have too many Corners. In fact one pick prior to taking Tranquill the Raiders took a guy I really liked named Isaiah Johnson. Could he have been the pick? Who knows, but I’m happy with Tranquill. There actually was a move made here, Trevor Williams had a contract up, qualified for a Tender that he signed just before the draft. He’ll cost somewhere around 2 million. I do think that a healthy Trevor Williams beats out Mike Davis. Davis should still contribute throughout the season.

Grade: A-


Interior Defensive line Rotation

2018: Liuget/Philon, Justin Jones, TY McGill, Damion Square

Expected 2019: Justin Jones, Cortez Broughton, Eurndraus Bryant

After losing most of the Interior D line from last year we needed bodies. Big Ones. Justin Jones comes back and should be a very good rotational piece at 3 tech. 7th round draft pick Cortez Broughton is another guy that could earn some snaps. He has the speed and agility you want for a rush 3 tech. Lacks a bit of size at 6’2" 293 pounds but could develop into a nice rotational piece. The new name on here is UDFA Eurndraus Bryant, my new favorite to make the final 53. A 6’1" 330 pound, run stuffing nose tackle. He’s the kind of player I’ve been begging for in this defense. He missed zero tackles last year at NC State, and yes he played with Justin Jones the year before last. If he got his hands on you, you went down. I love his name, I love his size, this is my dude right here. He’ll back up Mebane and could very well earn a starting job as the run down Nose Tackle. The Interior Defensive line depth got a lot younger and more athletic. They may not produce as much as the depth of last year, but could surpass the production in the next year or two. This gets a high grade due to Jones being a better player than he was last year and None of the guys from last year were legit Nose Tackles. Top it off with them being inexpensive and you get high marks from me

Grade: B+


3rd and 4th Wide Receivers

2018 : Tyrell Williams and Travis Benjamin

Expected 2019: Travis Benjamin / Dylan Cantrell / Artavis Scott / Geremy Davis

The only loss on Offense this year was Tyrell Williams. He was a major weapon that needed to be accounted for by the defense. However, he was not going to be worth 10 million a year to us. He’s off to Oakland and we wish him the best of luck while simultaneously hoping he drops every pass thrown to him. TT extended Geremy Davis and Travis Benjamin. Benjamin’s extension was more so a restructure and he’s almost guaranteed to be cut at the end of the year. This means after Williams and Allen, the Depth Chart is wide open for any of these guys to step up. My personal favorite is Cantrell, but in my eyes this competition will elevate all the wideouts play. All are expected to make the final 53 as well. This isn’t necessarily an addition by subtraction, but it kind of is. We also know Hunter Henry will be getting a large chunk of the receptions Williams had last year, so these guys are gunning for those last few balls to go around.

Grade B


I also need to mention Adrian Philips bring extended. We got him for dirt cheap but only for a year. With all the linebackers and safety’s we have now I’m not sure if he’s going to get as many snaps as last year. However, he’s a really good player that we need to get on the field. It was a no brainer to bring him back. Only not an A due to only being one year. He earned and we want him for multiple seasons.

Grade: B+

Punter

2018 starter: Drew Kaser / Donnie Jones

2019 expected starter: Tyler Newsome

One of the Achilles heels for this time the past couple years has been special teams. Be it the 18 kickers we’ve had or the horrible return game we’ve gone through. It seems our last need was Punter. I was pretty satisfied with Drew Kaser but he was cut seemingly because he couldn’t hold on field goals for Kicker that is no longer on the team. At any rate the Chargers signed Undrafted Free Agent Tyler Newsome. You know this guy because of his Pro Day where he benched 225 pounds 30 times. He set a bunch of punting records at Notre Dame and should be a welcomed asset to the team. He does need to work on placing the kick, he’s prone to over kicking the ball. Anybody have Darren Bennett or Mike Scifres phone number?

Grade: B

No notable moves made at Running back, Fullback, Tight End, Defensive End, And Center. We are set at those positions as long as Gates comes back. Even if he doesn’t, it’s not the end of the world. I was thinking maybe we upgrade the backup Leo spot currently held by Anthony Lanier, but obviously we didn’t. Overall the team is better on paper than it was last season. It’s very difficult to go 12-4 so we may or may not match the record, but we are in better shape to make a run at a Super Bowl. With as many contracts as their are up at the end of this season and next, it would seem this season is our best opportunity to finally win a Super Bowl. Too bad nobody in LA will care. Would there even be a parade? Would they even notice? Only time will tell.

Final Offseason Grade: Solid B

Post Draft 53 man projection

Qbs

Philip Rivers, Tyrod Taylor, Easton Stick

RBs

Melvin Gordon, Austin Ekeler, Justin Jackson, Derek Watt

WRs

Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Travis Benjamin, Dylan Cantrell, Artavis Scott, Geremy Davis

Tight End

Hunter Henry, Virgil Green, Antonio Gates

O-Line

Russel Okung, Sam Tevi, Trey Pipkins, Forrest Lamp, Dan Feeney, Michael Schofield, Mike Pouncey, Scott Quessenberry

Defensive Tackles

Brandon Mebane, Jerry Tillery, Justin Jones, Cortez Broughton, Eurndraus Bryant

Edge

Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram, Issac Rochell, Anthony Lanier

Linebackers

Denzel Perryman, Thomas Davis, Jatavis Brown, Kyzir White, Uchenna Nwosu, Drue Tranquill, Emeke Egbule

Corners

Casey Hayward Jr, Trevor Williams, Dez King, Mike Davis, Brandon Facyson

Safeties

Derwin James, Nas Adderley, Adrian Philips, Jaylen Watkins, Rayshawn Jenkins

Kicker

Money Badger

Punter

Tyler Newsome

Long Snapper

Mike Windt


As you can see, there’s maybe 5 spots up for grabs. Most of these guys will make the team. The roster is even deeper than last year. Let me know what you think, what did I get wrong? What would you have done differently than TT?

This FanPost was written by a member of the Bolts From The Blue community and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Bolts From The Blue editors or SB Nation.