Chargers 90-in-90: OG/C Scott Quessenberry

A native of La Costa, California, Scott Quessenberry grew up a Chargers fan and made it known that his family was devastated when the team moved from San Diego. But when he was selected by the Chargers in the fifth roound of the 2018 NFL Draft, his parents decided they could probably let bygones be bygones.

Now wearing #61, a number that still reverberates from the impact of former Chargers center Nick Hardwick, Quessenberry hopes to leave a similar mark when things are said and done on his NFL career.

At first, most fans probably thought the selection of Qussenberry was a head-scratcher. The Chargers recently had signed center Mike Pouncey in free agency and there were other needs along the offensive line besides center. However, the team believed Q-Berry offered flexibility to play both guard positions and the injury to Forrest Lamp may have scared them still at the time.

The former Bruin finished his collegiate career with 44 total starts across the interior of the offensive line, with his final 25 comign at center. He was named an honorable mention all-conference selection in his sophomore and senior campaigns with a first-team all-conference nod coming after his junior season.

At the NFL combine, Quessenberry was a top performer in several tests, including the 40 (5.06), the vertical jump (33.5 inches), and the broad jump (111 inches). His performance showcased the explosiveness and agility needed to be a successful linemen in Ken Whisenhunt’s offense. As of right now, Quessenberry sits comfortably as the team’s sixth linemen until Lamp or someone else steps up.

Basic Info

Height: 6-4
Weight: 310
College: UCLA
Experience: 1
Years with team: 1

Contract Status

“Scott Quessenberry signed a 4 year, $2,744,252 contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, including a $284,252 signing bonus, $284,252 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $686,063. In 2019, Quessenberry will earn a base salary of $570,000, while carrying a cap hit of $641,063 and a dead cap value of $213,189.” - Spotrac.com

The Good

Quessenberry has placed himself squarely into the back-up center spot behind Mike Pouncey and may wind up with the job if the Chargers decide to part ways with the veteran following the 2019 campaign.

He possesses a stout, strong frame and short-area agility that will help him when working up to second-level defenders. Quessenberry was actually one of my top-3 centers during that year’s draft cycle so the pick was much easier to digest know that the team got a quality player anyways.

The Bad

The biggest knock against Quessenberry, according to the analysts and scouts who covered him last year, was his lack of upper-body strength and his comfort while running in the open field. He was noted as a guy who won’t often push the pile in the run game and will tend to gear down when scooting in front of his running backs.

As a center in this offense, you may be tasked to pull and lead block on more than one occasion and some of those runs ended up being the best for Melvin Gordon. This is another aspect that Pouncey brought to the team’s offense that the Chargers should hope to continue with their young OL when Pouncey’s time is over with the team.

Odds of making the roster/What to expect in 2019

Quessenberry is a sure-fire pick to make the final roster but will likely only see the field during blowouts and if an injury occurs to Pouncey or one of the guards.

Fun Fact: Scott is the brother of current Tennessee Titans offensive tackle David Quessenberry. Also, Quessenberry enjoys searching and reading “dank memes” while in bed for hours and hours.