The Chargers have a top-10 offensive line in 2021

Give me an honest answer here.

When was the last time you ever heard “Chargers” and “top-10 offensive line” together in the same sentence? Struggling to come up with something? Yeah, me too.

BUT NO MORE!

Throughout the season, Pro Football Focus has been updating their offensive line unit rankings after each week. For the first time in 2021 — and likely the first time in the past decade — the Chargers have cracked their top-10. After moving up six full places, the Bolts landed right on the edge at No. 10.

Here’s what author Sam Monson had to say about the Chargers’ revamped group:

“Rookie Rashawn Slater looks like a top-five left tackle in the league already and has proven to be one of the biggest offseason additions to any team. Another of the most important acquisitions plays right next to him in Matt Feiler, who boasts a 90.0 PFF run-blocking grade so far this season. Slater went one on one with a Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Myles Garrett and, though he surrendered his first sack of the season, held his own. The Chargers’ line has improved enough to drop the percentage of dropbacks quarterback Justin Herbert is pressured on from over 36% last year to 26% this season. This line is a huge reason Herbert continues to grow as a passer.”

Through the first five games of the season, Corey Linsley is the team’s highest-graded lineman with a 78.7. It’s not as high as the grade he finished with a year ago but it’s still good to see your highest-paid lineman at the top. The team’s worst-graded lineman is Storm Norton (48.7) which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. He’s been much better over the past three weeks but his outing against the Cowboys really set him back.

For those wondering, here are the rest of the grades for the offensive line:

• LT Rashawn Slater - 76.1
• LG Matt Feiler - 78.5
• RG Michael Schofield - 51.8
• RG Oday Aboushi (Injured) - 66.2

The game against the Browns hurt the grades of everyone up front, but these numbers are still an immense upgrade from the usual 40’s and 50’s the old starters used to receive on a weekly basis over the past five years.