Chargers Daily Links: No surprise, Bolts made an immense upgrade at center

In a recent article by ESPN’s Mike Clay, the NFL and fantasy football analyst ranked his top-25 positional upgrades from this past offseason. Among them were notable moves like the Rams quarterback transition from Jared Goff to Matthew Stafford (number two on the list) and the Browns’ move to replace Andrew Sendejo with John Johnson III (number three).

But following those two upgrades, coming in at number four, is the Bolts’ decision to upgrade the center position from Dan Feeney to 2020 First-Team All-Pro Corey Linsley.

Below, check out the win rate comparison between Feeney and Linsley followed by what Clay had to say about the move:

Feeney’s 2020 stat line: 88% PBWR, 63% RBWR, 48 PFF grade
Linsley’s 2020 stat line: 96% PBWR, 77% RBWR, 90 PFF grade

“Offensive line has been a problem for the Chargers for quite a while, but the franchise made big improvements during the offseason by signing one of the league’s best centers in Linsley and drafting tackle Rashawn Slater in the first round. Linsley is the focus here, of course, as he’s a known commodity.”

“The former Packers star ranked sixth in pass block win rate and first in run block win rate among centers last season. He also graded out as the best center in the NFL at PFF. Feeney, meanwhile, had the worst PFF grade among non-rookie centers, and the 2017 third-round pick is now with the Jets.”

I’m sure you all agree that this was a huge upgrade for the Chargers, but do you believe it should be any higher on this list? Let me know.

And now for today’s links.

Chargers News:

Joey Bosa was the second-most disruptive player in the NFL last season (Chargers Wire)

The four Chargers who need to step up in 2021 (Bolt Beat)

Here’s what a coaching staff of former Chargers players would look like (Bolt Beat)

Questions from a Popeyes box with Rashawn Slater (Chargers.com)

NFL News:

Ranking the 25 biggest position upgrades over the offseason (ESPN+)

Veteran OT Jared Veldheer is retiring (ESPN)

Top-11 players from service academies (NFL.com)

Bold predictions for the 2021 season (NFL.com)

The Packers plan to call Aaron Rodgers’ bluff (Pro Football Talk)

Every NFL team’s surprise rookie gem (Bleacher Report)