Drue Tranquill raves about the Chargers’ “unique” offensive line

The Chargers spent the money and draft picks necessary to revamp almost their entire offensive line over the offseason and there’s no one on the team who’s getting a better look at the team’s newest investment than the front seven of the defense.

In his post-practice press presser, linebacker Drue Tranquill was asked about his thoughts on the unit and how he feels the group’s camaraderie is coming along thus far.

“I mean, they’re meshing. You got a totally new group from seasoned veterans, you know, on the right side with Bryan Bulaga coming all the way across to a rookie starting left tackle.”

Specifically, the Chargers replaced four of the five starters from last season, including three former draft picks from 2017 in Dan Feeney, Forrest Lamp, and Sam Tevi. Trai Turner, one of the team’s big free agent signings from a year ago, was also let go following an injury-riddled year in L.A.

Now Tranquill would know a thing or two about good offensive lines as he played against a number of current NFL players while in South Bend. Two of the more notable names that he got to practice against in college would be the Colts’ left guard Quenton Nelson — already one of the best in the league — and 49ers right tackle Mike McGlinchey. In this past draft alone, Notre Dame saw three more lineman get drafted in Liam Eichenberg, Aaron Banks, and Robert Hainsey.

So when Tranquill believes an offensive line is going to be good, I think it’s safe to say he may know what he’s talking about.

“The offensive live, they’re unique. I saw it at Notre Dame and I see it now. They load the buses together. They get off the bus together. They eat together. They do everything together and you certainly see that with this group.”

Hearing this coming from a player’s mouth is super exciting. It really makes me itch for the preseason to begin, but it’s fair to say that the starters may not see a ton of playing time this month if Brandon Staley runs the preseason the same way Sean McVay does with the Rams. If that’s the case, the majority of the first-team won’t see the field until September. Which, at the end of the day, is the most important thing right now,

To quote special teams coordinator Derius Swinton, “You gotta get the horse to the derby.”

And no, I won’t give you any added context on that quote.