Los Angeles Chargers Team Preview
How far can Justin Herbert lead his team in 2021?
The Chargers have always been a bit of a confusing team. They typically have a decent amount of talent on the roster. In the past, however, that hasn’t resulted in as many wins as it probably should have. But that hasn’t stopped people from consistently having high hopes for the Chargers. And it appears it’s not going to stop heading into this season either.
Once again we are faced with the same dilemma. There’s no way the Chargers don’t make the playoffs this season, right?
Well, I might be falling into a trap countless others constantly do, but I don’t see how Los Angeles misses the postseason. I’ll even take it a step further and say the Chargers have a chance to be one of the best teams in the league.
But why am I so high on Los Angeles this year? Well, there are actually quite a few reasons. The first being their talent. Justin Herbert proved he’s more than capable of being a franchise quarterback during his rookie season. In 15 games last year, Herbert threw for 4,336 yards (sixth-most in the league) and 31 touchdowns (tenth-most) while throwing just 10 interceptions. This led to the former Oregon Duck winning rookie of the year honors and giving Los Angeles serious hope for the future.
But Herbert is far from the only talent on the roster. As a matter of fact, some people believe LA has one of the most talented rosters in the NFL. Take Marc Ross at NFL.com for example, who has the Chargers has the fourth-most complete roster entering the season. Some may suggest that’s too high for a team coming off a 7–9 season. It’s actually not that crazy when you start to go over the pieces LA has in place.
Along with their franchise QB, the Chargers have a top-tier receiver in Keenan Allen. Allen, who is typically one of the most underrated players in the league, is coming off a season in which he finished with the seventh-most receptions in the league (100 in 14 games). LA also has a dynamic running back in Austin Ekeler, who in 2019 had over 1,500 yards from scrimmage.
The Chargers aren’t all offense either. Actually, the best players on their team may be on the other side of the ball. Joey Bosa is consistently one of the most dominant pass rushers in the NFL. Derwin James proved he’s the real deal as a rookie, being named First-Team All-Pro in 2018.
Los Angeles has had talent before. Why would this year be any different?
Well, the Chargers didn’t just rest on the talent they had. Those players I mentioned were all on the team last year. LA saw they had holes on the roster, and were aggressive filling them this offseason.
The weakest unit on the team last season was by far the offensive line. Pro Football Focus ranked LA’s o-line dead last after the 2020 campaign. If the Chargers had any real aspirations of being a great team this year, they knew they had to improve the offensive line. And they did just that.
The team signed All-Pro center Corey Linsley to a five-year deal. They also agreed to deals with guards Matt Feiler and Oday Aboushi. LA didn’t stop there either, as they used their first-round pick on Northwestern tackle Rashawn Slater. These moves led to PFF naming the Chargers as the most improved offensive line. What was once a worry for Justin Herbert has now become almost a non-issue.
Offseason additions aren’t the only thing giving me high hopes for LA this season. Perhaps my biggest optimism surrounding the Chargers actually stems from last season.
While the team finished with a mediocre 7–9 record, serious potential was there. Let’s first start by looking at the record itself. 7–9 alone doesn’t bring much excitement. However, if you look deeper you’ll see LA lost seven games by one score. And some of those games came against powerhouse teams such as the Chiefs, Buccaneers, and Saints. If you just split those games down the middle, Los Angeles is a 10 or 11 win team. Hopefully, with new coach Brandon Staley joining the team (the biggest criticism of former coach Anthony Lynn was that he couldn’t close out games), the trend of LA blowing close games will change.
The fact that the Chargers kept so many games close is even more impressive when you look at the injuries they had. Keenan Allen, Austin Ekeler, Joey Bosa, Derwin James, Melvin Ingram, and Chris Harris Jr. all missed games last season. Despite that, Los Angeles finished the season in the top ten for total yards per game (ninth-most), passing yards per game (sixth-most), total yards allowed per game (tenth-fewest), and passing yards allowed per game (ninth-fewest).
Turns out 7–9 with a rookie QB, the worst offensive line in the NFL, a coach who struggles to close out games, and countless injuries to star players isn’t that bad. It actually does bring hope, especially after having a great offseason.
So what are expectations entering the 2021 season?
The Chargers don’t have an overly difficult road. The team ranks 17th in strength of schedule based on opponents’ 2020 win percentage. LA obviously has to deal with Kansas City twice, but other than that their two most difficult games are home against Cleveland, and on the road against Baltimore. There’s no reason Los Angeles shouldn’t be a playoff team. On paper, the floor for LA should be 10 wins. But then again on paper, the Chargers should always succeed. I guess time will tell if this season will be different.
