It’s been a tumultuous off-season for the Los Angeles Chargers. Beginning with a move up the coast from San Diego as well as the long overdue firing of head coach Mike McCoy. Enter new head man Anthony Lynn, formerly the interim head coach of the Buffalo Bills and, I think, the absolute wrong man for the job.
Lynn was smart enough to keep the offensive staff in place from McCoy’s regime as they were actually decent. On defense, Lynn brought in Gus Bradley, former head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars and the unquestionably worst head coach in NFL history. Can Bradley rejuvenate his career by returning to defensive coordinator? He has some tools in Los Angeles to do it.
But this was Lynn and general manager Tom Telesco’s team to rebuild this spring. Let’s see how they did.
Free Agents Kept
Jahleel Addae, Safety
Tenny Palepol, Defensive End
Melvin Ingram, Outside Linebacker
Kenny Wiggins, Offensive Lineman
Kellen Clemens, Quarterback
Damion Square, Defensive Tackle
Mike Windt, Long Snapper
Branden Oliver, Running Back
Free Agents Gained
Russell Okung, Offensive Tackle, formerly of the Denver Broncos
Tre Boston, Safety, formerly of the Carolina Panthers
Kenjon Barner, Running Back, formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles
Free Agents/Players Lost
Danny Woodhead, Running Back, signed with the Baltimore Ravens
King Dunlap, Offensive Tackle, retired
D.J. Fluker, Offensive Guard, signed with the New York Giants
Brandon Flowers, Cornerback, still a free agent
2017 NFL Draft
Round 1: Mike Williams, Wide Receiver, Clemson
Round 2: Forrest Lamp, Offensive Guard, Western Kentucky
Round 3: Dan Feeney, Offensive Guard, Indiana
Round 4: Rayshawn Jenkins, Safety, Miami
Round 5: Desmond King, Safety, Iowa
Round 6: Sam Tevi, Offensive Tackle, Utah
Round 7: Isaac Rochell, Defensive Tackle, Notre Dame
Proposed Offensive Starters
QB: Philip Rivers
RB: Melvin Gordon
WR: Mike Williams
WR: Keenan Allen
WR: Tyrell Williams
TE: Antonio Gates
LT: Russell Okung
RT: Joe Barksdale
LG: Matt Slauson
RG: Forrest Lamp
C: Spencer Pulley
Offensive Outlook
Keep the band together on offense was a smart move for Lynn. This was the No. 9-ranked unit in the NFL last season behind the ageless and always underrated Philip Rivers. Rovers completed 60.4 percent of his passes last season for 4,386 yards and 33 touchdowns. The fact that he could do that and this team still finished 5-11 shows you how broken an organization this was under McCoy. Pitiful.
Running back Melvin Gordon finally emerged as a legitimate NFL starter last year. He nearly hit 1,000 yards, finishing with 997 and 10 touchdowns to go with 41 catches and 419 yards with two touchdowns. Gordon will likely be an even bigger part of the offense this season. Offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt flamed out as a head coach, but the man can call an offense. He knows the value of a running back that can catch passes out of the backfield.
Keenan Allen’s injury last season opened up opportunities for Tyrell Williams and Dontrelle Inman and both guys blew the doors off at wideout. I’ve moved Williams ahead of Travis Benjamin on the depth chart just on last year alone. Williams caught 69 passes for 1,059 yards and seven touchdowns. Benjamin had 47 catches, 677 yards and four touchdowns. Inman, along with Mike Williams and a returning Allen, makes this one of the deepest and deadliest wide receiver corps in the league. Inman caugth 58 passes for 810 yards and four touchdowns himself. And that’s not even getting into the tight end duo of Antonio Gates and Hunter Henry. This group is elite.
Up front, the Chargers upgraded their left tackle in free agency with Russell Okung, then picked their starting right guard in the draft with Forrest Lamp. This was a decent unit last season that should be significantly better this year.
Proposed Defensive Starters
DE: Joey Bosa
DT: Brandon Mebane
DT: Corey Luiget
OLB: Melvin Ingram
OLB: Kyle Emanuel
ILB: Jatavis Brown
ILB: Denzel Perryman
CB: Jason Verrett
CB: Casey Hayward
FS: Dwight Lowery
SS: Jahleel Addae
Defensive Outlook
Bradley will have to convert his defensive calls from a 4-3 (which he used in Jacksonville and as the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive coordinator, to the 3-4 the Chargers employ. He has some talent to do it with, led up front by 2016 first round draft pick Joey Bosa. Bosa played in just 12 games a rookie, but recorded 41 tackles and 10.5 sacks. Corey Luiget and Brandon Mebane are just stuffing bodies to keep offensive linemen off the linebackers.
Those linebackers are pretty good, led by Melvin Ingram who just cashed in with a long-term contract this off-season. Ingram had 60 tackles and eight sacks of his own. Jatavis Brown led the team in tackles last season with 76 to go with 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and six passes defended. Denzel Perryman was right behind him with 71 tackles and two sacks, two passes defended and a pick. But the Chargers are deep at this spot, with back ups Korey Toomer and Joshua Perry good enough to start anywhere. Kyle Emanuel will hold down the other outside spot opposite Ingram.
The defensive backfield has the capability of being one of the top two or three units in the league if Jason Verrett and Jahleel Addae can stay healthy. Cam Heyward at the opposite corner has emerged as one of the league’s best. Dwight Lowery is a tackle machine, recording 70 last season to go with nine passes defended, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and a pick.
Grade: B+
The Chargers improved their roster, but the jury is out as far as I’m concerned on Lynn’s ability as a head coach and if he was the right guy for the Chargers. It would be an act of will to not be better than McCoy over the last few seasons, so if Lynn isn’t, it’ll tell you something.
O/U Wins: 7.5
Preseason Schedule
Week 1: Seattle Seahawks
Week 2: New Orleans Saints
Week 3: at Los Angeles Rams
Week 4: at San Francisco 49ers
Regular Season Schedule
Week 1: at Denver Broncos
Week 2: Miami Dolphins
Week 3: Kansas City Chiefs
Key game: The Chargers get the defending AFC West champs at home first in a pretty killer September stretch. If they can come out of the month 2-1 and get a victory here, the Chargers could set the stage for a real playoff run.
Week 4: Philadelphia Eagles
Week 5: at New York Giants
Week 6: at Oakland Raiders
Week 7: Denver Broncos
Week 8: at New England Patriots
Week 9: BYE
Week 10: at Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 11: Buffalo Bills
Week 12: at Dallas Cowboys
Week 13: Cleveland Browns
Week 14: Washington Redskins
Week 15: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 16: at New York Jets
Week 17: Oakland Raiders
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