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After finishing the regular season with a 10-7 record, the Chargers made it to the AFC West Wild Card Playoffs. Quarterback Justin Herbert stepped up his game in 2022. On defense, Bryce Callahan had a solid season. Khalil Mack had a stand-out season as an edge rusher. He had eight quarterback sacks for the season and 67 tackles. Derwin James finished the season strong, tapped as a second-team All-Pro in 2022. In the Wild Card game on January 14, the Chargers took a 27-point lead on the road, against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jacksonville roared back and defeated the Chargers 31-30.
The Chargers came close to making it into the 2021 playoffs; basically, they were one win away. Had the team won the final regular-season game against the Raiders, they would have made the playoffs. That game went into overtime, with the Chargers scoring first. The Raiders scored a touchdown, ending the Chargers season. Justin Herbert had a great season, throwing 38 touchdowns in 2021. He’s just two years into his contract and on the rise.
A good measure of how solid an NFL team is can be measured by the offseason moves that they make. The Chargers have been pretty quiet when it comes to changes since the end of the 2021 season. More moves will be made but it’s not looking like the Chargers need to adjust very much. One of the biggest additions to the Chargers defense is none other than Khalil Mack. Mack was traded to Los Angeles for a second and sixth-round pick. Mack will join Brandon Staley, who coached Mack back in 2018. A three-time All-Pro linebacker is just what the Chargers were looking for. Dustin Hopkins will be coming back for another season. He made 90% of all field goals kicked. Former Chargers linebacker Uchenna Nwosu is heading to Seattle.
The Los Angeles Chargers exceeded expectations a year ago in their first season in their new hometown, finishing with a 9-7 record, landing them in second place in the AFC West. With the new season coming up fast, the Chargers found themselves without a starter at tight end. Rumor is that they might sign Antonio Gates to a one-year deal. Also on the “to-do” list for the Chargers is to get their kicking game in order. Last season, no fewer than five different players took a shot at the starting kicker position, with the results being dismal. So what did they do this offseason to make that extra jump to return to the playoffs?
The first decision the Chargers made was to part ways with Antonio Gates, who is a future Hall of Famer and one of the best tight ends in NFL history. Gates’s production has tapered off the last three seasons due to age and injury so the team decided it was time to go a different direction. Hunter Henry is now the starting tight end, and the team signed Virgil Green in free agency to back him up. Also in free agency, the team shored up the center position, signing former Miami Dolphin Mike Pouncey to a two-year contract. They also needed a new kicker, so rather than wait for the draft, they added former Eagles and Dolphins kicker Caleb Sturgis. The other move of note in free agency was to sign Geno Smith to back up Phillip Rivers.
For the draft, the Chargers had seven selections and spent the top half of the draft focusing on defense. In round one they went with safety/cornerback Derwin James from Florida State, who has the potential to be the best defensive player taken from this draft. In round two they shored up their pass rush with outside linebacker Uchenna Nwosu from USC. In round three they went defensive line with tackle Justin Jones from North Carolina State. These last two choices were made as a preparation for what is coming in 2018- opposing teams are going to start to double-team defensive end Joey Bosa, who is about to become the best pass rusher in the game. In round four they grabbed perhaps the safety who will play opposite James, Kyzir White from West Virginia. In round five they made a very strange move, drafting center Scott Quessenberry from UCLA after already signing Pouncey during the offseason. Perhaps one of them goes to guard. They finished their draft with wide receiver Dylan Cantrell from Texas Tech and running back Justin Jackson from Auburn. Did they do enough to get to the playoffs? Maybe. But one thing is for sure, Phillip Rivers is running out of both time and chances.
