SAN DIEGO -- According to the Dallas Morning News, the San Diego Chargers had the 29th-ranked special teams unit in the NFL in 2014. So there is certainly room for improvement in 2015. A point of emphasis for the Chargers will be the healthy return of punter Mike Scifres after finishing 2014 on the injured reserve with a season-ending surgery (broken collarbone).
Locks: none
Looking good: K Nick Novak, P Mike Scifres, LS Mike Windt, KR Chris Davis
Free agents: KR Ronnie Brown, PR Eddie Royal
The good: Novak made 22 of 26 field goals, including a season-long 52 yarder. He holds the franchise record with an 86.3 percent field goal percentage and had a franchise-record streak of 32 consecutive made field goals stopped when he missed from 48 yards against Oakland on Nov. 16. Novak won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after the Chargers’ Sept. 28 win against Jacksonville. And Scifres won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after the Chargers’ Nov. 16 win against Oakland.
The bad: For a second straight season, Novak finished in the bottom of the league in touchbacks, with only 22.2 percent of his kickoffs resulting in opposing teams getting the ball at the 20-yard line. Chargers general manager Tom Telesco said finding a return specialist will be a priority again this offseason. San Diego finished No. 22 in the NFL in kick returns in 2014, averaging 22.2 yards a return.
The money: Novak is scheduled to make $1.425 million in base salary in 2015, and is signed through 2016. Scifres is set to make a little over $3.5 million in non-guaranteed base salary for the upcoming season, and also is signed through 2016. Windt is set to make $770,000 in total compensation for the upcoming season.
Draft priority: Low. Novak, Scifres and Windt are experienced professionals and help San Diego win games, but the Chargers should consider a kickoff specialist to help with field position. Although Davis showed flashes, San Diego also should consider drafting a return specialist to add more juice to the return game.