The Los Angeles Chargers' projected 53-man roster is full of a few certainties (Justin Herbert at quarterback for one and Joey Bosa at defensive everything for another) but the rest are educated predictions as the Chargers head into training camp. Injuries are always a factor (see Derwin James Jr. last summer) and breakout performances are bound to happen once camp starts.
It's also certain that the Chargers will have a better lineup with which to work. With new head coach Brandon Staley in charge and calling the defensive plays as a head coach for the first time for the Chargers since the late Marty Schottenheimer era of the early 2000s, the Chargers will have a bonafide defensive leader. He turned the Los Angeles Rams into the best defense in the league ... and knows the value of having a young, emerging quarterback. So, why not the Chargers?
Here's a 53-man roster projection:
QUARTERBACKS (3): Justin Herbert, Chase Daniel, Easton Stick
Because of what happened just before the start of the second game last season, when a team doctor punctured the lung of starter Tyrod Taylor, the legend of Herbert began. Stick was with the team all last season (now in his third year) and Daniel is a veteran who knows new offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi's offense from his time with the New Orleans Saints. Don't expect the Chargers to take any chances at this position.
RUNNING BACKS (4): Austin Ekeler, Joshua Kelley, Larry Rountree III, Gabe Nabers (FB)
Ekeler is healthy and stronger than ever after a grueling offseason regimen and will carry the load. Kelley has speed but needs to hang onto the ball better than he did his rookie season. Rountree has thighs as big as tree trunks and can bowl people over for short yardage. Fourth-year pro Justin Jackson looks to be the odd man out in the tailback group. At fullback, Nabers is one of Herbert's closest teammates and as selfless as they come. The Chargers will look to the third-year pro to run and catch as well as block.
RECEIVERS (6): Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Jalen Guyton, Tyron Johnson, Joshua Palmer, Joe Reed.
You can't have too many good receivers. And Allen and Williams are two of the best. Sprinkle in Ekeler as a RB/WR, Guyton and Johnson as deep threats and the others should be enough, though Reed will have to fight with second-year man KJ Hill Jr. for that final spot.
TIGHT ENDS (3): Jared Cook, Donald Parham Jr., Tre' McKitty.
With former franchise-tag player Hunter Henry gone to New England, the Chargers will count on recently signed 12-year veteran Cook (Saints) and will rely on him to connect well (as well as Henry did) with Herbert. Parham is a big target, while the rookie McKitty should help with blocking.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (9): Corey Linsley, Rashawn Slater, Matt Feiler, Oday Aboushi, Bryan Bulaga, Trey Pipkins III, Storm Norton, Brenden Jaimes, Scott Quessenberry.
This is where the Chargers needed to make some moves after their O-line ranked near the bottom in the league and they did, signing Linsley from Green Bay and then drafting Slater out of Northwestern in the first round after he sat out last season as a precaution to Covid. With him, Linsley and free agent pickups Feiler and Aboushi along with veteran tackle Bulaga, this line could be strong at every position to protect Herbert.
DEFENSIVE LINE/EDGE (11): Joey Bosa, Linval Joseph, Jerry Tillery, Christian Covington, Breiden Fehoko, Justin Jones, Uchenna Nwosu, Kyler Fackrell, Chris Rumph II, Emeke Egbule, Cortez Broughton
Now that Melvin Ingram II is gone to Pittsburgh, Bosa is the undisputed heart and soul of this defense. He played with a gazillion injuries last season but still came up with 7.5 sacks and 15 tackles for losses. He's ranked by ESPN as the third best edge rusher in the league behind Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt. Tillery bounced back from an injury-filled rookie year in 2019 with three sacks and has geared up for more in 2021. Nwosu is a player to watch at EDGE with Ingram gone.
LINEBACKERS (5): Kenneth Murray Jr., Drue Tranquill, Kyzir White, Nick Niemann, Amen Ogbongbemiga
Murray figures to have a breakout year after being a first-round pick as a rookie. He fits well in Staley's 3-4 scheme. He had just one sack but 107 tackles (68 solo) and 3 passes defended in 2020. Those numbers will likely go up in 2021, though there's playing time to be had beside him between White and Tranquill, who returns from injury.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (9): Michael Davis, Asante Samuel Jr., Chris Harris Jr., Ryan Smith, Brandon Facyson, Derwin James Jr., Nasir Adderley, Alohi Gilman, Mark Webb
James is healthy after sitting out all of last season with a knee injury and has been rehabbing and working out like a mad man. Second-round pick Samuel Jr. (son of former Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel), Harris and Davis look safe at corner, with Adderley facing competition alongside James at safety.
SPECIALISTS (3): Alex Kessman, Ty Long, Cole Mazza
Michael Badgley and Tristan Vizcaino will battle for the starting kicking spot, but odds are on Kessman, an undrafted free agent out of Pittsburgh. He had a career-long 58-yard field goal as a senior at Pitt and will give Badgley, who missed nine field goals and three extra points for the Chargers last season, a run.