COSTA MESA, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Chargers will open the 2021 season at the Washington Football Team on Sept. 12. The Chargers went 7-9 last season, missing the playoffs but ending on a four-game winning streak.
It's certain that the Chargers have a better lineup with which to work. With head coach Brandon Staley in charge of the defense, and calling the defensive plays from that position for the first time since the late Marty Schottenheimer era of the mid 2000s, they will have a bonafide defensive leader. He turned the Rams into the best defense in the league ... and played quarterback once upon a time, so knows the value in Herbert. So why not the Chargers?
The roster will be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Here is a roster projection.
QUARTERBACK (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 accidentally punctured the lung of starter Tyrod Taylor with a pain-killing shot -- the Chargers will keep three QBs. 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. Both have performed well in the preseason. Don't expect the Chargers to take any chances at this position.
RUNNING BACK (4): Austin Ekeler, Joshua Kelley, Larry Rountree III, Gabe Nabers (FB)
Ekeler is healthy, stronger than ever after a grueling offseason regimen and will carry the load. Kelley has speed but needs to hang onto the ball in his second season. Rountree has thighs as big as tree trunks and can bowl people over for short yardage, which gives him the edge over veteran Justin Jackson. Nabers, a third-year fullback, will be an intriguing option on passes out of the backfield as long as he can shake a hamstring injury that's nagged him in camp.
RECEIVER (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 and the others -- Guyton and Johnson were deep threats last year while third-rounder Palmer has showed promise -- and that should be enough.
TIGHT END (3): Jared Cook, Donald Parham Jr., Tre' McKitty
With former franchise player Hunter Henry gone to the New England Patriots, the Chargers will count on recently signed 12-year veteran Cook from the New Orleans Saints and will rely on him to connect with Herbert as well as Henry did.
OFFENSIVE LINE (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 it ranked toward the bottom in the league -- and they did, signing All-Pro center Linsley from Green Bay and then grabbing Slater out of Northwestern in the first round after he sat out last season as a precaution to Covid-19. With him on the left side and veteran Bulaga now healthy at right tackle, this unit should be better at protecting 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 Egbuke, Cortez Broughton
Bosa is the heart and soul of this defense. He played with several injuries last season but still came up with 7.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss. He's up there with Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt among the NFL's best pass rushers off the edge. Tillery bounced back from an injury-filled rookie year with three sacks and has geared up for more in 2021. Nwosu, who had 4.5 sacks and a combined 33 tackles last season, is battling Fackrell for Melvin Ingram III's old role.
LINEBACKER (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 in 2020. He fits well into Staley's 3-4 scheme. He had just one sack but 107 combined tackles and three passes defended in 2020. Those numbers will likely go up in 2021.
CORNERBACK (5): Michael Davis, Asante Samuel Jr., Chris Harris Jr., Ryan Smith, Brandon Facyson
Samuel Jr., a second-round draft pick, is carrying on his family name (his dad, Asante Samuel, was a cornerback with the Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons, not to mention a two time Super Bowl champion) and is already showing signs of greatness. He'll join veterans Davis and Harris Jr. -- who is healthy after being hindered by injuries last year -- to provide a good set of corners.
SAFETY (4): Derwin James Jr., Nasir Adderley, Alohi Gilman, Mark Webb
James is healthy after sitting out all of last season with a knee injury and most of 2019 with a foot injury, and has been rehabbing and working out like a mad man. This is a big season for Adderley, a former second-round pick now in his third season.
SPECIALIST (3): Ty Long, Cole Mazza. Tristan Vizcaino
Michael Badgley and Vizcaino are battling for the starting placekicking spot and the competition is close -- both kickers have played well in the preseason. We'll go with Vizcaino over the incumbent Badgley, who was inconsistent in 2020.