BOLTS ARRIVE WITH QUESTIONS
Chargers have to address a lot with a three-year playoff drought, retooled defense
The Chargers rolled up to their Costa Mesa headquarters — often in stylish rides with eye-catching rims and eye-denying windows — Tuesday, the official reporting date for training camp.
They will conduct their first onfield full-team practice today at the nearby Jack Hammett Sports Complex.
With the team having missed the playoffs three consecutive years, General Manager Tom Telesco spent the offseason rebuilding a defense that too often in 2021 failed to sufficiently support an offense led by Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert.
Telesco traded for three-time AllPro edge rusher Khalil Mack, signed seven defensive free agents — at a total price of $126 million, $59 million of which is guaranteed — and drafted four more defenders.
The free agent additions included Pro Bowl cornerback J.C. Jackson and starting interior tackles Sebastian Joseph-Day and Austin Johnson.
With the roster redo, the Chargers emerged as a trendy pick to make a Super Bowl run coming out of the AFC West, widely recognized as the NFL’s toughest division.
So it will take improved defensive play and everything Herbert and the offense provided last season — plus some more, likely — for the Chargers to realize the potential so many observers see in them.
As their opening practice of a season that could extend into February beckons, six questions to monitor over the course of training camp:
Who plays right tackle?
Storm Norton returns for his fourth season after starting 15 games in 2021. But Pro Football Focus ranked Norton as no better than the league’s 69th-best tackle last season.
He will compete with 2019 thirdround pick Trey Pipkins III for the starting job from day one of camp. The Chargers have plenty of time invested in Pipkins, who was a small-college project coming into the league.
Norton and Pipkins have displayed potential but consistency has been the issue. The Chargers would love for one to grab the starting job emphatically.
How will Johnson fit in?
The Chargers named Zion Johnson their starter at right guard moments after drafting him 17th overall in April. Nothing during the offseason program altered that projection, Johnson arriving with perhaps the largest biceps on the team.
But the pads will soon come on and Johnson will have to prove himself worthy of being a starter.
The left side of the offensive line is set with young Pro Bowl tackle Rashawn Slater and sturdy veteran guard Matt Feiler. Center Corey Linsley is among the NFL’s best.
The progress of the right side, with Johnson and Norton, will be watched closely this summer.
Can rookie Spiller take over?
The Chargers’ search for a consistent complement to Austin Ekeler now enters its third season and with another new contender. The team took Isaiah Spiller out of Texas A&M with its third selection, No. 123 overall.
He joins Joshua Kelley (No. 112 in 2020) and Larry Rountree III (No. 198 in 2021) as recent draft picks added in the hopes of sharing the load with Ekeler, who has genuinely begged for help the last two seasons.
The Chargers also have hopes that Spiller’s potential as a runner and pass-catcher will push Kelley and Rountree to greater heights.
When will Murray be ready?
The Chargers placed the young inside linebacker on the physically unable to perform list Tuesday as he continues to come back from ankle surgery. Kenneth Murray Jr. can be activated any time.
The team traded second- and
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third-round picks in 2020 to move into the first round to select Murray out of Oklahoma.
After a rookie year in which he regularly displayed promise — and made a team-leading 107 tackles for then-head coach Anthony Lynn — Murray struggled last season while battling multiple ankle injuries.
It remains to be seen if Murray can establish himself as a performer in Brandon Staley’s scheme.
When will defense jell?
Collecting the pieces is one thing; molding them into a cohesive, effective group is different challenge.
The Chargers need to sort out roles in the secondary and establish rotations among their linebackers and upfront.
Staley and defensive coordinator Renaldo Hill also have to determine the best way to use veteran linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who can play inside and outside and joins the team with significant championship experience.
In 2021, the defense struggled for stretches while adjusting to Staley’s scheme. Avoiding those same kinds of lapses will be a key this season.
Can they be ‘special’?
The Chargers believe they have their kicker in Dustin Hopkins, who returns after taking over for
the final 11 games last season.
After that, all the specialists — punter JK Scott, long snapper Josh Harris and returner DeAndre Carter — are new.
The Chargers also have a new special teams coordinator (Ryan Ficken) and assistant (Chris Gould), so the commitment to improvement — or at least change — couldn’t be much more obvious.
As much as the starters don’t play these days in the NFL preseason, those snaps will be vital for the Chargers in identifying the players who will man their kicking teams as they try to fix what has become an annual shortcoming.