Chargers upgraded offensive line the key to team’s success

By Ernie Padaon | May 29, 2015

The San Diego Chargers upgraded offensive line will be the key to the team’s success.

The San Diego Chargers offensive line has been getting a lot of love lately. They were recently selected as the best offensive line in the AFC West. That is a huge upgrade for a team that struggled moving the ball in the run game and struggled with quarterback pressures in the final game of the season. That final game could have got the team in the playoffs. Tom Telesco knew that he had to make upgrades up front on the offensive line in the offseason and he chose to make his upgrades with some veteran players instead of looking to the draft.

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Here is what the projected offensive line looked like at the start of last season:

LT King DunlapLG Chad RinehartC Nick HardwickRG Jeromey ClaryRT DJ Fluker

At the end of the year, the Chargers went through a few centers and Jeromey Clary never saw the field.

Johnnie Troutman ended up as the starting guard for the whole season and struggled with the role. Chris Watt saw some time at center and never stuck because of injuries. Trevor Robinson ended the season as the starting center.

The line will get Chris Watt back to be the starting center. He was taken in the 3rd round last season to be the center of the future. His time is now.

We stole the starting left guard from the Denver Broncos in free agency when we signed Orlando Franklin. Franklin also has the ability to play tackle if we need him to. He is huge and will be amazing for the Chargers up front. He will be a great upgrade for the team.

The team also added Joe Barksdale to the mix. Barksdale has been a starting tackle for the last few seasons with the St. Louis Rams and could be competing for a starting job for the Chargers. He could get Troutman to the bench and make the offensive line gigantic.

This offensive line is going to be huge. If Barksdale makes it into the starting lineup and Fluker is pushed to the right guard spot, then this team has 4 tackles running around on the line moving people around for an explosive back. Melvin Gordon is going to get a lot of room to work. We saw what he can do with it in Wisconsin.

The Chargers have built up an offense that will be looking to dominate the line of scrimmage. When the Chargers are successful in the running game, defenses will start to wear down. They will also control the clock and help out that defense. This offensive line will be the key to the Chargers success next season.

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