LA Chargers: Ranking the offenses in the AFC West by position
Offensive Tackle
- Chiefs: Eric Fisher, Mitchell Schwartz
- Chargers: Bryan Bulaga, Trey Pipkins
- Raiders: Kolton Miller, Trent Brown
- Broncos: Garett Bolles, Ja’Wuan James
Fisher and Schwartz have manned the outside of the offensive line on the Chiefs for a while now. While Schwartz didn’t break out in the early part of his career when he was drafted by Cleveland, he’s had a renaissance in his Kansas City tenure. Despite not really living up to his first overall pick billing, Fisher is still a pretty solid blindside blocker.
Acquiring Bulaga was a massive boost from what the offensive line was last year for the Chargers. Thankfully, Trenton Scott will no longer be the starting right tackle. Left tackle is really the key for figuring out how good the ends of the offensive line can be for Los Angeles.
Pipkins seemed to start adapting to the speed of the NFL game last year. While the team could go with Sam Tevi or convert Forrest Lamp to tackle, his ceiling ranks higher than both. James Campen coaching the offensive line makes me more confident about the structure of the offensive line in 2020.
The Raiders could be considered pretty close with the Chargers, but the clock is ticking on the development of Miller. While he was better last year, he’s still not quite living up to his first-round potential. Brown is pretty solid, although not quite as good as he was in New England.
As for Denver, Ja’Wuan James hasn’t been playing at the level they’ve wanted him to. Garett Bolles has pretty decent blocking grades but is held down (pun somewhat intended) by his constant holding penalties.