2. What role will Desmond King play in 2020?
This question seemingly already has its answer as the expectation around Desmond King is that he is going to fill into the Adrian Phillips linebacker-safety hybrid role on the defense now that Phillips is no longer on the team and is on the New England Patriots.
However, that is still not a certainty, making King’s role with the team still up in the air. Last year he was primarily a slot corner for the defense and quite frankly, did not do well at all. Of players that played in at least 20 percent of their team’s defensive snaps, King had the second-highest reception rate on passes targeted towards him (87.2 percent), per Pro Football Focus.
After such a good season in 2018, such a big step back for King was not expected and now he is one of the biggest variables on the team. Do the Chargers entrust in him to be a regular component of the defense? Do they move him back to safety after moving him to corner?
The one thing the Chargers have at their disposal is that this defense is really flexible and they could find the right fit for King, we just do not exactly know what that right fit is.
The Phillips-type role is the current favorite and it makes sense. King is a really sure tackler for a member of the secondary and had the fifth-highest pass-rushing grade on PFF among corners with 20 percent of the defensive snaps.
In coverage, though, King was pretty bad last season.