LA Chargers: Is it time to be concerned about Trey Pipkins?

Evaluating the future of the LA Chargers’ left tackle position

With Tevi winning the starting left tackle position this does put the LA Chargers in a bit of a difficult situation in terms of future roster planning. We all know who Tevi is at this point in his career, he simply hasn’t shown the kind of ceiling that makes me feel confident in his ability to be stalwart on the left side. Could he become a serviceable option over? That remains to be seen.

The Chargers hired James Campen due to his reputation of turning mid to late-round draft picks into All-Pro/Pro Bowl level players. One of the things that all of the players have been saying is that one thing they love about him is that he truly focuses on what the players do well.

When I went back and did a film study on Tevi, I noticed that he seemed much more comfortable in two situations: 1) when he is able to quick set, where he can get his hands on the pass rushers quickly and 2) when the protection is slid his way, which is much more difficult to do when Trent Scott is on the other side.

There definitely is some wiggle room for Campen to come in and take Tevi’s tendencies and possibly help him become a serviceable option at the left tackle position. If Tevi can ditch the horrendous games, and play at a consistent level in 2020 does that mean he holds down the fort again in 2021?

If he plays poorly, do they hand the keys over to Pipkins? Is Storm Norton an option too? That kind of uncertainty is already stressing me out.

The 2021 offensive tackle class is just as, if not more, loaded as the 2020 class. There are at least five sure-fire first-round talents, led by Oregon’s Penei Sewell. Every draft analyst and their dog is already predicting that the Chargers take one of these tackles.

I doubt they fall in the range where they could take Sewell unless teams are concerned by his lack of a 2020 season due to COVID. However, Samuel Cosmi out of Texas, Walker Little from Stanford, Dillon Radunz out of North Dakota State, and Alex Leatherwood from Alabama could be in their range. All of them would be BIG time upgrades at the position long term.

Even just writing out all their names has me excited. If they don’t get one of those players, they could still get a difference-maker in round two because the class is as loaded as it is deep. The problem is, that this is the LA Chargers we are talking about here. They’ll probably run it back with the same group up front and draft a tight end in the first round.