LA Chargers: Justin Herbert’s day and 4 bold predictions vs. the Patriots
By Jason Reed
2. Kenneth Murray has his best game of the season thus far
Kenneth Murray has been frustrating to watch this season and it is not really his fault. All the signs are there for Murray to be a great inside linebacker in the NFL and he has the raw skillset that should blossom into something special.
What is frustrating is the fact that he is so misused. Granted, part of it is out of necessity because of injuries, but the LA Chargers drafted a bruising linebacker with holes in pass coverage to primarily play him in pass coverage.
One day Murray should be able to hold his own in pass coverage. As a rookie, with no preseason or OTAs, asking him to do this much is a bit absurd.
Kyzir White should be good to return to this game off of the COVID list, which will help Murray as White can drop back into coverage more.
More importantly, this is a matchup that should really fit Murray’s skill set well. The Chargers are coming up against a non-passing team that has a mobile quarterback and is going to run the football and attack outside of the tackles.
If Gus Bradley is still playing Murray in pass coverage against Cam Newton then he should be fired at halftime. This is the perfect game to allow Murray to act as the QB spy and truly do what he does best: tackle downhill and use his athleticism to stop plays at or near the line of scrimmage.