The LA Chargers made a trio of moves on the first day of ‘legal tampering’ on Monday. The day started with the Chargers making Corey Linsley the highest-paid center in the league and continued with them re-signing Michael Davis, which was a much-needed move.
Those moves happened in such close proximity to each other that we lumped them together in one article, grading each individual signing.
The LA Chargers were not done with those two moves, satisfying all the fans that were upset earlier in the day as the team was not one of the first to make any reported moves. Los Angeles signed guard Matt Feiler to a three-year, $21 million contract, per Adam Schefter.
Feiler is far from a big name and fails my “would my father, who mostly only follows the Chargers, know who this is?” test. Several Charger fans reading this might be in the same boat. Let’s break Feiler down, first by giving the signing a grade.
The LA Chargers get an A+ for signing Matt Feiler
I want to give this a regular ‘A’ but I cannot. This was such a good value signing by the LA Chargers as operation protect Justin Herbert continues. Feiler, despite not being a household name, was arguably the best value-signing of Monday.
Feiler played 621 pass-blocking snaps in 2020 and allowed just 17 pressures — which was lower than Joe Thuney, who got the largest contract by a free-agent guard in NFL history just hours earlier.
Thuney is the better all-around guard. Not only is he an iron man, but he has been playing at such a high level for so long while Feiler’s 2020 was a breakout year compared to his previous years. However, that breakout was not accidental.
Feiler had a much better 2020 season as he only played the left guard position. Feiler is someone who provides versatility on the offensive line and can play right tackle, but he is much better on the inside than he is the outside. He allowed 26 and 25 pressures in 2018 and 2019, respectively, while primarily playing right tackle.
I also love that Feiler is entering just his age 29 season. This contract will run him through his age 31 season, which significantly lowers the chances of him getting hurt (knock on wood) as he has fewer miles on his leg.
Is he a Pro Bowl guard? Most likely not, but he is a valuable guard with very promising numbers that is trending in the right direction. This is not like Trai Turner last year, who was trending in the absolute wrong direction and Charger fans should have been aware of it (I tried warning everyone!).
Anyone that reads my work here at Bolt Beat knows that I try to stay as objective as possible and sometimes that can lead to me being a bit too critical of the offensive line, as it is frustrating that the team never drafts premier offensive linemen.
This is a move that I can get behind. Matt Feiler and Corey Linsley are an excellent start to rebuilding the offensive line. With a first-round left tackle and a mid-round/cheaper right guard, the team should be set. Four out of the five positions will be bonafide upgrades, and if someone like Cole Toner is the worst offensive lineman I won’t lose any sleep over it.
The work is not complete, but if healthy, the LA Chargers could field their best offensive line