The LA Chargers made some solid additions during the first week of free agency. The biggest order of business was addressing the offensive line, and rightfully so. The Bolts made Corey Linsley the highest-paid free-agent center of all-time, picked up a great value signing in Matt Feiler and may have made the best sleeper offensive line signing of the week in Oday Aboushi.
The Chargers also brought in Jared Cook to replace Hunter Henry (a downgrade for sure, but Henry was not worth the money he received) and re-signed Michael Davis among other lesser role players.
The Chargers were busy but there are still some big roster holes that exist. Some of these can be fixed instantly in the 2021 NFL Draft but it is very unlikely that the Chargers can find multiple players in the draft that have a massive impact in year one.
Here are the 5 biggest roster holes that still exist on the LA Chargers after the first week of free agency:
5. Safety
Some may rank the safety position higher because of the departure of Rayshawn Jenkins but I disagree. While Nasir Adderley was really bad last season, the team is essentially replacing Jenkins in the starting defense with Derwin James, assuming he is healthy.
It would have been fun to see Jenkins and James play alongside each other for an extended amount of time but the Chargers used a second-round pick on Adderley and the potential is still there, so they are not going to give up on him too soon.
The Chargers still need to bring in a depth safety, preferably one that can thrive in split zone coverage and play either safety position. A safety room of James, Adderley, Alohi Gilman and a veteran depth option is not terrible and it has upside if Adderley can take the next step up.
This is a do-or-die season for Adderley. He was injured his rookie season and had no preseason and a reduced training camp in 2020. There are no more excuses in 2021.