Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports – LA Chargers
2. Nasir Adderley
It has been well-documented that Nasir Adderley has not had an ideal start to his career. There was a lot of buzz surrounding Adderley when the LA Chargers landed him in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft and quite frankly, he was my choice for the team’s first-round pick that year.
Things have not come to fruition, leaving some to give up on Adderley’s potential. However, while he is to blame, it is not entirely his fault as he has not been dealt a favorable hand thus far in his career.
Adderley dealt with injuries in his rookie season that kept him from truly getting in a groove and adapting to the NFL play style and then had to deal with no preseason and a wonky offseason in year two because of COVID-19.
Mix that with a defensive scheme that was not the best for Adderley’s play style and it was a recipe for disaster. This year he is getting a normal preseason, will hopefully be healthy and is going to be playing in a split-zone scheme that should better suit him.
The Chargers are going to need Adderley to improve as he is huge for the safety position. The position is rather thin with Adderley, James, Alohi Gilman and Mark Webb being the only options. If Adderley does not step up alongside James then the Bolts could be in trouble.