As the Los Angeles Chargers have begun the season 3-0, most of their team has looked stellar, with their offense clicking at a high rate and their defense largely being able to stifle opposing offenses.
However, one unit that they failed to make notable upgrades to this offseason, their offensive line, has struggled thus far, and, now, with both Mekhi Becton and Trey Pipkins III suffering injuries, the team's inaction could be serious coming back to bite them.
The Chargers' failure to revamp their O-line could be a serious weakness this season
Although the Chargers added Becton, who was a major part of the stellar Philadelphia Eagles offensive line last season, in free agency, the team's protection for franchise quarterback Justin Herbert was still a major question mark heading into the season.
When star left tackle Rashawn Slater went down in the preseason with a season-ending injury, the outlook got decidedly worse. Emerging tackle Joe Alt was forced to move to the left side in order to cover for Slater's absence, and Pipkins was slotted into the right side.
Although Pipkins had been somewhat solid so far this season, allowing only one sack through his first two games, things fell apart for him against Denver. Consistently throughout the game, and especially in the first half, the entire right side of the offensive line seemed leaky, with Jonathon Cooper and other Broncos edge rushers putting the pressure on Herbert and forcing multiple incomplete passes and even an interception.
Pipkins' performance hit a low point in the first quarter as he allowed his man to blow by him for the sack on third down, absolutely killing what proved to be a vital drive as the Broncos dominated most of the half offensively. He later left the game for a period while being evaluated for a potential ankle injury.
The team gave up five sacks in the game, hampering the offense and almost preventing them from squeaking out with the win.
While Becton's, Slater's and Pipkins's injuries are unfortunate, the team's inability to cope with these losses is a direct result of their relative inaction in free agency. Although both center Bradley Bozeman and left guard Zion Johnson also struggled last season, the Chargers ultimately only added Becton, opting to rely on the viability of their tackle duo in order to keep the line afloat.
While they had the draft picks to take a shot on an offensive lineman, at least to add depth, they didn't draft one until the sixth round (Branson Taylor, who was cut before the season started).
Especially with a quarterback looking to be more mobile this season, the team needs their offensive line to perform at a high level in order to maintain any sort of deep threat down the field, something that was absent in this matchup apart from a big play by Quentin Johnston in the first half.
Altough they pulled off the nail-biter victory against the Broncos, their severe lack of depth on their offensive line revealed a serious weakness for the team, and, if these injuries prove to be extensive or further injuries occur, the team could be in serious trouble on that front.