The Los Angeles Chargers have been undergoing a transition on the defensive line, particularly with movement off the edge.
For Los Angeles, the loss of Joey Bosa was a mixed emotion, as a talented pass rusher was gone, but he couldn't stay on the field. This brought the team to roll with Tuli Tuipulotu and Khalil Mack to get the job done, but Mack might not be on the team past this season, as he reaches the twilight of his career.
The Chargers used the draft to find an edge rusher in the fourth round in South Carolina's Kyle Kennard. That pick might end up being the steal of the NFL Draft for the Chargers.
Kennard might be breakout star of the summer for Los Angeles
In a recent article by Bleacher Report writer Alex Ballentine, he examined each NFL team's most important position battles to watch and identified the breakout candidate of the summer. Ballentine likes Kennard to be the man who could step up for the Chargers.
"The Chargers took a big step toward a new era of pass-rushers when they let Joey Bosa walk in free agency. They retained Khalil Mack, but it's clear they will be relying on other players to step up with Bosa moving on.
Tuli Tuipulotu is going to carry a lot of that burden, but Kyle Kennard could prove to be worth much more than the fourth-round pick the Chargers used to add him.
Kennard led the SEC with 11.5 sacks at South Carolina last season. He has an explosive first step and a decent arsenal of moves already. He needs some work at setting the edge against the run, but he should show off his pass-rushing chops early and earn an immediate role on the defense."
Adding to Kennard's impressive 11.5-sack season, he was named AP second-team All-American, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, and first-team All-SEC last year. He spent his previous four seasons at Georgia Tech before transferring to South Carolina.
Mack and Tuipulotu look to be in line to be the starters off the edge, but Mack will most likely see a reduced role where he could be only rushing the quarterback on third down, as his snap count dropped to a career-low 61% of the defensive snaps for the Chargers he was on the field. That would open the door for Kennard to jump in and take some of those snaps.
Bud Dupree will be the other edge rusher looking to find his way on the field alongside Kennard. Los Angeles will most likely have a wide range of rotation going between the four guys.
Kennard proved his abilities to rush the quarterback in the toughest conference in college football. If he can bring that same level and mentality to Los Angeles, he could be a sneaky pick for Defensive Rookie of the Year.