With the start of the 2025 NFL regular season right around the corner, ESPN recently ranked every starting lineup (or potential starting lineup, that is) for the upcoming campaign, with the Los Angeles Chargers coming in at a respectable 16th.
With each assessment, the trio of Mike Clay, Aaron Schatz, and Seth Walder offered up their opinions on each team's biggest strength, weakness, X-factor, and non-starter.
For the Bolts, they went with offensive tackle as the team's biggest strength, which is accurate with the dynamic duo of Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt manning the outside of the offensive line.
The cornerback trio of Cam Hart, Tarheeb Still, and Donte Jackson was listed as LA's biggest X-factor, while backup center Andre James was named the non-starter to know, as he could very well be thrust into action, given the Chargers' issues on the interior offensive line.
As for the Chargers' biggest weakness, Clay went with a fairly obvious choice.
"Interior defensive line," Clay wrote. "Da'Shawn Hand should be a helpful add, but this position remains an area of concern. Otito Ogbonnia (graded 86th at PFF among 89 DTs who played 400-plus snaps last season) remains positioned for a big role along with Teair Tart (the only one in this group with more than one sack last season), third-rounder Jamaree Caldwell, Naquan Jones, and Scott Matlock."
There is talent on that list, of course, but it's a lot of unproven talent. And one can't help but think that things didn't have to be this way, as the Chargers seemingly had the salary cap space to bring back Poona Ford, who was one of the best defensive tackles in football a season ago.
Poona Ford was a big loss for the Chargers this offseason
While Ford spent just one season with the Chargers, the former Texas Longhorn certainly made it count, with his 85.3 overall PFF grade ranking fifth among all interior defensive linemen, trailing only Chris Jones (90.2), Cameron Heyward (90.1), Dexter Lawrence (89.9), and Leonard Williams (87.1).
Starting all 17 games for Los Angeles in 2024, as well as the team's postseason loss to the Houston Texans, Ford amassed 42 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, nine QB hits, 3.0 sacks, five passes defended, and an interception.
It's hard to know exactly how aggressive the Chargers' front office was in its attempt to re-sign him, but it obviously wasn't enough, as Ford ultimately signed a three-year, 27.6 million contract with the Los Angeles Rams, getting $15.6 million in guaranteed money.
It's clear the Bolts weren't interested in spending a ton of cash during the offseason, but that's a reasonable contract for what Ford brought to the defense last year. And again, it's one they could afford.
Ford, of course, wasn't the only player to leave, as veteran Morgan Fox left as well, signing a two-year, $5.5 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons. Fox's departure isn't quite as notable, but he put up some solid numbers for the Chargers over the last three years, recording 80 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 27 QB hits, and 15.5 sacks.
Tart will seemingly be the Week 1 starter at nose tackle, but he's clearly a placeholder until Jim Harbaugh and Jesse Minter feel third-round pick Jamaree Caldwell is ready to take the reins.
We'll just have to wait and see how things progress as training camp rolls along.