As bad as the Los Angeles Chargers' showing was in Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals, there's at least one silver lining to be pulled from that matchup—the fault can't be laid entirely upon the offensive line.
Both Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater looked stellar in their returns from injury, and Jake Slaughter largely held his own at center in pass protection. Apart from the horrendous rep that Trey Pipkins had on fourth down in the first half, so did the Chargers' left guard tandem. The line as a whole struggled to make space for the run, especially as the game went on, but there were definite signs of improvement over what the team had last year.
Simple improvement isn't enough, though. Last year's offensive line was perhaps the worst in the entire NFL by season's end. If Mike McDaniel's offense is going to start firing on all cylinders, the Chargers' protection is going to need to work its way into the league's top 10-15 units.
Slaughter will get more comfortable against the run as the season goes on, and we can excuse the Pipkins/Awosika confusion for now as a result of the Tyler Biadasz injury that forced Slaughter out of that competition. But when it comes to right guard Cole Strange, who went through training camp and the preseason unchallenged as a starter, Los Angeles simply needs more.
His performance in Week 1 won't cut it, and a large part of the gamble McDaniel has taken on this offensive line rests on Strange's ability to at least remain a replacement-level guard over the course of the season.
Cole Strange still needs to justify his Chargers opportunity entering Week 2
We can go back and forth about the merits of Los Angeles' strategy for replenishing the interior O-line this offseason. But the fact of the matter is that Strange wouldn't be on this team if McDaniel didn't believe in the guard's ability to excel consistently in his blocking scheme.
Strange had some up-and-down moments last season, but he put together a string of strong performances, especially against the run, late in the campaign that left room to feel hopeful about his ability to justify his two-year, $13 million contract with Los Angeles.
Then the preseason film came in, and we didn't truly see a single glimpse of that level of performance out of Strange. Those woes continued in Week 1, as Strange allowed five pressures and posted just a 55.7 grade in the run game according to Pro Football Focus's system. For reference, Mekhi Becton allowed five or more pressures just three times over the course of last season.
If the Chargers had held competitions at both O-line spots (or they had another true option to take on right guard duties at this moment), it would be a different story. At the very least, we'd have confidence in Strange's ability to fend off whatever depth Los Angeles had at the position. But not only did McDaniel have the confidence to take a swing on Strange this offseason, the Chargers brought him unchallenged as their starting right guard from Day 1.
Strange didn't live up to that mantle against Arizona.
The offensive line's issues aren't entirely crystallized upon Strange. Especially against the run, there's things that need to be cleaned up among all five linemen.
But the Chargers' protection simply can't reach its ceiling if Strange is performing like this. He'll need a major bounceback in Week 2 against the Raiders if he wants to ease these concerns, and the spotlight should be on him until he's able to accomplish that.
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