There are high expectations surrounding the LA Chargers as the team heads in the 2022 season. Tom Telesco and the front office just had the biggest offseason in franchise history and fans are hoping that the results follow on the field in 2022.
The biggest emphasis for the Chargers this offseason was the defensive side of the ball as the defense held the team back last season. The result is a new-look defense with new star players as well as depth in areas that were thin last season.
Los Angeles already has one of the best offenses in the league and if the defense can blossom as well the team is going to be in great shape to make a deep Super Bowl run. But what should fans expect from this defense in 2022?
Here are 3 bold predictions for the LA Chargers defense in 2022:
1. Kenneth Murray turns it around and shows value as an NFL linebacker
A lot of fans are selling their Kenneth Murray stock after last season and I do not blame them. Murray was really bad last year and it is seeming more and more like a mistake that the Chargers traded back into the first round in 2020 to draft him.
That being said, Murray had to deal with a new defense in just his second year in the league and was likely hindered by a unique rookie season with bad coaching and weird parameters around the pandemic. Add in the fact that Murray hurt his ankle in Week 2 and it never seemed to fully recover and there are reasons for his poor play.
With a healed ankle and an entire offseason to study the defense and become more comfortable with his role in the defense, Murray should be able to turn it around and blossom as a player. He is not going to be a Pro Bowl linebacker but he has the athleticism and the raw talent to at least be a serviceable starting NFL linebacker.
Murray is far too young to completely abandon faith in him. Like Nasir Adderley last year, I am hopeful that he will turn it around in year three.