3 starting free-agent right tackles that the Chargers can still afford

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Dennis Kelly
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3. Dennis Kelly

Dennis Kelly is similar to Cornelius Lucas as he is a swing tackle that is getting overlooked this offseason. He is not an elite option, but he can provide value to whatever team signs him. His value is probably slightly less than Lucas and that is indicated by PFF's projections, as he is projected to only get a one-year, $1.5 million deal.

If the Chargers are really needing to crunch the numbers and plan on drafting a mid-round tackle to develop this year then a one-year, cheap stopgap option like Kelly makes a lot of sense. The Bolts did it with Oday Aboushi and it was working wonders until he tore his ACL.

Kelly has had similar success as Lucas as a swing tackle. His 2021 numbers look great as he had a 98.6% efficiency rate but he did not play much as he only played 185 pass-blocking snaps at right tackle.

However, in 2020 Kelly played 558 pass-blocking snaps for the Tennessee Titans and still had some promising results. He allowed 26 pressures for a 97.5% efficiency rate, putting him 24th among tackles with at least 300 pass-blocking snaps and 18th among tackles with at least 500 pass-blocking snaps.

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He too can play both tackle positions if needed but he is much better at right tackle than he is at left tackle. If Kelly gave the Chargers the same production that he gave the Titans in 2020 at the right tackle position then the team would likely be extremely happy, especially at the cost.