Ranking the 5 biggest upgrades the LA Chargers made this offseason
By Jason Reed
2. Rebuilding the interior defensive line
The root of most of the problems for the LA Chargers last season started with the interior defensive line. There just was not enough talent on the defensive line for the defense to be able to do what Brandon Staley wanted it to do. Teams were able to tear apart the Chargers' run defense, prompting short third-down chances and creating one of the worst third-down defenses in the league.
Mix in a few untimely injuries in the secondary with a lack of depth in that area and the Chargers' defense was one of the worst in the league. Brandon Staley, who came into his job with the Chargers as one of the best defensive minds in football, went to work this offseason to build a defense that better resembles what he wants to do.
A big part of that was rebuilding the defensive line and adding depth to the position. Sebastian Joseph-Day and Austin Johnson were both elite against the run last season and replaced Linval Joseph and Justin Jones. Otito Ogbonnia is a run-stuffer that adds depth that was drafted out of UCLA. Morgan Fox is a pass-rush specialist who may not be great against the run but adds depth alongside Jerry Tillery.
Speaking of Tillery, he does not seem to be too bothered by the Chargers making all of these improvements as he did not even show up to day one of voluntary OTAs. There is a world in which Tillery does not earn a role in this rotation, that is how much deeper it is.
If this rebuilt group is as much of an improvement as we think it is then the ceiling of the Chargers' defense is so much higher in 2022, especially considering the biggest upgrade the team made this offseason.