The 5 most important players for the Chargers' success in 2022

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Derek Carr, Joey Bosa
Los Angeles Chargers v Las Vegas Raiders / Chris Unger/GettyImages

5. Joey Bosa

I love the Guilty as Charged guys. We have collaborated several times and had our fair share of debates on social media about the Chargers. The one thing I cannot wrap my head around about their lists is the fact that two of the three didn't include Joey Bosa at all in their top-10 lists. I know it is easy to fawn over the new players, but c'mon fellas!

Yes, Khalil Mack is going to be very important to the LA Chargers and there are several other players who are very close to snagging this fifth spot. You could make a case for Corey Linsley, Sebastian Joseph-Day and Mack. At the end of the day, Bosa is still more important.

I know that this list looks woefully close to simply being a "five most talented" players list but the fact of the matter is that the more talented players are typically more important. Yes, there are the role players like Joseph-Day, Asante Samuel Jr. and even Gerald Everett who could make this list if we expanded it. When it comes to the top five, though, it is hard to argue against these five.

Joey Bosa makes an undeniable difference on the defensive line and there is a case to be made that we have not even seen the best version of him yet. Bosa has been elite thus far but he is still only going to be 27 next season and has legitimate Defensive Player of the Year potential.

Most Super Bowl-winning teams have two foundational things in common: they have a great quarterback and they have the ability to generate pressure on the opposing quarterback without blitzing.

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As great as it is that the Chargers will be better at stopping the run, their true ceiling lies in how well they can get to the quarterback. How well they can get to the quarterback starts with how well Joey Bosa plays.