Chargers schedule: 3 games where week number matters the most
By Jason Reed
3. Derrick Henry
The LA Chargers will host the Tennessee Titans at some point in the 2022 season and quite frankly, I do not expect the Titans to be a very good football team. Ryan Tannehill showed more of his true colors in the NFL Playoffs last season and his supporting cast just got much worse.
The offensive line is worse and the receiving corps is undoubtedly worse. The Titans did not want to pay A.J. Brown and traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles. While Tennessee did bring in Robert Woods and rookie Treylon Burks, Woods is better as a WR2 and Burks was not among the crop of elite receivers in the draft class.
The monster behind the line of scrimmage still exists though in Derrick Henry. Henry did get hurt last season and with the miles he has put on in recent years, that is typically the sign of a decline for a dominant running back.
That being said, if there is a decline it is more likely to happen later in the season, which is when the Chargers should want to play Tennessee. The best-case scenario for the Bolts is to play the Titans in the Week 14-17 range when Henry is not as good and there is already talk of Malik Willis taking over at quarterback.
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This also gives the team much more time to figure out the new-look run defense. While the run defense should be much better than it was last season, it would be less than ideal if it's first test is against Derrick Henry. It would be much better to get some reps in before having to deal with that matchup.