3 LA Chargers who must play fewer snaps during the playoff race

1. Jerry Tillery

Jerry Tillery's career with the LA Chargers has been extremely underwhelming. Tillery was selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft and he has not been what Tom Telesco was hoping he would be at all.

Even coming out of college there were question marks around Tillery. Tillery had some really good film on tape but he also had the tendency to disappear at times for Notre Dame. He seemed to be a boom or bust prospect and he has been a bust.

Tillery is absolutely awful against the run. The Chargers have struggled against the run for years now and it starts with no. 99 in the middle. While he is not the only guilty party, having one of the worst run defenders playing on the inside of the defensive line is going to have a massive impact on the entire run defense.

It would at least be salvageable if he was great in generating pressure on the passer but he isn't. He has shown flashes here and there but his overall pressure numbers are underwhelming. He is inconsistent just like in college but he has not provided those big games that he did at Notre Dame.

The dagger for Tillery was the fact that the interior defensive line had its best game of the year in Week 11 against the Steelers. The interior defensive line was great against the run and even had an impact in the passing game as well.

This is the same group that succeeded in the preseason and were cut in favor of other players before the season. Linval Joseph was just put on the covid-19 list (which is where Tillery was in Week 11) so he is going to get snaps if he plays in Week 12.

However, once Joseph comes back, there just is not much room for Tillery with Joseph, Justin Jones and a rotation of guys that are all better than Tillery.