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

3. Kenneth Murray (especially at linebacker)

Kenneth Murray has struggled this season but it is way too early to give up on the 2020 first-round pick. Things have not really been going Murray's way and while he should play less down the stretch, it does not mean he is destined to be a bad football player.

Murray hurt his ankle in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys and played poorly after that. He returned to action in Week 10 against the Minnesota Vikings and was thrust back into the middle of the field as Drue Tranquill was on the covid-19 list.

Tranquill returned in Week 11 and we saw Murray's snap count take a huge tumble and that is something that should continue for the rest of the season until they carve out a role for the former Oklahoma Sooner.

Murray played just 15 snaps against the Steelers and most of them were on the edge, which is where Murray offers the most value at this time. Murray succeeds when he can pin his ears back and use his athleticism to make a play happen.

However, when he is asked to make a decision in the middle as a linebacker he struggles. He often overcommits one way or the other and that hurts when his zone coverage is already not that great to begin with.

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Murray still has value to this defense and that value is by maximizing him in situations that he can succeed and limiting the situations in which he struggles. As a young player in a playoff hunt, he would benefit much more from playing less but playing well, especially when Tranquill and Kyzir White are both playing so well.