3 LA Chargers who could lose their starting job this offseason
By Jason Reed
3. Drue Tranquill
This might be a surprising inclusion considering Drue Tranquill has a lot of fans among the fanbase. While Tranquill is a solid player, he has gotten a bit overrated by Charger fans. Tranquill was tabbed as the breakout player to watch in 2020, then got hurt in Week 1. His return in 2021 was highly anticipated and he played 14 games. Tranquill was fine, but there are holes in his game that don't get brought up.
Perhaps it is because of how bad Kenneth Murray was in his first year with Brandon Staley? Perhaps he was receiving some residual love from Kyzir White having such a good season? Regardless, the best version of the Chargers' defense is one that has Tranquill in more of a rotational role than a starting role.
Tranquill played less than 50% of the defensive snaps in 2021 despite essentially being the starting inside linebacker with White. Granted, he missed three games, but he was already being rotated out by the Chargers and that will continue next season.
This is obviously under the impression that White will return. If White does not return then Tranquill is going to have to start out of necessity. However, with White returning, it really does feel like the Chargers will bring in someone else for cheap, either via free agency or the draft, to play some snaps at the linebacker position.
Tranquill will still play a role in the defense but he is best used in passing situations. It does not get talked about much but he was part of the problem with the team's inability to stop the run.
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There is even the slim chance that Tranquill could be beaten out for the job by other players on the Chargers. Nick Niemann was really good on special teams and that could be a telling sign. There is also the potential of it all clicking for Kenneth Murray suddenly. I don't expect that to happen, but the best version of the Chargers sees Murray finally realizing his potential next to Kyzir White.