No matter what, the outlook for the Los Angeles Chargers' protection was never going to be great when Joe Alt, Rashawn Slater, and the top three left guards all went down with injury—even if the unit, when fully healthy, had shown any sign of consistency.
The results were about what was expected with four rookies in the fold. But as the offense gets back to full health with the returns of Joe Alt and Kayode Awosika, there's one silver lining to take away from that especially dark period. Travis Burke, despite his struggles in pass protection, looks like a real option at tackle moving forward, even if it's almost certainly in a backup capacity for the foreseeable future..
He's faced off against some formidable pass rushes across his three weeks as a starter (and one as an injury replacement with a starter's workload, so it's hard to blame him for his inconsistencies there.
But with Rashawn Slater remaining out until at least next week, and perhaps longer, with a high-ankle sprain, Burke needs to put together one fully complete performance in order to prove himself in his rookie campaign. That could come in Week 9 against the Houston Texans, but it will also likely be Burke's most daunting matchup of the season.
Travis Burke's start against the Houston Texans is a pivotal opportunity for the rookie
Again, Burke has been solid through his three starts—two of which came at left tackle and one on the right side of the line. He's been especially viable in the run game, using his size and long stride to work his way out into the second level and seal his assignments. He's posted a run-blocking grade of 78.9 to this point in the season according to Pro Football Focus's system, which is good for the eighth-best mark in the NFL.
He's struggled to recover and keep faster pass rushers in front of him in the passing game, though, and that tracks largely with what his scouting report indicated coming out of the Draft. Despite his impressive size and agility, Burke's first step and lateral technique were always going to need work.
Across 158 pass-blocking snaps this season, Burke has allowed 13 pressures and one sack. He's allowed three pressures in each of the game's he started for Los Angeles.
Now, those certainly weren't easy matchups. The Denver Broncos still have one of the league's most imposing pass rushes, and neither Nik Bonitto nor Jonah Elliss were particularly favorable opponents for Burke in his first career start. The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams, while not possessing the same level of talent (especially considering Myles Garrett's injury), both have schematically adept defensive coordinators that know how to take advantage of inexperienced tackles.
But Houston is a particularly concerning matchup for Burke, and if he's able to prove himself in that context, it will be a majorly encouraging sign of his continued development.
The Texans defense hasn't been close to the elite status we saw them gain last season, but that's largely been a result of inconsistencies in the secondary—not the pass rush. Houston is just 18th in the NFL in pressure rate, but its 21 total sacks put it ninth in the NFL in that category. Both of those numbers track in Demeco Ryans' low-blitz scheme, which relies more on the power and speed of its edge rushers than it does simulated pressures and extra rushers.
For the most part, Burke will be left with one-on-one responsibilities against either Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson, both of whom are quick and powerful enough to truly make Burke work and prevent them from getting to his outside.
If Burke can come away clean—allowing, say, two or less pressures over the course of the matchup—that will be a majorly positive sign. Even if Slater returns next week and re-claims his starting spot, that's the type of performance Los Angeles should be looking for out of the rookie while he remains a central piece of this offensive line.
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