Offense 

My favorite thing about this team and even more so the regime running this team is they know exactly how they want to build it and they’ve executed their plan and culture building to a tee. 

• Offensively bringing guys like Omarion Hampton and Tre Harris through the draft, Mekhi Becton, Najee Harris, Mike Williams, and Tyler Conklin through free agency is not only exactly what they needed from a play perspective but off the field and personality wise is just perfect. They want to come out of that tunnel and punch you in the mouth every single week for every single snap and while these additions (other than Omarion) might not be these superstars they contribute to that goal 110%. 
• Defensively you look at that same philosophy of wanting to be the stronger, more physical, and have that “punch you in the mouth”mentality they also want to be versatile really along the entire defensive but especially up front. Bringing in Jamaree Caldwell and Kyle Kennard in through the draft and signing/resigning guys like Khalil Mack, Teair Tart, Da’Shawn Hand, Naquan Jones, and Denzel Perryman all contribute to building the culture and attitude they want on this team. Again not all of these signings are even starting level players let alone guys that will have huge impact on the team week in week out but it keeps the “ball rolling” so to speak. Bringing in guys with an edge to them that aren’t going to let a bad couple plays, series, or even weeks change how they play moving forward. It sounds cliche but having a roster full of these guys keeps you from having these disastrous stretches that end your season. 

While I look at and study this offense there’s just not a true weakness like there was last year. They lacked explosiveness in the run game (especially when Dobbins wasn’t out there) and lacked consistency on top of explosiveness in the passing game. They had to count on these grind you out games with tough hard nosed defense and an offense that took advantage of short fields or opportunities with plays that chipped away at you 2-8 yards at a time. And while that’s great to have as a basis you need guys like Mike Williams, Tre Harris, and Omarion Hampton that not only improve that base I referenced a second ago but give you an explosiveness and pop so you don’t have to count on Justin Herbert or Ladd McConkey being perfect all of the time.

This offensive line is absolutely AWESOME. Slater and Alt is one of if not the best T duos in the league and you pair that with Bradley Bozeman (6’5 325), Zion Johnson (6’3 316), and now Mekhi Becton (6’7 363) you have a ridiculously strong, road grading, and just overall physically intimidating IOL that nearly all opposing defenses will struggle to match up against. Now they’re not perfect and there’s certainly OLs across the league that grade out on film better as individual player for player goes but again.. the attitude and physicality they’ll bring to every game can’t be ignored, especially considering how Harbaugh wants his team to play.

Defense 

This Secondary is very interesting to me. They had quite a few guys that burst onto the scene last year that weren’t high picks or players you necessarily thought would have the impact they did such as Tarheeb Still (24’ 5th Round 137), Cam Hart (24’ 5th Round 140), and Ja’Sir Taylor (22’ 6th Round 214) who all, Still and Hart especially, had really solid year. They also have brought in Donte Jackson (former CAR + PIT CB) and Benjamin St-Juste (former WAS CB) who both have had some really solid years throughout their careers so far. You add in Alohi Gilman, Elijah Molden, and of course Derwin James Jr in the conversation and you have a really versatile and unique secondary that punches above their weight and plays once again.. with a real edge to them.

In the middle of the field you have two really interesting players in Junior Colson and Daiyan Henley. Henley was one of my favorite players in the draft the year he came out. He flies around the field, can go sideline to sideline, and has some really instinctive coverage skills.. the only problem being he can struggle to get off blocks at times especially throughout his young NFL career so far. I think has he plays more and more and get more comfortable seeing + reading the field he can become what Deion Jones was for those late 2010s Falcons teams. You pair him with a really talented player in Junior Colson who is bigger and more physical as a player and I think you’ll have a real complimentary middle of the field pairing there. It just comes down to getting these guys reps and letting them develop at one of the hardest positions to play in the NFL in ILB. The good news is they should get these reps considering it’s only Troy Dye (mainly a ST player) and 32 year old Denzel Perryman who has only played 15 games once in his career back in 21’.

Overview 

• This Chargers team and organization finally feels like they have an identity. They’ve had a number of good and truly talented teams throughout the Philip Rivers era and even with Justin Herbert so far but they never felt like they had an identity, a culture, something that set them apart other than some talented players. With Harbaugh leading this team I don’t see this team ever being far off what they were last year. Now 11 wins a lot so I’m going to sit here and say they’ll never drop below that.. of course not. They’re in a tough division and on top of that a tough conference as a whole at this point in time so it may not be 11 or more wins year in year out but outside of some truly awful injury luck I don’t foresee them being out of the playoff race any time soon. Last year was the “building blocks”year where they got the culture and roster where they needed it to be so they could succeed moving forward. Even if it’s not 11 wins next season they’ll be a more complete team and a tougher out once you get into the playoffs considering all of their new additions. They’re on the rise and a team you don’t want to meet on Sunday. Great coaching, talent all across the roster, and a truly special culture being set right in front of our eyes.