The linebacker position has not been one of the strong suits of the Los Angeles Chargers for a while. Just to give you an idea, the last Pro Bowler linebacker they had was Shaun Phillips back in 2010. In that time period, there’s been at least one Pro Bowler from all the other main defensive positions (save for defensive tackle). This has been due in part to injuries – some of the linebackers they’ve picked up have had trouble staying healthy. In the 2018 postseason, we even saw defensive backs get put in the linebacker spot. Ironically, some of them did better than the actual linebackers. However, the 2020 Los Angeles Chargers may finally mark a turning point for the linebacker squad – or at worst, the beginning of that turning point.
Looking at the 2020 Los Angeles Chargers Linebackers Squad
Middle Linebackers
This in particular is where the Chargers have things pretty well ironed out. They’ve got a couple returning players in Denzel Perryman and Drue Tranquill, the latter being in his second year. Tranquill had the best year of any Chargers rookie last year. He be able to deliver some more in his sophomore campaign. Then there’s the first-round pick Kenneth Murray. The Chargers clearly have a lot of confidence in him, seeing what they gave up to get him.
Perryman’s been one of the bigger anchors on this defense for a while – when he’s been healthy, which has been a major problem. But with a couple of other young promising inside linebackers, the outlook won’t be as grim for that group whenever Perryman goes down. However, Perryman did only miss two games in 2019, which is a marked improvement.
Outside Linebackers
There’s less depth on this side of the linebacker position, but there are still a couple of promising players. The main one is Uchenna Nwosu, who may be best remembered for forcing the game-winning fumble in the Wildcard playoff win over the Baltimore Ravens. While he didn’t have another play as huge as that in 2019, he still finished with 31 tackles (five for a loss), two sacks, and a forced fumble. He’s probably the best outside linebacker on this team right now.
The other interesting player here is Nick Vigil, an off-season free agent signing from the Cincinnati Bengals. He had a nice 2019 season with 111 combined tackles, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries, and an interception. He’ll be another solid addition to the group.
There are some other folks further down on the depth chart with Malik Jefferson, Kyzir White, and Emeke Egbule. Based on prior history, White is the only one of those that should be expected to make any sort of noticeable contribution. Even then, White is still further down on the depth chart.
The Rotation
Something to keep in mind is that under Gus Bradley, the Chargers run a 4-3 defense. However, they do a fair amount of rotating with their linebackers. For example, that’s how Drue Tranquill, who only had three starts in 15 games last year, ended up with 75 tackles. Same for the now-former Charger Jatavis Brown, who wasn’t always one of the main starters but still racked up a lot of tackles.
It’s safe to assume that Murray will be one of the main starters at linebacker going forward. However, Perryman will still likely get rotated in a fair amount. Nwosu and Vigil should be the primary players on the outside. Tranquill should get rotated in at times as well. That’s part of the thing with this linebacker group; main starters aside, when where they play on the field isn’t necessarily cut and dry. All of these players will have their chances to shine, even with only three linebackers on the field at a time as opposed to four.
Last Word on the 2020 Los Angeles Chargers Linebackers
While it remains to be seen just how good they’ll be, the bottom line is that the Chargers linebacker group looks to be very much on the road to improvement. They’ve finally got some proper depth at the position and some young promising talent. It’s possible that the change may not be as noticeable this season as the next one. But it should be there regardless (unless Murray turns out to be a total bust). The linebacker corps of the Chargers are on the right trajectory.
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