The Los Angeles Chargers offensive line starting lineup will have the same personnel as expected, but a couple of players are going to be playing in different spots than expected. After Matt Feiler was released (as expected), it was expected that Jamaree Salyer would be filling the gap at left guard, given how well he played at left tackle in Rashawn Slater’s absence and that he’s versatile enough to play well in either spot. However, this will not be the case: Zion Johnson, who started at right guard in 2022 but played left guard in college, will be moving back to his old spot and Salyer will be shifting to right guard instead.
Los Angeles Chargers Offensive Line Will Have Some Position Switches in 2023
What This Means for Johnson and Salyer
As mentioned earlier, Johnson played left guard in college, so this will be a comfortable switch for him. It’s probably fair to say that the main reason Johnson even played right guard in his rookie year was because Matt Feiler was already taking up the left guard spot, and the right guard spot was vacant at the time. Plus, they knew he was versatile and capable of playing at either spot when they drafted him, so this may have been in their plans all along.
Salyer is capable of playing almost anywhere on the line; he played left tackle, right tackle and left guard at different points during his college career. The Chargers originally drafted him to play guard – where he was expected to be backup behind Feiler and Johnson – but after Rashawn Slater went down in Week 3, Salyer was plugged into left tackle instead for the rest of the season. It doesn’t seem like him filling in that kind of spot was in their plans, but it worked quite well – well enough that it basically guaranteed that Feiler would get cut and Salyer would take his place on the permanent starting lineup. Now he’ll get to play where the Chargers wanted him in the first place.
The Chargers Offensive Line and Versatility
There is a common factor in the offensive linemen the Chargers try to get: versatility. They like guys that can play in more than one place on the line. Zion Johnson and Jamaree Salyer are both capable of playing tackle and guard spots and doing well at either spot. Rashawn Slater can play at multiple spots as well – he played guard in high school – though he seems to do better at left or right tackle. Even their free agency pickup Matt Feiler had some versatility – he played at left guard and right tackle at different points with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Chargers never moved him outside of left guard, but they could have if they wanted to.
Trey Pipkins is essentially the only odd man out on the starting lineup (not including the center position) that may not be able to move up and down the line so easily. Even some of the backups – Brenden Jaimes and Foster Sarell – can move around a bit on the line. It’s quite clear that the Chargers value versatility from their linemen – in the event of injuries, they want to be able to optimize the line as much as they can. Salyer filling in for Slater last year was the best example of this so far – it essentially saved Justin Herbert’s blindside protection from being nonexistent, given that they did not have an adequate backup at left tackle.
In Conclusion
Moving Zion Johnson and Jamaree Salyer around would seem to be an attempt to optimize the line with the personnel they have. If everybody can stay healthy, this ought to be one of the better lines in the league. Both Johnson and Salyer are only entering their second years, so their best football is presumably still ahead of them. And when Pipkins is your “worst” starter, that’s not too shabby. Having guys you can easily shuffle around as needed is quite nice as well, and has already paid off for the Chargers – and will likely continue to do so.
Main Photo: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
