Each season, there are always some NFL players who end up surprising and playing above expectations – or alternatively, finally living up to the expectations they originally had. This doesn’t refer to rookies, but incumbents who have been around two or three years but have yet to really make their mark. The Los Angeles Chargers have a handful of players in this position, and some of them stand to impact the team more than others with their success or failure. Let’s take a look at the Los Angeles Chargers that are most in need of a breakout season or otherwise taking a big step forward in 2023.
Los Angeles Chargers Players in Most Need of Improvement/Breaking Out in 2023
Alohi Gilman
With the retirement of Nasir Adderley (who was probably not going to be re-signed anyway), Alohi Gilman has become the lock-in starter at free safety opposite Derwin James. He looked promising late last year when filling in for injured players, but the question does remain if he can handle being a full-time starter.
The Chargers seem to think so. For a while, it was heavily rumored that the team would go after free agent safety John Johnson, who played under Brandon Staley before. However, that never formulated, and while it could still happen, it becomes less and less likely with each passing week. It may signal that Staley and the coaching staff have the confidence in Gilman to be the guy they need at free safety. Time will tell if they are right. Out of all the Chargers players in need of a breakout year, this one stands to impact the team the most, because as things currently stand, there is not a suitable backup on hand. It’s also a contract year for Gilman, so he has plenty of personal motivation regardless.
Isaiah Spiller
It’s not all that common for a second-year player to fall into this category. But when you get drafted with the expectation of being RB2 and you end up being a healthy scratch most of the year instead… well, he needs to turn things around quickly. Complicating matters is the fact that Austin Ekeler will likely be gone after this season due to the contract dispute, and the Chargers need to start thinking about a potential replacement.
This was covered at greater length elsewhere, but Spiller definitely needs to have a much better season this year. It may not necessarily make or break the Chargers running game this year if he doesn’t, but if he does not show promise now, he may not get as good of an opportunity again.
Kenneth Murray
This is a bit of a different case because Murray did get his career off to a strong start in his rookie season. The problem is, he has regressed since then (though injuries in his second year didn’t help) and become rather inconsistent, not living up to his first-round billing. It’s telling that in his contract year, the Chargers drafted a new inside linebacker in the third round (Daiyan Henley) – who could very well end up replacing Murray if he does not have a “breakout season,” in the sense of proving that he should remain a starter.
Tre McKitty
This one affects the success of the Chargers the least because they are already pretty set at tight end for 2023 with Gerald Everett and Donald Parham. As such, the extent to which this player can “break out” will likely be limited, barring injuries. But the Chargers do need to start seeing something from Tre McKitty soon. He was a third-round selection but has only 16 catches through two seasons and no touchdowns, and hasn’t proved to be good enough of a blocking tight end to stay consistently on the field for that reason either. If we don’t see a step forward from him this year, he may find himself at risk of getting cut before his contract is up. Even if it’s just as an extra red-zone threat, that would be something that could justify keeping him around if McKitty can prove himself.
Main Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
