Pivotal Chargers in Week 1

Pivotal Charger #1: Asante Samuel Jr.

CB2 needs to step up BIG TIME while J.C. Jackson is injured. It goes without saying that he’ll be having one hell of a test in Week 1. Between Renfrow and Adams – Asante has his work cut out for him. But, it’s also a chance for him to really prove himself. And, what we saw from him last year when he wasn’t hurt was promising. More than promising. He showed flashes of ballhawk behavior, which is something the Chargers haven’t had since Casey Hayward and Antonio Cromartie. If Asante gets off to a good start, and J.C. Jackson comes back in his All-Pro form – our starting corners could be a PROBLEM for opposing offenses. 

Pivotal Charger #2: Drue Tranquil

Show us what we’ve seen flashes off (intensity, high-level tackling, decent coverage) – with consistency.  Now that our former first-round pick is looking more like a bust, it’s all the more imperative that Drue fills the spot. And the thing is, when he’s been on the field – he’s been pretty solid! Sure, not amazing. But reliable. He makes tackles, he has a high motor and a high IQ. He provides a sense of physicality that we’ll need if we really want to improve the formerly-worst run defense and intimidate opponents. The front seven will be crucial this year, which is all the more reason we need a leader at MLB.

Pivotal Charger #3: Gerald Everett

Be the TE we needed last year. Jared Cook was aging, slow, and unreliable. We don’t necessarily need him to be Travis Kelce or Darren Waller, but we do need someone who can make plays. We were blessed with Antonio Gates for 16 seasons. And, we saw what kind of impact a great TE makes on an offense. I repeat, I’m not going to expect a Gates-like performance, but he’ll need to at least need to get open and make some clutch catches here and there. 

Pivotal Charger #4: Trey Pipkins

Be accountable. Find the balance between effective pass blocking and a low amount of penalties. Sounds pretty simple, right? Ha! Not for the Chargers. That’s where Storm Norton killed us last year (he did… neither). Luckily, he’s not on the blind side, and Herbo has some mobility – but depending on how Zion performs, he might be our only weak spot. Even more luckily – he doesn’t have much competition behind him, but he’ll need to perform regardless if we want to be competitive. And, much like Samuel Jr. – Pipkins also has his work cut out for him against Crosby/Jones. That’s a tough task. Will he be able to show why he deserves the starting spot? Or will we need to dip into the remaining Free Agents?

Pivotal Charger #5: Jalen Guyton

Solidify the WR3 spot. Force Joshua Palmer out of the competition. How can he do this? Add an element of speed and playmaking that Mike Dub and Slay don’t provide. We need Jalen to be our version of a speedy slot receiver who can make plays – whether big, or small. We’ve mostly seen him shine in the past by outrunning the corner down the field and making the big play. However, I believe that this year, we need to see more 5-10 yarders. That’s consistency. And that’s what we need.