Two X-factor players to watch for the Chargers in 2023

Aside from replacing offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi with former Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, the Chargers didn't make a whole lot of changes to their team this offseason. Most of the differences from 2022 to 2023 come further down the depth chart.

These changes open the door for impactful years from a couple of players. Here's one from each side of the ball.

Offense: RB Isaiah Spiller

Having two effective running backs is an advantage not many teams possess. Moore's 2022 Cowboys offense, with Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott, was one of them. The Chargers hope to have a similar setup in 2023 but await a second running back worthy of premium touches to emerge.

L.A.'s fourth-round pick in the 2022 draft, running back Isaiah Spiller out of Texas A&M, is the most likely candidate.

Spiller did little to impress from a production standpoint in 2022. His "big" game came in Week 9 against the Falcons, in which he rushed nine times for 29 yards.

Spiller benefits from being the path of least resistance for the Chargers to replace Austin Ekeler when Ekeler leaves in free agency after this season. Of non-UDFA running backs on the roster, Spiller has the most years left on his rookie deal.

Incumbent No. 2 back Joshua Kelley is in the final year of his rookie contract and has never popped in a manner worthy of a significant increase in touches.

Chargers running backs coach Derrick Foster spoke about Spiller to Chargers.com in June:

"...He's a competitor, he wants to compete, he really wants to be better. Just because he's standing over there quiet doesn't mean he's this non-competitive type of person. No, he hates when he messes up, he wants to correct those mistakes, he wants to get better. I can just see him continue to grow at this level."

Defense: LB Eric Kendricks

To say the Chargers' run defense was a problem in 2022 would be a polite way of putting it.

Their 145.8 rushing yards allowed per game was the fifth-worst in the NFL. Their 5.4 yards per attempt allowed on the ground was the worst in the NFL. Second-year linebacker Kenneth Murray was Pro Football Focus' lowest-graded off-ball linebacker by run defense.

One player doesn't completely fix an entire facet of one side of the football, but signing linebacker Eric Kendricks away from the Vikings is a great first step. Kendricks was PFF's 22nd-highest graded off-ball linebacker by run defense with a 79.5 mark. Kendricks is a major upgrade to L.A.'s run defense as well as a positive veteran influence on Murray's development.

On Wednesday, Chargers linebackers coach Jeff Howard spoke about Kendricks to Chargers.com:

"Eric Kendricks to me really embodies the energy and focus. What strikes me about Eric is he is a football player, he's not a celebrity first, he's a football player. He's a great teammate and he plays the game the way that I think you should."