It's getting interesting... | Chargers Deep Dive

What is going on it's Alex coming back at you with another video and today it is going to be the 2024 Chargers deep dive. This is going to be a three-part series which all going to be in one video but it's going to be a roster breakdown. Before that it's going to be a draft breakdown and it's also going to be a records prediction. So let's hop right into this. This is post Justin Herbert injury. I already recorded this beforehand and you know I wanted to be able to just redo it. Also we're going to be finishing off the entire NFL before the season starts so let's get right into this. Let's have a good time. Let's get it on. Starting off with the draft class and you know the draft class honestly was a really really solid one. You started out with Joe Alt in the beginning. I wasn't, I was not against it but I was not overly excited for it given the fact that Joe Alt is a pure left tackle. I don't really see 100% ease as transferring left to right tackle for every tackle. For him there was I think one specific drill with Jeff Stoutland and it was basically testing that versatility left to right and he did seem to be a bit uncomfortable and you know to me that kind of signaled hey maybe not the best transition but at five I'm not going to blame the team for going offensive line. It was far from a bad pick that was just you know more the devil's advocate side of being hey this is why it might fail. It might just be PTSD from Evan Neal but I digress. Joe Alt's a fantastic player the only thing he just didn't really have was power but you know if you win you win and you know you don't have to be overwhelmingly powerful because if you are just primarily a power blocker you're going to be Trevor Penning. Like if you don't really have much else to your game that's a very exciting except for power it's kind of what you end up with and I'd much rather have the exact opposite of that which you know Joe Alt has pretty much everything except primarily for heavy power so I'm pretty happy with Joe Alt. Led McConkie was a steal there in the second. I know there were some injury concerns. He did have some time where he was banged up there at Georgia. I'm pretty sure that in the most recent episodes of the New York Giants offseason hard knocks he was labeled as one of the guys who was in red for potential health concerns but the talent undoubtedly was worth it at 34. Junior Coulson pick number 69. Nice and it's a very nice pick because he goes right into the same defensive system that he was just very successful in and you guys need a linebacker. Great pick there. Justin Obuebe at 105 was probably the guy who I did not like the most out of the picks like Tariq Steele and him. Those two picks basically based on who was available at the time would just rub me the wrong way. Justin was consistently ineffective versus even mediocre offensive lineman in my opinion. I hope there's a bigger vision for him. He's not very largely sized. He was sub 300 pounds. He's listed as a defensive tackle right now as well which does concern me because he was undersized. There were other defensive interiors available and to me I just wasn't over the moon with his game. So at 105 when there were so many other really really solid talents that were slipping I did have my concerns. Tariq Steele I just thought that there's a lot better corner talent and luckily a couple spots later they grabbed one of the targets that I thought they needed to and Cam Hart which was a great pickup physical big corner and he's a little bit more role specific than maybe I would like to admit because I wanted Cam Hart to be my guy but you know at 140 the value was fantastic. Kamani Badal I heard that he's been dealing with some stuff in camp in terms of injury but you know for me I'm perfectly happy with allowing him to grow and develop because his running back core we'll be discussing in a second really really bad and he actually can be one of those guys who pops out of nowhere and ends up kicking some butt. Now you got Brandon Rice at 225 and no one knew why he fell that far so TBD as to why I don't know if you guys did find out like again I'm a fan of 32 teams y'all are a fan of one feel free to mention it down in the comment section below. I always say you can be a dick just don't be a dick about it because I'd rather get my information wrong once than every single time. Then Cornelius Johnson at 253 perfect system fit obviously going back with his coach there from Michigan. Overall I don't give out A's very lightly you guys did a fantastic job a lot of impact players at impact positions and you know two picks that I just didn't like that's pretty damn solid hit rate because y'all know I'm a little bit picky but continuing on to the depth chart analysis this is based on our lads as of today which is August 5th so you know this is updated and I use our lads as a nice little baseline just so I kind of use the same lens for every single team and you know allows us to focus on the analysis rather than just saying oh I'm projecting this guy to start because there's a certain amount of information you can pull out of your ass and I'm not really in the mood to stretch that too much when we end up having to do something like that as you guys saw when I ended up predicting cuts for guys who were on yeah basically pre-off season cuts that was a very entertaining learning experience that we ended up learning from and not going to repeat that again so you guys know how I feel about that but we're going to be going from skill position to line then line to skill position for the defense and starting at the quarterback position Justin Herbert has some issue with his foot fascia the bottom the plantar fascia and you know people say it takes years pretty much to recover from that it's going to be bugging him for a long time but you know I don't know if he's going to be missing any actual game time he's one tough sob man he like Justin Herbert is an absolute rock so I do love him to death I do think that you know he's going to play through the pain but hopefully it does not create a situation where you're having to play multiple games without a qb but maybe earlier on you're going to be more run heavy which looking at the running back crew I'm not very excited I mean Gus Edwards and JK Dobbins if not mistaken literally made diss tracks against one another like are you serious like you guys are both no disrespect to the guys on a personal level but they're both washed compared to what you know they were at their height there in Baltimore you got Jarrett Patterson on the roster as well very interesting to see him coming back and then you got Kamani Vidal of course so you know a good group of guys but when you're talking about the rest of the NFL it is probably the worst group and that's not like a diss towards y'all like the NFL we've had so much running back talents why they're not being taken in the first they have short time spans on their careers and there's also guys that you can pick up later on who can make a big impact i.e Kamani Vidal could be that for you but of course y'all guys stay healthy gotta remember that but continuing on looking at the receiving crew I'm not going to really talk about Mason Ben Mason I don't know enough about fullbacks to really give you proper analysis I would point you over to my guy David Miller for that one he loves his he loves his fullbacks but tight end receiver wise the receiving crew Will Disley starting out at tight end you know I think Will when healthy's entertaining you got Hayden Hurst on that roster as well Donald Parham not to mention but you know it's a group of tight ends again when you look at the rest of the NFL you don't have someone who's a bonafide healthy every down starter that is a difference maker I love Will Disley as a contributor I love Hayden Hurst as a contributor I love Donald Parham as a contributor but these guys are guys who I don't personally want as my tight end one and when you look at the rest of the NFL where a lot of teams do have a certified bonafide legitimate tight end one option that is reliable every single set of downs it is something comparatively worse and when you look at Harbaugh it's you you see how much he relies or at least loves and values his tight ends so it's going to be certainly interesting to see how he ends up using Disley as well as Hayden Hurst because he had Colson Loveland last year who is far superior to any of the talents that they have in their tight end room so TBD on that I just don't really think that I'm the biggest fan of the tight end room Lad McConkie already mentioned him really really solid option new development DJ Chark has pretty much surplaced or supplanted Quinton Johnston on the roster as the starter so again this is based off of our lads they are very very very at risk of being wrong in certain situations so again take it with a grain of salt but I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that DJ Chark who has been you know someone who continues picking up one-year contracts because he is good enough as a contributor and doesn't get paid like a million a year like he does actually fetch at least some cash he's a gonna be someone who's like around I'd always six four and he ran in the four threes like he brings some excitement to the table and Quinton Johnston cannot catch a ball to save his life which is mind-blowing but you know whatever there's a legitimate potential there and he is up for a contract as well as a one-year contract same thing with Josh Palmer he's gonna be there for you know one more year and I like Josh Palmer but you are really looking at a very depleted receiving core in terms of legitimate starting talent you got Brandon Rice that you can hope to accelerate and become a really really really reliable option the same time I mean he fell I don't know why but I had him graded as a potential starting quality receiver could end up being the guy who replaces Josh Palmer when his time is done but you know there's some massive massive weaknesses in the skill position group hence why I'm being very nice when I'm saying B plus because I'm weighing it extremely heavily on the fact that you have a quarterback that's kind of dealt with a lot of crap and I'm praying that loud McConkie stays healthy look at the offensive line you have a really really nice tackle duo I'm praying Jill all ends up transitioning well to right tackle but Slater and all two really good tackles uh Zion Johnson really solid guard Bradley Bozeman I thought that was a really really nice acquisition there uh Trey Pipkins as well moving him to guard honestly it's a great way since he has one more year of a not inexpensive contract to be able to get the most out of him so for me I really do like that move Jamari Sawyer was supposed to be the right guard starter when I first made this based on our lads and he's moved to back upright tackle which you know he's super versatile it's what you do you plug and play wherever you can and that's the value Jamari Sawyer right there but you know I think I'm going for the ceiling in terms of the overall grade here the floor is a legitimate C plus if you know loud McConkie can't stay healthy if Brendan Rice needs more time to develop or simply can't separate because that was his main issue there at USC there's big concerns if DJ Chark just remains a guy who should be on a team for one year like you guys could be screwed and if Justin Herbert can't get healthy let's not even mention that I'm not even mentioning that you have Easton Stick as your quarterback this team is instantly the worst offense in the NFL I'll say it right then and there like you guys know it you guys got what did you guys get a 60 burger put on you last year when Easton Stick was starting like it was like I mean y'all know y'all know I don't need to bring up some PTSD but I'm being extremely extremely optimistic and that's because I love Justin Herbert and I love loud McConkie and I'm being optimistic about there's a lot that can easily go wrong and the probability leans more towards it not being as good as what I say but I'm trying my best to allow positivity to give you guys the best chances possible let's look at the defense though starting out the defensive line Otita Ogbonya he was pretty damn solid at UCLA I mean he was pretty much the worst version of the Dallas Cowboys defensive interior that's slipping my mind right now but you know solid value pickup I liked it when it happened just again we've been trying to fill this defensive interior role for quite a while for the Chargers and it still hasn't been filled Puna Ford you know again somebody who is in my opinion a little bit more of a stopgap guy his contract ends this year don't probably want to pay that especially when there are some good defensive interiors coming up in this class including ones that are buzz formally coached uh then you also have Morgan Fox in there I mean I actually don't think he's actually that bad but the defensive interior needs somebody again when you're comparing it to the rest of the league when you're comparing against the good offensive lines especially in your own division I mean the Raiders for god's sakes have a pretty damn solid offensive interior they're going to outclass your defensive interior probably nine times out of ten like Jackson Powers Johnson James and then Parham they're going to be getting wins against these guys at a more consistent rate than what I'd like to admit and I want to be a fanboy I do I grew up in LA like my first football game that I went to was actually a Rams game but the first one I actually kind of enjoyed was a Chargers game when they were still in the soccer stadium so keep that in mind I mean I really do want the Chargers to succeed here and you know that's I'm trying not I'm trying to be optimistic here but Khalil Mack's up for a contract this year Joey Bo said I know they reworked some of that money there was rumors that either they're going to be cut or traded in the offseason but two very solid veterans right there as long as they can stay healthy then you got Junior Coulson nice third round pickup we already talked about that uh Paramon doesn't really make me feel overly comfortable but you have Diane Henley who's growing and developing as well forgot to mention Tuli Tupelotu who I love to be the successor to Khalil Mack uh very excited for that one because he's somebody who I think is very underrated not enough people talk about him he was in offseason to find for me last offseason after I felt like I underrated him he was someone who I fell in love with while watching uh now first round pick in Tuli Tupelotu not Tuli Tupelotu it's Tali Fuwaga like I was just talking about Tuli but uh Tali Fuwaga watching that tape was where I really gained respect for Tuli Tupelotu and I'm very excited for him to take that step up uh now continuing on looking at these safeties Derwin James is an absolute beast just gotta stay healthy which you know that's the name of the game a lot of like the best abilities availability some of these guys over their career haven't been 100% healthy and I'm not saying Derwin James is like a legitimate scare factor like every single year this guy like is a guaranteed loss like no I'm not saying that but you know they're I mean if you guys lose them that's a massive loss and I guess you could say the same about every defense's MVP player but especially when you're looking at the depth that strong safety Tony Jefferson Akeem Dent are the two guys listed behind him I do have my concerns Eloy Gilman's honestly a pretty damn solid free safety in my opinion for the value you have them there I don't think that's bad at all when you do look at the nickel I do have major concerns you end up looking at your depth chart as well you have three drafted or drafted slash new nickelbacks that you guys got because they're actually one of them from the Canadian football league if I'm not mistaken one of them was a UDFA but you ended up drafting one of the fifth round as well with Tarheeb Steele so you and you're pretty much telegraphing that is not a position that you're very comfortable with and you brought in some replacements for it so I do have my concerns they're just here Taylor to me is not that guy who is an elite nickel and especially in this past class where I saw a lot of really talented nickelbacks you guys kind of missed a really solid opportunity in my opinion when you look at the corners on the boundary though Asante Samuel Jr. is one of my favorite players I love Florida State corners as you guys know especially if they're you know actually really solid athletes which I loved Asante Samuel Jr. coming out and then Christian Fulton you know nice offseason pickup short-term contract and you're allowing Cam Hart to be able to develop behind him for a year which is great but at the same time Cam Hart needs that year I don't know if that's going to be something that makes me super comfortable and then you're you should pay Asante Samuel in my opinion I you really should so there's a lot that is uneasy about this defense again I'm being pretty optimistic by giving it a B grade that's pretty heavily like leaning on Derwin James and Asante Samuel as well as Joey Bosa to remain healthy and Junior Colson to be successful so again being super optimistic here but at the same time I do want to at least emphasize the fact that I am more optimistic about this team so that's going to be the roster and draft breakdown let's jump right into the records prediction and jumping in to the records predictions we're already off to a really hot start seven in three I will admit I might be changing a couple of these because with the developments with Herbert and all that such I do think that there is going to be a little bit more discussion but uh we're this is cumulative so we will see what happens but let's get right into this it's going to be super exciting week one you face the Raiders and depending if Garner Mitchell's cornered back or not doesn't really matter to me it's a good roster and it's one of where I do think they could end up sneaking a W on you guys but I mean it depends on Herbert's health I mean this is a team that's going to have a very top-end pass rush it's going to be early like welcome to the NFL therefore you know it's going to be tough for Joe Alt and you know Max Crosby could be getting a pretty big game and if Justin Herbert ain't ready this could be a big win for the Vegas Raiders to start out so it's a game I'll think about but we might leave it as such week number two you're going to Carolina it's a team that I have a lot of a lot of belief in so I'm going to believe in Carolina and leave the game as is week number three you face Pittsburgh at home I'm giving Pittsburgh that game all day they're going to be heavy run run offense and especially if they get Brandon Aiyuk like today is supposed to be announced at night I don't I don't know I don't really you know I'm not going to put my analysis too heavily into that and I don't think I need to because I think the Steelers will win regardless because the heavy run game they're really solid offensive interior and the good run game overall is kind of just exactly what you don't really want to face at week number four you're facing the Kansas City Chiefs it's going to be tough to face the Chiefs man the Chiefs are dominant I do have a weird feeling that they're going to sweep you this year just got feeling and if Herbert's not fully healthy you know there's a legitimate worry there there is you know you're receiving core is not up to snuff and with losing legarious need this is probably the one team that wouldn't really fear so you got Trent McDuffie locking down and like pretty much locking down Ladd McConkie and the rest it's going to be super tough to handle and I'm even thinking about letting you guys start out oh and four but we're going to do it and keep it one and three the more I think about it you end up getting a bye week Herbert's going to be healthy going into Denver I'm going to have them win that game I'm perfectly fine with that Arizona is super underrated but they end up losing BJ Ogilary oh that's a kick in the balls man I do like the Arizona Cardinals I do I might even be getting a Kyler Murray jersey because you know if you guys haven't seen there's some on clearance sale and they look really sick and I love Kyler Murray I really do I love Oklahoma quarterbacks too I just it's just a thing with me it was Baker and it's Kyler you know just a thing for me but also Caleb not really Spencer I like Spencer when we didn't really know too much about him but I digress I think the Cardinals are going to maintain that victory right there they're a good team they're very underrated I give them a bunch of crap but there's still an underrated squad week number eight we have you guys beating a midi buy version of the New Orleans Saints that's a game where I could see the Saints flipping it I'm not a huge fan of the Saints and I got plenty of ---- for that it is what it is Clint Kubiak it's gonna Clint Kubiak and that could end up leading to a victory here a victory there but you know I just have a lack of faith in the offense for the Saints and then the defense there's still so many pieces that have yet to like genuinely be put into place except that linebacking core and the DBs which to be fair the corners and the linebackers are a significant portion of the defense they're just defensive heavy like it is and to be fair they can easily shut down this offense my issue is with their offense and I think this defense could potentially shut down the offense we'll see about that this is a game I will be revisiting and I might end up giving to New Orleans but I do think the Cleveland Browns will be getting a victory when you guys go to Cleveland they just have too damn good of a defense and even if Deshaun is still going to be rusty I still think that team is really really powerful week number 10 you face the Tennessee Titans and I think the Tennessee Titans could end up pulling this victory off very talented roster just you know they even have a really good corner core this is a game they should win the more I think about it it's a game they should win but I'm gonna leave it as is there's an RNG factor in the NFL you end up playing the Bengals next in week number 11 they're coming off a mini buy I'm giving the Bengals that victory and then you're facing the Ravens at home like Ravens and Bengals back back at home that's gonna be a pretty brutal stretch right there you're playing three AFC North teams in four weeks like yeesh you got the Falcons coming off a full buy as well at home man this is a crappy stretch right here guys look at this like literally you know that guy like brother like that's exactly how I'm feeling looking at this the Falcons are a really good squad if Kirk can stay healthy this is a legitimate championship contention team and then the Chiefs are just gonna chief man I genuinely believe the Chiefs are ******* baller and they're gonna be pushing again for a Super Bowl run with or without a good offensive line I mean they did it last year I didn't think they had that great of an offensive line and they still got a Super Bowl ring so I still think you could do it this year I do have you guys beating the Buccaneers the Buccaneers could give you some problems but their defense I do not have any faith in their offense on the other hand does have some really good contributors we're gonna having you sweep the Broncos I think I'm perfectly fine with that my conscience is settled having you split with the Raiders makes me feel comfortable that about week one and then you technically could lose here to the Patriots but I think I'm gonna leave it as is I think I am 7 and 10 is not an ideal record for you but my god like look at this schedule so looking at a game that you should probably potentially win it is week 7 I do think I might flip this game you know I love Arizona I love what they stand for like they're just a really solid team I do have concerns about the interior their offensive line which at least matching weakness to weakness there and their running game is not really their forte but I do love Trey Benson and James Connor like it is a good squad they're receiving core might be superior to your core core like their defense though defense interiors cheeks you're gonna win that game in your running backs aren't very good but it's not like the it's not like the Cardinals have a great defensive interior or linebacking core so you're pretty much matching weakness to weakness here and you're gonna be at this point two and three with a really tough stretch ahead of you I hate to say it I might feel very comfortable allowing the Cardinals to slip here I think I might I think I might I debate actually giving this game to New Orleans but I think for the time being we're going to let it sit and we're gonna let it marinate because I just don't I think that it's perfectly fine to let you guys win at home versus a team that's not that good they just have a good defense so TBD on that we're giving you an eight and nine record not super exciting but again with the Harvard potential entry with a new coaching system and you know a new defensive coordinator coming to the NFL like that is something where I easily could see you guys having a floor of six wins here and that's not a bad thing it just is what happens when you have a poor receiving core with a quarterback that's not healthy and a new coach so I'm being very very very very very optimistic with this record I'm gonna admit I think that the likelihood is that you're at seven or six wins but I'm hoping that you guys end up staying healthy and you guys can actually end up being more effective as a receiving group than what it seems on paper that's gonna be the video thank you so much for watching see on the far side peace