Over the past seven years the AFC has been dominated by the dynamic duo of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. Since 2011 the Patriots have won the AFC 4 times in 2011, 2014, 2016 and 2017 and have won the AFC East fifteen times since the year 2000. Many people believe the Patriots or the Steelers are the favorites to come out of the AFC, however there is a new sheriff in town the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chargers in 2017 had a top 4 offense and top 3 defense in the NFL based on PPG given up. On the defensive side of the ball they are elite and have a pro-bowler on each level. On the defensive-line they have Joey Bosa their star studded defensive end who lead the team in sacks with 12.5, Melvin Ingram their superstar linebacker that had 10.5 sacks along with their shutdown corner in Casey Hayward who had 4 interceptions in 2017, 42.7 completion percentage along with a 58.6 passer rating. To add to their depth on defense they drafted very well getting arguably the steal of the draft in Florida State safety Derwin James with 17th pick of the first round. They had a plan to add depth to their defense, of their six picks 4 of them were on the defensive side of the ball.
Their defense gets a lot of attention but their offense can compete with the best of them starting with their QB Philip Rivers who has a Hall of Fame resume that places him in the top 10 all-time in passing yards and passing TDs. Last season he threw for 4515 yards with 25 TDs and 10 interceptions. Not to mention they have a top 10 running back in Melvin Gordon who rushed for 1105 yards, 8 TD’s and caught 58 passes for 476 yards and 4 TDs. Also, a top 10 receiver in Keenan Allen who might be the most underrated receiver in the NFL. In 2017, he had another great year with 102 receptions which as 4th in the league, 1393 receiving yards that had him 3rd in the NFL and had 6 TDs which had him tied for 6th in the NFL.
Unfortunately, the Chargers were hit hard this off-season with injuries to their pro-bowl corner Jason Verrett and former 2nd round pick tight end in Hunter Henry. However, the Bolts have some depth at both positions starting with Trevor Williams at corner who was tied for 3rd last year on the team in interceptions with 2 and is one of the best play-making corners in the NFL. 20.6 percent of targets thrown his way are defensed or intercepted. At tight end they have Virgil Green and Antonio Gates, they won’t put up pro-bowl caliber numbers, but there will be some production there, in 2017 they combined for 44 receptions, 507 yards and 4 TDs. Henry has a small chance to come back and play this season from his torn ACL. The Chargers are familiar with this situation Melvin Ingram tore his ACL in May of 2013 and came back to play in that December so the bolts are optimistic.
If everything clicks for the Chargers this season and if they can avoid any more major injuries the sky is the limit for this team and could make a deep playoff run potentially being able to compete for a Super Bowl. They have a legitimate shot with no major weaknesses on all 3 facets of the game.
Loading ...