Despite Having The Second Most Cap Space In The League, The Chargers Haven't Done Squat In Free Agency

Lemme run you through a little point/counter-point for the Chargers 2024 season

1. They overachieved for what was supposed to be a rebuild year. 11 wins while still dealing with former GM Tom Telesco's mess of dead money and all the free agent departures was very impressive. 

2. Their schedule ended up being a lot easier than it was on paper. Wins against Minshew, Bryce, Nix, Rattler, Jameis, Cousins, Maye and O'Connell aren't moving the needle a ton.

3. They won games they were supposed to win which is not what happened under previous coaching regimes. 

So what they ended up with last year was an overachieving team held together with duct tape which worked great against the minor turbulence they faced in the regular season. Once they hit to playoffs, those temporary repairs did not hold up at all, specifically on offense.

The problems were basic and they started with the interior offensive line, which was bad all season vs any pass rush that was halfway decent. Vs the Texans in the Wildcard game, Herbert was pressured on over half of his dropbacks and every sack the team gave up came through the IOL. 

The next big problem was the lack of receivers after Keenan Allen and Mike Williams were cut. McConkey turned out to be a great draft pick but the rest of the options were BAD. QJ played better than his rookie year but still can't catch or contest balls. Josh Palmer still couldn't separate (that was a bad deal by Buffalo) and Herbert was forced to feed Will Dissley more than he should have. This was also exposed vs the Texans when Dissley dropped a key conversion and later shovel passed a tipped ball for an interception (McConkey also let a ball go right through his hands which was picked off). 

Then there was the run game. Pretty much everyone was hesitant about Greg Roman coming on board after he was run out of Baltimore but there was supposed to be one big positive: The Run Game. During Herbert's tenure with the team, the Chargers have been one of the worst rushing teams in the entire NFL. So in comes Roman, a new center and two running backs he saw drafted in Baltimore and a brand new, 5th overall LT. Last year, the run game started out hot but really petered out by the end of the season. As a team, they were in the bottom half of the league for YPC while being in the top half for rushing attempts. BAD. Once again, this weakness was exposed vs the Texans as JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards totaled 48 rushing yards on the day. (2.9 and 3.1 YPC respectively). 

 Lastly, Greg Romans schemes in general just didn't seem to work. I don't know if they're atiquated or just dumb, but there were a lot of burnt plays on Gus Edwards 1st down rushes for 1 yard and whatever the fuck these plays were. 

Look, if you have a QB like Herbert, you gotta find a way to scheme guys open downfield. He has a MONSTER arm and you gotta let him uncork it.

So, how has the offseason addressed these issues so far?

1. Offensive Line: Not only did they fail to sign any free agent lineman at all (and there were a lot of decent options out there that signed very reasonable deals), but they extended Bradley Bozeman, who ranked outside the top-32 centers of 2024.

2. Receivers: They extended Jalen Reagor. Nope, not kidding. And they signed back Mike Williams, who had a down year in NY/PIT. 

3. Running game: They cut Gus Edwards, are presumably letting JK Dobbins walk and signed Najee Harris. Is Harris better than Edwards/Dobbins? Yes. However, his best ability is availability. He carried the ball a fuck ton of times during his four years in Pittsburgh and never missed a game. He's not particularly explosive (Jim Harbaugh has a longer career rush than Harris) but can break tackles running downhill. My biggest issue is that his success came behind a Steelers IOL which was good, opportunity came thanks to a dogshit QB situation 3/4 years and this injury luck will run out with a team as cursed as the Chargers. 

4. Offensive Coordinator: Roman was never going anywhere but I was hoping to see some new people join the staff. 

Essentially, none of the offensive problems have been fixed. The team has 10 picks to work with as well as some cheaper free agents, but this has been an extreme bummer of an offseason so far. The second most cap space in the NFL to work with and damn near nothing to show for it. Maybe the thought process is to save cap, wait to draft day and try and milk a trade out of someone but for now, it sucks.