Los Angeles Chargers: Ranking the roster by position
By Jason Reed
![CARSON, CA - DECEMBER 03: Trevor Williams #24, Rayshawn Jenkins #25, Adrian Phillips #31, Casey Hayward #26, Jahleel Addae #37, Jatavis Brown #57, and Michael Davis #43 of the Los Angeles Chargers celebrate recovering a fumble during the fourth quarter of a game against the Cleveland Browns at StubHub Center on December 3, 2017 in Carson, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) CARSON, CA - DECEMBER 03: Trevor Williams #24, Rayshawn Jenkins #25, Adrian Phillips #31, Casey Hayward #26, Jahleel Addae #37, Jatavis Brown #57, and Michael Davis #43 of the Los Angeles Chargers celebrate recovering a fumble during the fourth quarter of a game against the Cleveland Browns at StubHub Center on December 3, 2017 in Carson, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/55a20d8451609e9bcc1af27942fe213d7c180f5f44d22e391c5376df66ca9cbf.jpg)
The middle tier:
This was easily the hardest tier to put together as all three position groups in this tier are very good and could easily be in the top tier. However, we had to separate them and these three just narrowly missed the cut.
It really shows how talented the Los Angeles Chargers are, though, as the seventh-best position on the team is at least in the top 10 in the NFL.
7. Safeties
Yes, we are making the safeties the seventh-best position group on the team. And yes, the safeties are easily in the upper third tier when it comes to their peers in the NFL.
Starting strong safety Jahleel Addae is one of the most underrated players in the entire league and is a proficient safety that often gets lost in the other big names on the Los Angeles Chargers. Free safety Derwin James should be the favorite for Defensive Rookie of the Year.
As the year goes along and James lives up to the hype, we easily could move the safeties up. However, with James not yet playing a regular season snap, it seems fitting to put them at seven.
.@DerwinJames picks off Drew Brees! pic.twitter.com/uslskrD5Xd
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 26, 2018
6. Running backs
The running back core is also a bright spot of the Los Angeles Chargers but does not even crack the upper half on the team. Melvin Gordon is extremely underrated and is probably the seventh or eighth-best back in the league.
The Chargers could have better backups than Austin Ekeler but Ekeler does provide a threat in the passing game and broke out in spurts last season.
5. Quarterbacks
Continuing a trend on this slide, Philip Rivers is often overlooked when it comes to his quarterback peers and is much better than given credit for. I guess that is what happens when Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees all play at the same time as you.
However, Rivers was second in the league last season in passing yards and is a lock to finish in the top five yet again. Rivers is virtually guaranteed to play all 16 games and pass for 4,000 yards and close to 30 touchdowns. He is one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the NFL.