Los Angeles Chargers: Three positions that need help this offseason
By Jason Reed
2. Linebacker
The Los Angeles Chargers actually seemed to overperform at linebacker last season, which really helped the team’s defense in stopping the run and letting the elite secondary thrive. However, heading into the offseason, it is again the linebacker unit that has the most questions around it.
Denzel Perryman is a free agent and is also coming off an injury. Perryman is great for the Chargers when he plays and would be a more-than-capable linebacker if he could stay healthy.
The problem is that he can’t and the Chargers should be exploring options outside of Perryman.
Special teams All-Pro Adrian Phillips is also hitting free agency and could get a decent payday from another NFL deal. While Phillips is naturally a safety, he played more of a linebacker last season and was a huge addition to the defense.
Losing both of those guys are huge and the Chargers should be looking in the last first round for a linebacker that is worth the selection and could even pursue some of the good veteran options that will be free agents as well.
Kyle Emanuel, Hayes Pullard and Uchenna Nwosu are the likely starting options if the Chargers do not add anyone else. They are all good in their own right but should not be the starting linebackers for a potential Super Bowl-contending team.