NFL Power Rankings 2020 preseason: Where do LA Rams fall?

Team 22 – Los Angeles Chargers (5-11)

The LA Chargers will be one of the better teams despite starting rookie quarterback Justin Hebert. The fact is, this team was pretty good last year but had a streak of bad luck. But in giving the nod to Hebert in 2020, the Charges may not improve very much, if at all.

2019 summary

A very solid defensive team just invested into a long-term solution at quarterback. The Chargers enjoyed a solid defensive effort in 2019, but the offense never seemed to gel. The team decided to part ways with veteran QB Phillip Rivers, paving the way for a rookie to come in and take over the team. But will rookie Justin Hebert deliver quickly enough for that defense to hold together long enough?

Players lost

The Chargers parted ways with longtime QB Phillip Rivers, RB Melvin Gordan, FB Derek Watt, S Adrian Phillips, LB Thomas Davis, and CB Jaylen Watkins. An additional eight players have not yet signed with another team.

Players added

The Chargers added OT Bryan Bulaga, DT Linvel Joseph, CB Chris Harris, and OLB Nick Vigil. They will be joined by rookie QB Justin Hebert, LB Kenneth Murray, RB Joshua Kelly, WR Joe Reed, and WR K.J. Hill.

2020 outlook

The Los Angeles Chargers defense looks stacked. Coming from a sixth-ranked defense in 2019, the Chargers defense appears to be almost a certain top-five defense in 2020. That’s a good thing because I don’t see the Chargers maintaining their 10th-ranked offense maintaining even a top-15 ranking in 2020. The Chargers are set up to compete in some low-scoring games. That’s good enough to improve slightly.