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The Chargers defense was horrible last season. So bad in fact, that it helped get the entire coaching staff fired. After winning a National Championship at Michigan, Jim Harbaugh jumped ship and headed west. Not only is Harbaugh a defensive-minded coach, but he brought his defensive coordinator with him.

It’s a different team in a different league, with a different talent makeup and different personalities. So there is an element of unknown when it comes to predicting what Jesse Minter’s defense will look like. What we do know is that Minter will field an aggressive attacking style using both three and four-man fronts. That’s a good place to start. The rest will come down to what everyone’s roles are.

When it comes to personnel fit, Los Angeles has a lot of holdovers who are good players that should fit the kind of scheme we expect. There have been a few significant changes but this was not a situation where the incoming regime washed most of the roster and started over. There will likely be some bumps and a learning curve but this unit has a shot at being pretty good this year.    

Defensive tackle/Edge

Talentwise, the new coaching staff inherits a trio of edge rushers that could prove to be special. Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack are an edge tandem that no offensive line looks forward to facing. Even last year’s second-round pick, Tuli Tuipulotu, looked good when his chance came. When I say they could be special, the emphasis is on could.

Bosa has proven he can be an exceptional player. When healthy, he is a 50+ tackle and double-digit sack guy. Unfortunately, Bosa has missed more games than he’s played over the last two seasons and has missed significant time in three of the last five. He was bothered by a nagging groin injury over the past few years. Bosa finally had surgery to repair that in 2022 then promptly missed half of 2023 with a foot sprain. He will be 29 in July but is entering his ninth season as a pro. The year is not bad but the mileage is a little high.

Khalil Mack is eternal. Seriously, the guy piled up a career-best of 17 sacks, forced 5 fumbles, had 57 solo tackles, and swatted down 10 passes, in his tenth season at age 32. He became the poster for managers starting players against their former teams when he bombed the Raiders with six sacks in week four. After that, no one could put out the fire.

Mack finished second to T.J. Watt in the final edge rankings. After such a stellar season, he is likely to come off the board as one of the first at the position. Mack is not a bad pick at that point but he could be a risky one.

He was outstanding in 2023 and yes, he has put up similar numbers in the past. It was way in the past though, like back in 2017 when last he exceeded 40 solo tackles. Or 2018 which was the last time Mack reached double-digit sacks.

Except for an injury-shortened 2021, Mack has at least eight sacks in every season since his rookie campaign in 2014. He always puts up decent, and sometimes spectacular tackle numbers as well. I see him as a solid Edge1 with a high floor but the risk makes it hard to count on another top-five season.

Tuli Tuipulotu got to play a lot of football as a rookie. He opened the season as the third man in the rotation but quickly graduated to number two when Bosa took a cut in snaps while nursing an injury. Once Bosa went on IR, Tuipulotu logged more than 80% of the snaps in each of the last eight games.

Tuipulotu finished with a modest four and a half sacks but he was around the quarterback a lot. History tells us that high numbers of pressures one season often turn into high numbers of sacks the next. He accounted for three turnovers and put up useful tackle numbers as well with 37 solos and 16 assists. With a 33-year-old on one side and an oft-injured starter on the other, it would seem practical for  Tuipulotu to have a big role in what could potentially be a fairly even three-man rotation.

The Chargers added some insurance with the free-agent addition of Bud Dupree. Dupree had six and a half sacks for the Falcons last year and has reached double-digits once in his first nine seasons. Dupree had one big statistical season with the Steelers in 2019. So far that has been a career outlier.   

Los Angeles made some changes at the tackle positions. Sebastian Joseph-Day, Nick Williams, and Austin Johnson were three of the team’s top-four down linemen last year. None of them are back but the organization spent very little on replacing them.

Morgan Fox was the team’s best interior pass rusher, totaling four and a half sacks last season. Because he can get after the passer a little, his role could be considerably bigger than the 437 snaps he got last year.  Third-year, former fifth-round pick, Otito Ogbonnia has been penciled in at nose tackle while former Seattle starter, Poona Ford is penciled in as the third starter. On paper, this is a serviceable group for the Chargers with little IDP value for us. Fox is worthy of watch list status.  

Fourth-round rookie Justin Edoigbe is a player we might slide into the dynasty watch list. He’s one of those guys with enough pass rush ability to be successful as the outside tackle in a 3-4 and plenty of sand in his pants to play outside on early downs in four-man fronts, then shift inside in passing situations.

DT Morgan Fox – Worth keeping an eye on in tackle-required formats
DT Poona Ford – No impact expected
DT Otito Ogbonnia – No impact expected
DT Justin Edoigbe – Dynasty deep sleeper
DT Scott Matlock – No impact expected
DE Joey Bosa – Injury risk with top-15 upside
DE Khalil Mack – Solid Edge1 with top-five potential
DE Tuli Tuipulotu – Dynasty/injury target that might be worth a roster spot 
DE Bud Dupree – No impact expected 
DE Chris Rumph – No impact