
Justin Herbert leads the way for the Chargers alongside two other offensive players and three defenders.
The Chargers have a star-studded roster and will (God willing) enter the 2023 regular season in excellent health. Cornerback J.C. Jackson is still in the middle of his rehab process while Justin Herbert is also slowly ramping up to full speed following an offseason surgery on his non-throwing shoulder.
But other than those two, everyone is healthy and ready to go this season.
By this time in the offseason, we’ve seen just about every form or version of a rankings post. Now that we’re just a little over a month away from training camp, publications have started rolling out their lists of the top 100 players in the NFL entering the 2023 season. Today, I’m bring you a set of rankings from CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco who has five Chargers players amongst the best of the best.
Let’s go ahead and take a look at which Bolts made the cut and what Prisco had to say about each one.
22.) QB Justin Herbert – #4 Quarterback
“He was second in the league in passing yards last season, but he only averaged 6.8 yards per attempt. That led to a change in coordinators, which should help the deep passing game.”
45.) S Derwin James – #2 Safety
“He is one of the most versatile players in the league. He can play man coverage, blitz and also plays the run. There is great value in having him on the back end for the Chargers.”
51.) OT Rashawn Slater – #6 Offensive Tackle
“He was outstanding as a rookie in 2021, but suffered a torn biceps in Week 3 in 2022 that ended his season. When he’s on the field, he’s a top-level backside protector for Justin Herbert.”
61.) EDGE Joey Bosa – #7 Edge Rusher
“If he can stay healthy, which has been a big if for him, he’s much higher on this list. But he started just four games last season and had only 2.5 sacks. Injuries are the only thing that has slowed his sack production in his career.”
70.) RB Austin Ekeler – #7 Running Back
“He had 915 rushing yards and 107 catches with a total of 18 touchdowns. Yet the Chargers looked to trade him in the offseason. He isn’t a conventional back, but he has value with the way he does so many things.”
Honorable Mention: WR Mike Williams, WR Keenan Allen
I would say that Prisco probably got this one right aside from the egregious decision to completely leave off center Corey Linsley from both his top 100 and his roughly 50 honorable mention players. I understand that the center position gets devalued in lists like this, but Linsley is a former First-Team All-Pro (2020) and was recently a Second-Team All-Pro in 2021. He also didn’t necessarily fall off a cliff in 2022, either. He still allowed zero sacks and was the best pass-blocking center in the NFL by a wide margin. How that doesn’t deserve some sort of nod of appreciation is beyond me.
Either way, this is subjective and some people just don’t value the trench players as much as others.
So what do you all think of these rankings? Who is too high? Who is too low? Let me know all of your thoughts below!