The Los Angeles Chargers over the last couple of years have underachieved and been perceived as a mediocre team. Under Anthony Lynn, there was optimism as he led the Chargers to the playoffs in his first season as head coach. In his final year at the helm, the Chargers blew leads and could barely make it to the finish line with a win. It was a rough year for Chargers fans but also excitement for what the future can hold.

In the 2020 NFL Draft, the Chargers selected Oregon Quarterback Justin Herbert with the 6th overall pick. That offseason, the organization moved on from long-time QB Phillip Rivers. Herbert was to be the team’s next franchise QB after Rivers moved on. He got his first start in week 2 against the reigning champion Kansas City Cheifs. Even though the team lost that game, you could tell this kid had something special in him.

He would end up having a historic season winning the NFL Rookie of the Year award and breaking the rookie touchdown (31) and completions (396) record. Safe to say he’s got a bright NFL Carrer ahead of him. Coming into the 2022 seas, there will be expectations to see the young QB improve off a solid rookie campaign. Key players will be coming back from injury and new head coach Brandon Staley led the Rams defense to be the best in the NFL last season. As the season gets closer, here are questions that Chargers fans will be looking for answers to this year.

Sophomore Slump?

Quarterback Justin Herbert won the 2020 Rookie of the Year award last season (Photo Credit/Chris Graythen)

Justin Herbert has had a phenomenal rookie season in 2021. The expectation now is for him to keep up the production and lead the team into contention for a playoff spot in the tough AFC West. Teams have now seen and studied film of the Oregon QB during this offseason.

Herbert will be learning a new offensive system and has a new head coach in Brandon Staley. It could be a struggle for him to adjust to this new system and his new head coach is defensive-minded. The front office bolstered up the offensive line by singing Center Corey Lindsley and Guard Matt Feiler and drafting Tackle Rashawn Slater out of Northwestern with the 13th overall pick in this year’s NFL draft.

Young QB’s have struggled in the NFL when they get new offensive coordinators or head coaches. Former Oregon QB Marcus Mariota had this problem with new coordinators coming in every offseason which stunted his development. Since last season, he’s been a backup for the Las Vegas Raiders. Another example of this is the 2018 first-overall pick, Baker Mayfield. After a great rookie year, his head coach was fired and had to learn a new offensive system in the offseason. He would then have an underwhelming sophomore season.

The Chargers will want to get a spot in the playoffs and continue to see growth in Herbert. Fans will hold those expectations as well and hoping that Justin Herbert avoids the sophomore slump trend.

Derwin James Returns

Derwin James prepares to make a NFL comeback after missing the last 2 years (Photo Credit/Joe Scarnic)

The Chargers defense will get all pro-Saftey Derwin James back after missing the last 2 seasons with a Pedal Foot Fracture in 2019 and Knee Meniscus Tear in 2020. It’s been a long road to recovery for him and he looks ready to play under new coach Brandon Staley.

In 2018 he was a great Saftey in coverage and playing near the line of scrimmage, similar to the type of play we saw Jammal Adams this year with the Seattle Seahawks. So far it’s unknown how coach Staley will want to play the 24-year-old Saftey. A versatile player like him is what the Chargers were missing last year.

There were multiple games last season that needed the defense to step up to win games but they couldn’t help get the winning result. The aging secondary will get a big boost with James coming back and 2nd round pick Asante Samuel Jr. It’s exciting to see the improvements the secondary could make under Staley who made the Rams secondary one of the best last season.

mark ya calendars

→ https://t.co/ZY6E0ITZZJ pic.twitter.com/w4qhWIARgB
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) May 13, 2021

The LA Chargers are ready to take the next step with Justin Herbert and Coach Staley. The team will be looking to compete for a playoff spot in the tough AFC. The Front Office had a great draft and addressed their needs during the free agency period. This can be the year for early success or growing pains for this young team. They have had some bad seasons in the past but this will start a new era for the LA team as they get ready for training camp.