2023 Official Roster Build Thread - The Initial 53 / Practice Squad

[Bolt4Knob]

Stats don't lie. 30th in the league in rushing per game with Ek as our starter and did you see Ekeler in the Jags game? He is great but we need a workhorse RB to make Ekeler even greater, and most people agree if Bijan is there at 21 you run to the stand and make the pick. Yes if Bijan isn't there you draft the best OT on the board. You sign Dalton Schultz and resign Parham. LB can be addressed in free agency. OT, WR, RB, Edge, FS, CB! We need this addressed in the draft. You go with the best players on the board with these positions. Also be careful when you blame our former OC for all our blunders because we will be facing him twice next season with Payton as the HC! We'll see how dreadful an OC he really was. Payton seems to think he is just fine.

There is no doubt the Chargers need to improve the running game and the playmaking ability at the WR position.

The offense was very station to station last year. They lead the league in third down plays - thats not good. I am not even sure a guy like Schultz is the answer -- how does he help with the explosive plays the team needs. Granted, he will just replace Everett's "cap slot" so thats not a big deal

I am probably moving on from Parham. Can't stay healthy.

For the draft I would say - in no particular order
WR
TE
WR
RB
Edge
OT
OG/OC
and more Edge

[chargeroo]

Stats don't lie. 30th in the league in rushing per game with Ek as our starter and did you see Ekeler in the Jags game?

they were 30th because of the blocking, not because of having Ekeler as our RB.

[RockyMtnBoltFan]

Stats don't lie. 30th in the league in rushing per game with Ek as our starter and did you see Ekeler in the Jags game? He is great but we need a workhorse RB to make Ekeler even greater, and most people agree if Bijan is there at 21 you run to the stand and make the pick. Yes if Bijan isn't there you draft the best OT on the board. You sign Dalton Schultz and resign Parham. LB can be addressed in free agency. OT, WR, RB, Edge, FS, CB! We need this addressed in the draft. You go with the best players on the board with these positions. Also be careful when you blame our former OC for all our blunders because we will be facing him twice next season with Payton as the HC! We'll see how dreadful an OC he really was. Payton seems to think he is just fine.

actually…stats do lie and can be manipulated easily without proper context. Watch the games and tell me that the o-line (and unbelievably poor play calling) wasn’t the problem. Not sure who you think “most people” are, but I don’t even get the sense that most people on this board think that would be the smart thing to do. Seems odd that you would suggest that if 20 other teams passed on him that the Chargers would be stupid to do the same. I’m not saying that I don’t like Robinson…he would be a very valuable addition. But based on other factors and where I think the team should focus, it’s not the direction I would go. Regarding your last point on Lombardi…he never called plays with Payton and still won’t with the Broncos, so that is really irrelevant.

[electricgold]

There is no doubt the Chargers need to improve the running game and the playmaking ability at the WR position.

The offense was very station to station last year. They lead the league in third down plays - thats not good. I am not even sure a guy like Schultz is the answer -- how does he help with the explosive plays the team needs. Granted, he will just replace Everett's "cap slot" so thats not a big deal

I am probably moving on from Parham. Can't stay healthy.

For the draft I would say - in no particular order
WR
TE
WR
RB
Edge
OT
OG/OC
and more Edge

Yep that's a good cluster with positions of need. If you believe a Mayer or Washington or Kincaid can be a top flight TE probably make that the pick however TE is a very tricky position to draft, especially in the first round. Parham I get it, but maybe you give him one more shot he could be a weapon! Schultz could get a huge FA offer, but if you could sign him you have to really consider it because Moore knows to how make good use of him, and Herbert could develop something special with him.

[electricgold]

they were 30th because of the blocking, not because of having Ekeler as our RB.

It all relative. You can't just say its simply because of the blocking, if that's the case why would you want to even consider signing Pip? You just wish Ekeler could play more games like he did in the Cleveland game last year. He for sure needs another RB that could come in and make the big run! Ekeler is a great situational RB but I wouldn't put him above even a Natrone Means who was a work horse RB.

[Boltnut]

I'm surprised the Chargers restructured all four of KA, MW, KM, and Bosa.
It clears them of the $21 million they were over the cap and puts them $19 million under the cap for this year.
However, they will only have $14+million for 2024. With Herbert's extension coming in 2024, most likely means cuts or trades are coming in 2024.
Cutting/trading Keenan and Mack would save $46+million. The dead cap on those newly restructured contracts would be $26.3 million, though.
Maybe trading them would save some of that dead money...? Maybe extending KA could save them some on the 2024 cap.

In any case, there are fewer holes on the roster and we can approach the draft with a BPA approach.
I would prefer if they let Pipkins, Callahan, Fox, Tranquill, KVN, and Adderly test the FA market. There is no point in bidding against yourself pre-free agency.
They can all be replaced via the draft if they don't come back cheaply.
The $19 million gives them capital to bid in those re-sign campaigns.
They can still create more room with cutting Feiler and Hopkins... also could extend Michael Davis...

[jamrock]

It all relative. You can't just say its simply because of the blocking, if that's the case why would you want to even consider signing Pip? You just wish Ekeler could play more games like he did in the Cleveland game last year. He for sure needs another RB that could come in and make the big run! Ekeler is a great situational RB but I wouldn't put him above even a Natrone Means who was a work horse RB.

Exactly. I guess we should get rid of Feiler, Linsley, Zion and Pipkins if the OL is the culprit. People aren’t watching the games or listening to Ekeler. He’s saying the quiet part out loud. He needs somebody to share the load with. I think the OL coach and Lombardi combined to do a sub par job which resulted in a 30 for the Run O. Of course, the defensive coach did just as poorly in stopping the run

[jamrock]

I'm surprised the Chargers restructured all four of KA, MW, KM, and Bosa.
It clears them of the $21 million they were over the cap and puts them $19 million under the cap for this year.
However, they will only have $14+million for 2024. With Herbert's extension coming in 2024, most likely means cuts or trades are coming in 2024.
Cutting/trading Keenan and Mack would save $46+million. The dead cap on those newly restructured contracts would be $26.3 million, though.
Maybe trading them would save some of that dead money...? Maybe extending KA could save them some on the 2024 cap.

In any case, there are fewer holes on the roster and we can approach the draft with a BPA approach.
I would prefer if they let Pipkins, Callahan, Fox, Tranquill, KVN, and Adderly test the FA market. There is no point in bidding against yourself pre-free agency.
They can all be replaced via the draft if they don't come back cheaply.
The $19 million gives them capital to bid in those re-sign campaigns.
They can still create more room with cutting Feiler and Hopkins... also could extend Michael Davis...

Fox, Tranq and KVN were probably our 3 best defensive players aside from Vato.

[Boltnut]

Stats don't lie. 30th in the league in rushing per game with Ek as our starter and did you see Ekeler in the Jags game? He is great but we need a workhorse RB to make Ekeler even greater, and most people agree if Bijan is there at 21 you run to the stand and make the pick. Yes if Bijan isn't there you draft the best OT on the board. You sign Dalton Schultz and resign Parham. LB can be addressed in free agency. OT, WR, RB, Edge, FS, CB! We need this addressed in the draft. You go with the best players on the board with these positions. Also be careful when you blame our former OC for all our blunders because we will be facing him twice next season with Payton as the HC! We'll see how dreadful an OC he really was. Payton seems to think he is just fine.

IMO, Ekeler wasn't the problem. Injury to Slater, the play of Feiler (and lesser extent Pipkins' run blocking)... was the problem.
Slater back to health, Feiler replaced by Salyer, Zion development, and replace Pipkins with a good run-blocking RT... and you will see a vast improvement in the running game. Kelley went from a 3.1 ypc guy to a 4.2 ypc guy in 2022. Spiller got hurt in TC and was never ready to contribute in 2022.

IIRC, KA and MW only played 4 complete games together (all wins).
Defenses could dedicate themselves to stopping the run last year...

[Boltjolt]

There is no doubt the Chargers need to improve the running game and the playmaking ability at the WR position.

The offense was very station to station last year. They lead the league in third down plays - thats not good. I am not even sure a guy like Schultz is the answer -- how does he help with the explosive plays the team needs. Granted, he will just replace Everett's "cap slot" so thats not a big deal

I am probably moving on from Parham. Can't stay healthy.

For the draft I would say - in no particular order
WR
TE
WR
RB
Edge
OT
OG/OC
and more Edge

Id actually be upset if we signed Schultz with a deep TE class like this one. Schultz is going to cost 10-12 mil a season.

[Bolt4Knob]

I'm surprised the Chargers restructured all four of KA, MW, KM, and Bosa.
It clears them of the $21 million they were over the cap and puts them $19 million under the cap for this year.
However, they will only have $14+million for 2024. With Herbert's extension coming in 2024, most likely means cuts or trades are coming in 2024.
Cutting/trading Keenan and Mack would save $46+million. The dead cap on those newly restructured contracts would be $26.3 million, though.
Maybe trading them would save some of that dead money...? Maybe extending KA could save them some on the 2024 cap.

In any case, there are fewer holes on the roster and we can approach the draft with a BPA approach.
I would prefer if they let Pipkins, Callahan, Fox, Tranquill, KVN, and Adderly test the FA market. There is no point in bidding against yourself pre-free agency.
They can all be replaced via the draft if they don't come back cheaply.
The $19 million gives them capital to bid in those re-sign campaigns.
They can still create more room with cutting Feiler and Hopkins... also could extend Michael Davis...

Dead cap is dead cap - there is no trading dead cap. You can June 1 dead cap but thats it.
If they wanted to trade Allen - this year was the year to do it. Not next year when he is older and his base contract is something like 22m or higher. Granted, a team would knock that down a lot.

As for the free agents - I totally agree they need to let those guys test the market. For me, none move the needle to overpay. Tomorrow and Tuesday they will learn what their markets are. And yes, they all can be replaced, even Pipkins with FA and/or draft.

[Boltjolt]

actually…stats do lie and can be manipulated easily without proper context. Watch the games and tell me that the o-line (and unbelievably poor play calling) wasn’t the problem. Not sure who you think “most people” are, but I don’t even get the sense that most people on this board think that would be the smart thing to do. Seems odd that you would suggest that if 20 other teams passed on him that the Chargers would be stupid to do the same. I’m not saying that I don’t like Robinson…he would be a very valuable addition. But based on other factors and where I think the team should focus, it’s not the direction I would go. Regarding your last point on Lombardi…he never called plays with Payton and still won’t with the Broncos, so that is really irrelevant.

True, Payton will be calling the plays, not Lombardi. He is a title only like Bieniemy was to KC.

As for 20 teams passing on Robinson, it depends on their RB situtation. 4 of those teams are going to pick QBs with two of them NOT the BPA at their slots. Its a desperation need, and i hope one of those is the Raiders.

Dallas will surely pick him if we pass as Pollard is coming off a broken leg and id bet they cut Elliott if they do draft him.
Perhaps Seattle will draft him right in front of us.