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COSTA MESA, Calif. — The Los Angeles Chargers were back in the facility Monday after draft weekend. They are now in Phase Two of the offseason program, meaning coaches are allowed to be on the field with players and conduct individual drills and some basic team drills. In Phase One, only the strength and conditioning staff is allowed on the field with players.
Phase Two will extend until May 20, when the Chargers kick off their organized team activities, also known as Phase Three.
As the Chargers transitioned to this phase of the offseason, they also continued introducing new members of coach Jim Harbaugh’s staff and the roster. On Monday, offensive line coach Mike Devlin, assistant offensive line coach Nick Hardwick, center Bradley Bozeman and running back J.K. Dobbins met with media members.
Here are notes, quotes and takeaways.
GO DEEPER
Chargers post-NFL Draft depth chart: At least 3 rookies should be Day 1 starters
1. Dobbins has battled through multiple major leg injuries in the early stages of his NFL career.
After rushing for 805 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie for the Baltimore Ravens in 2020, Dobbins tore his ACL in the preseason in 2021. He later revealed that the injury also included damage to his lateral collateral ligament, meniscus and hamstring. He missed the entire season.
Dobbins returned in 2022, but he played in only eight regular-season games because he needed an additional surgery on his knee. Dobbins said Monday there was “a lot of scar tissue” in the knee and that he needed to get it “cleaned up so I could feel like me.” After coming back from that surgery, Dobbins rushed for 120 yards in back-to-back games in December 2022. He also finished with 105 scrimmage yards in the Ravens’ playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals that January.
Then in Week 1 of last season, Dobbins suffered a torn Achilles tendon. He missed the rest of the season.
“I’ve had these injuries, and it’s been a storm,” Dobbins said. “But I think the storm is over with, and I think I’m going to take off now. There’s going to be no setbacks, and the ‘injury prone’ thing will be gone out of the window.”
Dobbins has been a highly productive player when he’s been on the field. Since he was drafted in 2020, Dobbins leads the league in expected points added per rush among running backs with at least 200 carries, according to TruMedia.
“Everyone around the league knows that whenever I am on the field, the numbers don’t lie,” Dobbins said.
He just needs his body to cooperate.
Dobbins is now almost eight months removed from the Achilles injury. He said Monday he feels “100 percent” and hopes to be ready for the start of training camp, although he knows his timeline will be dictated by the Chargers’ training staff, coaching staff and front office.
“Some stuff is above my pay grade,” Dobbins said. “They just want what’s best for me, and they’re taking care of me, which, that’s what you want in an organization. … I really appreciate that because I’m the type of guy, I work really hard, so maybe sometimes I’m blind to the danger of something.”
Helping Dobbins transition will be the many familiar faces in Los Angeles.
General manager Joe Hortiz was the Ravens’ director of player personnel when they drafted Dobbins in 2020. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman was in the same role with the Ravens for three of Dobbins’ four seasons in Baltimore. Run game coordinator Andy Bischoff was the Ravens’ assistant tight ends coach in 2020. Dobbins was also teammates in Baltimore with running back Gus Edwardsand Bozeman, who signed with the Chargers in free agency.
Dobbins is excited to reunite with Roman, the engineer of the offense that sparked Dobbins’ standout rookie season.
“He sticks with the run, and that’s the identity,” Dobbins said. “You want an offense that has an identity. You don’t want to be looking everywhere else to find your identity. You want to have it. And so I think his offense has that. The guys he builds and puts in there, it complements that identity.”
2. Included in that identity-building is Bozeman, who signed with the Chargers after being released by the Carolina Panthers in March. A sixth-round pick in 2018, Bozeman spent the first four years of his career with the Ravens. Roman was Baltimore’s offensive coordinator for three of those seasons. Bozeman played both left guard and center in Roman’s offense.
“He’s definitely not afraid to run it,” Bozeman said Monday of Roman. “Third-and-12, if he feels like he can get the first down, he’s going to run it. He’s going to do what he needs to do. He’s going to be balanced at the same time, but … OK, (a run) is not successful this time, it’s not the next, but three, four, five times in a row, it’s gonna hit.”
Bozeman believes that commitment to the running game creates a “fun” environment for offensive linemen.
“You can see it,” he said. “You can see the energy, you can see the excitement, you can see just the emotion of the game because you’re letting big guys be big guys and just do what we do best. We’re not backing up, we’re going forward.”
3. Hardwick is a franchise legend. He played 11 seasons for the Chargers from 2004 to 2014. After nine years away from the NFL, he was itching to get back.
“Every year about playoff time is when it starts to hit you,” Hardwick said. “That’s my drug of choice.”
Hardwick was living in Indiana, where he spent the past two seasons volunteering on staff at Westfield High.
“It was a big high school, and I was up breaking down film until midnight, and we’d grade and evaluate,” Hardwick said. “I was getting four hours of sleep at night. And I was like, ‘Well, if I’m doing this for free and actually donating money, why would I not do this at another level, one that I’m more familiar with?’”
He put some feelers out and eventually got a call from Harbaugh — though he admits he missed the initial call because he doesn’t pick up for unknown numbers. Hardwick said he accepted the position for assistant offensive line coach on that first phone call.
“You only get so many chances to get back into the game,” he said. “You want to talk about an opportunity? To work with not only him but under coach Devlin, coach Roman, and the direction this organization is heading and being really familiar with the organization, for me it was the chance of a lifetime.”
Hardwick mentioned the Chargers’ new facility, which is scheduled to open this summer, and the hiring of Harbaugh as two clear indications of the organization’s direction.
“The commitment level is there,” he said. “And that’s exciting when you feel really supported.”
4. Devlin is another Charger with a Ravens connection. He was Baltimore’s assistant offensive line coach for the past two seasons before joining Harbaugh’s staff. In 2022, he was on staff with Roman.
Devlin did not cross paths with Bozeman, who left in free agency after 2021. But Devlin believes having a former Raven at the center of his offensive line will be key in bringing Roman’s scheme to life.
“He has been in it before, so he kind of knows the general sense of it,” Devlin said. “It’ll be different. It’s a different quarterback, right? So there’s going to be some differences, for sure. But the mentality, what the vision is, what we want to get accomplished, he’s been there, he’s seen it, just like I have.”
5. Devlin’s goal between now and the start of the season is, as he put it, “to find that five best.”
Rashawn Slater at left tackle, rookie Joe Alt at right tackle and Bozeman at center feel entrenched at their spots. Zion Johnson is most comfortable at left guard. Then there is what amounts to an open spot at right guard. Jamaree Salyer, Trey Pipkins III and Jordan McFaddenshould all be in the mix.
Salyer and McFadden have played guard before in the NFL. Pipkins has only played tackle in regular-season games.
When asked what Devlin likes about Pipkins’ potential move to guard, he said, “He’s big. He’s athletic. He’s a people mover, (from) what I see on tape. He’s smart.”
Devlin added: “Everything we’re doing right now is a transition — different techniques, different names of plays, different philosophies, everything.”
With Johnson, Devlin said the Chargers are trying to teach the 2022 first-round pick to use his “length.” He has 34-inch arms. Devlin is also intrigued by Johnson’s athleticism and ability to be a weapon as a puller.
“The system can accentuate all those good qualities,” Devlin said.
Devlin said Slater is “really, really smart.” But another quality of Slater’s has stood out most in these early days.
“He is very unselfish,” Devlin said. “I say that because I’ve had some big-time players that maybe won’t hold a bag. But boy, he’s right over there holding a bag for the guys. I’m like, ‘Man, this guy, he’s got the whole package.’”
6. Devlin has an interesting connection with Alt, whom the Chargers selected with the No. 5 pick last week. Devlin played offensive line at Iowa. In 1989, Devlin’s position coach was Kirk Ferentz, who would later become the Hawkeyes’ head coach. Ferentz was also the position coach at Iowa for John Alt, Joe’s father. John Alt was drafted out of Iowa in 1984 and went on to play 13 years in the league.
Devlin was drafted out of Iowa in 1993 and played seven NFL seasons with the Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals.
“We watched a lot of his film,” Devlin said of John Alt. “He was like the original OG, if you will, of Iowa linemen.”
Phase Two will extend until May 20, when the Chargers kick off their organized team activities, also known as Phase Three.
As the Chargers transitioned to this phase of the offseason, they also continued introducing new members of coach Jim Harbaugh’s staff and the roster. On Monday, offensive line coach Mike Devlin, assistant offensive line coach Nick Hardwick, center Bradley Bozeman and running back J.K. Dobbins met with media members.
Here are notes, quotes and takeaways.
GO DEEPER
Chargers post-NFL Draft depth chart: At least 3 rookies should be Day 1 starters
1. Dobbins has battled through multiple major leg injuries in the early stages of his NFL career.
After rushing for 805 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie for the Baltimore Ravens in 2020, Dobbins tore his ACL in the preseason in 2021. He later revealed that the injury also included damage to his lateral collateral ligament, meniscus and hamstring. He missed the entire season.
Dobbins returned in 2022, but he played in only eight regular-season games because he needed an additional surgery on his knee. Dobbins said Monday there was “a lot of scar tissue” in the knee and that he needed to get it “cleaned up so I could feel like me.” After coming back from that surgery, Dobbins rushed for 120 yards in back-to-back games in December 2022. He also finished with 105 scrimmage yards in the Ravens’ playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals that January.
Then in Week 1 of last season, Dobbins suffered a torn Achilles tendon. He missed the rest of the season.
“I’ve had these injuries, and it’s been a storm,” Dobbins said. “But I think the storm is over with, and I think I’m going to take off now. There’s going to be no setbacks, and the ‘injury prone’ thing will be gone out of the window.”
Dobbins has been a highly productive player when he’s been on the field. Since he was drafted in 2020, Dobbins leads the league in expected points added per rush among running backs with at least 200 carries, according to TruMedia.
“Everyone around the league knows that whenever I am on the field, the numbers don’t lie,” Dobbins said.
He just needs his body to cooperate.
Dobbins is now almost eight months removed from the Achilles injury. He said Monday he feels “100 percent” and hopes to be ready for the start of training camp, although he knows his timeline will be dictated by the Chargers’ training staff, coaching staff and front office.
“Some stuff is above my pay grade,” Dobbins said. “They just want what’s best for me, and they’re taking care of me, which, that’s what you want in an organization. … I really appreciate that because I’m the type of guy, I work really hard, so maybe sometimes I’m blind to the danger of something.”
Helping Dobbins transition will be the many familiar faces in Los Angeles.
General manager Joe Hortiz was the Ravens’ director of player personnel when they drafted Dobbins in 2020. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman was in the same role with the Ravens for three of Dobbins’ four seasons in Baltimore. Run game coordinator Andy Bischoff was the Ravens’ assistant tight ends coach in 2020. Dobbins was also teammates in Baltimore with running back Gus Edwardsand Bozeman, who signed with the Chargers in free agency.
Dobbins is excited to reunite with Roman, the engineer of the offense that sparked Dobbins’ standout rookie season.
“He sticks with the run, and that’s the identity,” Dobbins said. “You want an offense that has an identity. You don’t want to be looking everywhere else to find your identity. You want to have it. And so I think his offense has that. The guys he builds and puts in there, it complements that identity.”
2. Included in that identity-building is Bozeman, who signed with the Chargers after being released by the Carolina Panthers in March. A sixth-round pick in 2018, Bozeman spent the first four years of his career with the Ravens. Roman was Baltimore’s offensive coordinator for three of those seasons. Bozeman played both left guard and center in Roman’s offense.
“He’s definitely not afraid to run it,” Bozeman said Monday of Roman. “Third-and-12, if he feels like he can get the first down, he’s going to run it. He’s going to do what he needs to do. He’s going to be balanced at the same time, but … OK, (a run) is not successful this time, it’s not the next, but three, four, five times in a row, it’s gonna hit.”
Bozeman believes that commitment to the running game creates a “fun” environment for offensive linemen.
“You can see it,” he said. “You can see the energy, you can see the excitement, you can see just the emotion of the game because you’re letting big guys be big guys and just do what we do best. We’re not backing up, we’re going forward.”
3. Hardwick is a franchise legend. He played 11 seasons for the Chargers from 2004 to 2014. After nine years away from the NFL, he was itching to get back.
“Every year about playoff time is when it starts to hit you,” Hardwick said. “That’s my drug of choice.”
Hardwick was living in Indiana, where he spent the past two seasons volunteering on staff at Westfield High.
“It was a big high school, and I was up breaking down film until midnight, and we’d grade and evaluate,” Hardwick said. “I was getting four hours of sleep at night. And I was like, ‘Well, if I’m doing this for free and actually donating money, why would I not do this at another level, one that I’m more familiar with?’”
He put some feelers out and eventually got a call from Harbaugh — though he admits he missed the initial call because he doesn’t pick up for unknown numbers. Hardwick said he accepted the position for assistant offensive line coach on that first phone call.
“You only get so many chances to get back into the game,” he said. “You want to talk about an opportunity? To work with not only him but under coach Devlin, coach Roman, and the direction this organization is heading and being really familiar with the organization, for me it was the chance of a lifetime.”
Hardwick mentioned the Chargers’ new facility, which is scheduled to open this summer, and the hiring of Harbaugh as two clear indications of the organization’s direction.
“The commitment level is there,” he said. “And that’s exciting when you feel really supported.”
4. Devlin is another Charger with a Ravens connection. He was Baltimore’s assistant offensive line coach for the past two seasons before joining Harbaugh’s staff. In 2022, he was on staff with Roman.
Devlin did not cross paths with Bozeman, who left in free agency after 2021. But Devlin believes having a former Raven at the center of his offensive line will be key in bringing Roman’s scheme to life.
“He has been in it before, so he kind of knows the general sense of it,” Devlin said. “It’ll be different. It’s a different quarterback, right? So there’s going to be some differences, for sure. But the mentality, what the vision is, what we want to get accomplished, he’s been there, he’s seen it, just like I have.”
5. Devlin’s goal between now and the start of the season is, as he put it, “to find that five best.”
Rashawn Slater at left tackle, rookie Joe Alt at right tackle and Bozeman at center feel entrenched at their spots. Zion Johnson is most comfortable at left guard. Then there is what amounts to an open spot at right guard. Jamaree Salyer, Trey Pipkins III and Jordan McFaddenshould all be in the mix.
Salyer and McFadden have played guard before in the NFL. Pipkins has only played tackle in regular-season games.
When asked what Devlin likes about Pipkins’ potential move to guard, he said, “He’s big. He’s athletic. He’s a people mover, (from) what I see on tape. He’s smart.”
Devlin added: “Everything we’re doing right now is a transition — different techniques, different names of plays, different philosophies, everything.”
With Johnson, Devlin said the Chargers are trying to teach the 2022 first-round pick to use his “length.” He has 34-inch arms. Devlin is also intrigued by Johnson’s athleticism and ability to be a weapon as a puller.
“The system can accentuate all those good qualities,” Devlin said.
Devlin said Slater is “really, really smart.” But another quality of Slater’s has stood out most in these early days.
“He is very unselfish,” Devlin said. “I say that because I’ve had some big-time players that maybe won’t hold a bag. But boy, he’s right over there holding a bag for the guys. I’m like, ‘Man, this guy, he’s got the whole package.’”
6. Devlin has an interesting connection with Alt, whom the Chargers selected with the No. 5 pick last week. Devlin played offensive line at Iowa. In 1989, Devlin’s position coach was Kirk Ferentz, who would later become the Hawkeyes’ head coach. Ferentz was also the position coach at Iowa for John Alt, Joe’s father. John Alt was drafted out of Iowa in 1984 and went on to play 13 years in the league.
Devlin was drafted out of Iowa in 1993 and played seven NFL seasons with the Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals.
“We watched a lot of his film,” Devlin said of John Alt. “He was like the original OG, if you will, of Iowa linemen.”
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