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Since his hire, Jim Harbaugh has carried infectious optimism and reverence for his Chargers roster from interview to interview, press conference to press conference. It’s difficult to ascertain how much of Jim’s enthusiasm could be attributed to standard “coach speak” as we’ve seen him hype the leaders of this team up shortly before asking those same leaders to take pay-cuts, and trading Keenan Allen away when he refused to do so. It’s easy to see the benefit of Jim’s approach – similar to him talking-up JJ McCarthy and thrusting him into the conversation of quarterbacks that could have been drafted before the Chargers made the fifth overall pick in the draft – but there’s one player Jim has repeatedly referenced as a bright spot and leader on this team that stands out significantly against the rest… partially because there doesn’t seem to be an external motivation to do so.
Scott Matlock leaps off this page. He’s the only player that Jim is repeatedly complimenting without a starting season to his name – in fact, Scott Matlock is the only player besides Rashawn Slater that is still on his rookie deal. When he was drafted by Tom Telesco in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, he was an under-the-radar player that fans quickly got excited for. Like Harbaugh, his energy and personality is infectious, and his tape from Boise State highlights a selfless player that is willing to do whatever is necessary for his team to win. Soak up a double or triple-team from the opposing offensive line? No problem. Come on the field as a sub-package tight end and catch touchdowns? Bring it on. Whatever Scott Matlock can do to help his team win, he’s ready for it.
Jim has referenced “Scotty” as one of the players that has really stood out to the coach multiple times this offseason. Last week, he appeared on Jay Glazer’s podcast “Unbreakable” and sung high praises of him, and last Thursday he went to embellish just what makes Scotty so great. Omar Navarro broke down the whole press conference on Chargers.com, but here is the quote Omar felt stood out:
“He’s just all about his business, all about the work, all about the team,” Harbaugh said about Matlock during his media availability last Thursday.” A lot of what he does, like a lot of leaders, it’s not about what they say, it’s about what they do. What you do speaks so loudly that you can’t even hear what you’re saying.”
Matlock might be another player that was bogged down by Brandon Staley’s complicated scheme, specifically the gap-and-a-half assignment defensive lineman are expected to play. Given more time to learn and develop, Matlock’s athletic profile and work ethic suggests he eventually may have been able to break out with Brandon. His explosiveness, strength, and agility could also be an asset to a coach that’s willing to let him penetrate a gap off the snap, or on creative stunts to confuse blocking assignments.
The defensive line talent and depth is one of the larger question marks this team has remaining, but if Jim is forecasting a breakout year for Scott Matlock, what the fanbase currently projects as the team’s biggest weakness could quickly turn into a area of strength. With the Chargers boasting arguably the best EDGE room in the NFL, breakout performances from one or two interior defensive lineman would make the Chargers’ defense one of the most feared units in the league.
What do you think, StormCloud? Is Matlock on the road to a breakout second year?
I think it’s quite likely that we’ll see players either “break out” or have resurgent seasons under this new staff. As I’ve stated before, the excitement is palpable & I’m consistently hearing players say that with simplified/more defined roles they’ll be able to react & play much faster this year.
Matlock sounds like a Harbaugh guy….a lunch pail guy. Wishing him the absolute best.
Matlock seems like he is bringing that lunch pail to work every day. I could not agree more that several players will do much better with a more simplified system. It reminds me of a class that I took in college. It was a real struggle for most of the students, and the professor teaching the class never mentioned it, but he wrote the huge textbook that we were using. He was brilliant, and he understood the material, but he could not translate it to most of us. I wonder if Staley was the same? I wonder how many of his position coaches even understood Staley’s scheme?
He had an atrocious PFF score of 36.8 (127th out of 130). He should be able to improve on that performance, but he has a long way to go to even get to “below average”. Fingers crossed.
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