Hey Stormcloud, we’re going to do a #TDUMailbag segment on the show this Tuesday.
If you want to ask a question that we’ll answer on the show, comment on this post.
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Alister
Long time team fan, podcaster (with Thunder Down Under Chargers Podcast), husband to a beautiful wife, friend to all fellow Chargers fanatics, and father-to-be!
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https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7277342/2026/05/14/los-angeles-chargers-schedule-2026/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983&userId=12566676&source=dailyemail And if you haven't seen the Halo-themed Chargers release video, go take a look. Top-notch as has come to be expected.
I finally felt like I could take some time to take a deep look at the Chargers roster situation now that the draft is behind us. I decided to write…
POSITIONAL BIG BOARD TOP 50 ** First Round Grade Caleb Downs- S Ohio State, 6-0, 206 ** Reuben Bain Jr- Edge Miami, 6-2, 263 ** Arvell Reese- Edge/LB…
You guys have a new topic to discuss, big trade!!!
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6698102/2025/10/07/ravens-chargers-trade-odafe-oweh-alohi-gilman/
Article is up!
Isn’t there someone else we could put in as kickoff returner other than KeAndre Lambert Smith. Every time he fields the ball he gets to between the 20-25 yard line (and you know it is going to happen as he runs into the coverage). Opposing teams are now purposely kicking to him, even when they tried to switch the 2 returners sides in this last game. How about Tre Harris?
Fixed
Here’s a few:
(Slater’s injury is likely due to un-healthy tendons, which could be addressed with better nutrition, stretching, strengthening, etc. This is his second significant tear, which is not normal)?
Have you ever seen footage of Slater in the weight room?
Strength is not the issue at all. Too strong, maybe?
With all due respect, I disagree with much of your first bullet. For example, the notion that Slater doesn’t eat, train, or stretch properly is laughable.
And I think the idea that the Chargers players regularly do not match intensity of their opponents is as well. It doesn’t matter what kind of “inner beast” replacement players have, they are replacement players.
The fact that Deculus, Salyer, Pipkins, and Murphy are playing instead of Slater, Becton, Alt, and Mack is a massive talent dropoff that has nothing to do with intensity.
You said to grade the coordinators.
I would give Roman a higher grade, at least a C. The offense was playing well even without Slater and Harris until the additional OL injuries hit. Dissly is TE1 but has missed 2 games now. Now Hampton is hurt. Roman cannot control any of that. He is still Roman, so I would probably give him a C due to his inability to scheme around challenges.
I would give Ficken a D. He gets a lot of deference when it comes to selecting the last 10-15 players on the final roster to support his units. Right now, the team’s PFF special teams grade ranks #28 . The team is in the bottom half of the league in average yards per punt return (#19) and kickoff return (#24) and average yards per opponent punt return (#24) and kickoff return (#27).
I would give Minter a B+. The defense is 8th in points allowed, 7th in yards allowed, and 8th in PFF defense grade despite:
My question for the TDU guys adds on to that: grade Hortiz. His honeymoon is over. Relevant to the coordinator discussion, how well has Hortiz equipped each unit?
I would be on board with giving James a shot at center. What harm could it do? Of the 35 centers with at least 100 snaps so far, Bozeman’s PFF grade ranks #33 , and he has allowed the most pressures. That said, they aren’t going to do it unless he gets hurt… they never gave James any shot at a real competition all offseason and obviously view him as a clear backup to Bozeman.
As I have said from the start of the Hendrickson talk, I would be on board for trading for him. I just have a hard time seeing Hortiz doing it.
Regarding Slater’s injury, there is no doubt that direct trauma was the immediate cause the injury. However, the fact that 2 of his last 3 seasons have been mostly lost due to torn tendons is not normal and needs further investigation.
I believe I have mentioned that I own a healthcare company that runs physical therapy clinics. There is a lot of research ongoing regarding the “health” of tendons. One article with a decent summary:
https://www.physio-pedia.com/Patellar_tendon_tear
There is no doubt that Slater works hard in the weight room, but that actually may aggravate the situation. Putting more pressure on a diseased tendon could make injury more likely. Again, one tear? Bad luck. Two tears in 3 years? Something else may be going on.
I believe I also mentioned Stem Cell Therapy as a potential recovery accelerator. Again, lots of research ongoing, but I am a strong believer in stem cell therapy. Both my wife (knee) and I (elbow) had injections. I went to a leading ortho who did lots of (expensive) tests, then basically said my tendon was pulling off my elbow due to age and too much golf/tennis. He told me to stretch. I met a guy who owns a lab that harvests stem cells – 6 weeks post-injection, I was completely healed. That was 2 years ago. Both my wife and I are better. From Google AI:
Personally, I’m sick of blaming “luck” for injuries. Football is violent. There are things you can do to prepare for and avoid the violence. They just paid Slater a fuck-ton of $. That dude needs to work with the Chargers staff to recover as close to 100% of his physical capability as possible, then figure out what he needs to do to stay on the field. That should include looking at his physiology and developing a plan to keep his tendons attached to his bones.
Roman seems to be on a mission to turn Herbert into Andrew Luck. He should be doing much more to protect Herbert. The lack of planning for adversity and lack of adjustments to keep Herbert alive puts Greg at a D.
Interesting question on Hortiz. While I have questioned a few of his picks and hated that he didn’t draft a center in 2024, overall, I liked his drafts and his FA signings made sense. By far his worst job has been addressing the interior OL, which is a problem all of us saw coming all off-season. Bringing back Bozeman as anything other than a backup and depending on Becton and Pipkins, two players that have always struggled to stay on the field, to start 17+ games was a bad plan. They absolutely could have and should have done much more here. Ryan Kelly playing center would make a huge difference on this team. They had the salary cap to do it. I know there were “style fit” questions with Kelly, but the style they’re playing now is standing around watching dudes wizz by them to smash Herbert. I think Kelly can set protections and at least get an initial block.
So your view is that Slater does not necessarily use appropriate nutrition resources to inform his diet? Your view is that he does not necessarily take advantage of all medical/training opportunities available to him, like stretching or proper strength training? Your view is that he doesn’t necessarily take advantage of treatments available to him like stem cell therapy?
Obviously, the team knows about his injury history. So don’t you expect them to be adjusting his particular regimen according to that history? I do.
And you base these opinions upon what, exactly? Do you know Rashawn Slater or any of the staff supporting him? It’s great that you have a healthcare company and have a lot of relevant knowledge. But do you actually know that Slater is not doing the things you mention? I think not. If I am correct, this is just baseless speculation.
Sorry, this just seems like rather irresponsible speculation.
That is not what I am saying. My point is that there are MANY things that can be done to prevent and speed recovery from injuries. We have a player in Slater who has missed 35 of 85 regular season games. Playing 59% of the time is not what I expect from a $114M LT. There is something going on physically that needs to be addressed. Is the problem nutrition? Supplements? The way he trains? Stretching? Would Rashawn benefit from yoga? Would stem cell therapy accelerate his recovery and improve outcomes?
I do not know the answers. I just hope he and the Chargers medical team and training staff are looking at all elements and determining how they can improve is recovery AND address his availability problem.
We all know the definition of insanity. Staring at the ceiling and saying “awe shucks, bad luck Rashawn’s hurt again” is not a great plan. Luck is not a plan. Hoping he doesn’t get injured again is not a plan. Looking holistically at the player and the man, understanding emerging research on tendon health and treatments available to both speed recovery from tears and prevent future injuries must be considered for a talented player that has struggled to stay on the field.
Yes, but what you identified here is part of the analysis. Yes, his picks have generally seemed good for the most part. But he arguably hasn’t drafted enough (quantity) high quality (quality) linemen, both OL and DL.
Looking at the team right now, would it have been better to draft the best OL available in the 2nd round instead of Harris? Or the best DL available? In both cases, I think so.
In two drafts, should the team have drafted more OL and/or DL? I think the answer is absolutely yes.
This stuff should be factored into the analysis, i.e., the opportunity cost, not just the value of the players drafted.
We’ll discuss some of these questions on the pod, Tau/Kev. Thanks!
Another one to think about.
On Messenger today, I’ve been having a heated exchange with Kyle/Ryan about whether Hampton was an extravagant pick when there were reports that the Eagles were prepared to give up at least one (and maybe two) picks to trade up.
With the news that he is now headed for IR (RBs touch the ball a lot = more likely to get hurt?), was that the right use of the team’s first round pick even though Hampton has been pretty impressive to start the season?
Rookie RBs drafted in later rounds are having some early success too (Judkins, Henderson, Sampson, Skattebo, Croskey-Merritt). The Chargers could do with more OL, DL, higher quality CBs?
If true that the Chargers could have traded down with the Eagles for their #32 pick plus another later round pick, presumably a 3rd round pick (?), IMO it would have been worth it.
I say that despite the fact that Hampton looks like a franchise RB, and that is a valuable player to have, especially in a Harbaugh/Roman offense. I did not think they needed to draft him, but that was based largely on the fact that they had signed Harris. But even Harris would have been a stopgap in a way that Hampton is not. With Hampton, they seemingly have solved their RB1 problem for the next 4-5 seasons (at least).
That said, while it is far too early to pass judgment on any 2025 or even 2024 picks who have not already excelled (Alt, McConkey, Still), it seems quite curious that the Chargers have spent 5 (of 18) picks on WRs and just 2 on OL and 2 on IDL. It feels like priorities may have been skewed a bit in the first two drafts.
I will just choose WR Harris as an example. He isn’t playing much of a role so far as a rookie, and that might be fine (see Quentin Johnston). But the proper question is, is whatever value they get out of Harris while also having McConkey, Johnston, and Allen greater than the value they would have gotten (both short and long term) by taking OL or IDL instead of Harris really a win for the roster? Harris may work out fine, not knocking him, but using him to illustrate priority choices.
The team is set once again to have major questions on OL and DL next season.
IMO they need to use the 2026 draft as well as 2026 free agency to load up in these position groups. Other position groups are good enough that they don’t need meaningful attention that cannot be accomplished via bargain free agency and/or resigning their own players. I would also point out that having strong lines makes the rest of the offense and defense better, which is another reason to prioritize those position groups.
Honestly, I am surprised at where the Chargers chose to invest in the second offseason of Hortiz and Harbaugh. In the first offseason, I felt they were more constrained, and they made the best of the situation. But I feel that they botched the second offseason. I hope they prove me wrong, but so far I’m not seeing that.
Tau,
With the way FA went for Hortiz at the time of the draft he was looking at a starting WR room of Ladd, QJ, and Williams on a 1 year deal. So drafting Harris at that time to be the future X made sense in Rd2. When Mike retired it looked like even more of a good draft pick, just for need. Signing Keenan, which they probably didn’t envision at the draft, dropped Tre another peg down on the depth chart to where he has been now. I do think they envisioned him being thrust into a bigger role out of necessity, but that’s not the case now.
I always thought the Hampton pick was a bit of a luxury one, because I felt Edge was the priority where they picked. It was even more frustrating when there was opportunity to move down and get another day 2 selection which this team needed for more depth at Edge, DT, IOL.
IMO, the best GM like Veach or Roseman is that they are not reactive as much as they are proactive. They routinely take top draft picks at positions where they already have quality starters under contract with an eye on the roster a few years out and when those quality vets move on, the transition into another quality player is seamless. One of my biggest issues with Telesco, outside of building depth, was that he left holes on the roster telegraphing draft picks. He was overly reactionary in that regard.
Hortiz is in a bit of a pickle with the roster for 2026. He needs to be reactionary at glaring holes (Edge, OL), but that could have a domino effect on drafting some guys with an eye on the future roster at positions like LB and CB. I really think his decision’s in this past FA cycle could continue to rear its ugly head this season.
The problem with just isolating some position group and saying “they should’ve drafted IOL” instead of WR is you have to consider the players and talent level available. There were very few good IOL to even consider in the top 100 this year. Almost every IOL player taken in the top 100 is either not starting or playing terribly. It was a poor class. The closest pick to Tre Harris were Trapilo who was considered a reach tackle prospect and has been terrible in limited action and then Tate Ratledge who you could make the argument should’ve been taken instead of Harris. BUT, Ratledge was supposedly off a lot of teams’ boards because of frequent injury history in college.
In terms of DT, that’s where I thought they would go instead of Harris and take Lott or maybe Darius Alexander, but both of those guys have been bad so far too and maybe weren’t a fit for Minter’s system anyways. Plus they obviously hit on Caldwell with their next pick, he is going to be a stud by next year I think.
All that said, I’m not saying they shouldn’t have taken some IOL dart throws in the 4th or 5th round. I would not have taken Kennard personally, but I bet they felt like they simply had to take the best and only Edge remaining who could possibly contribute. I would’ve rather taken an IOL dart throw there though.
The biggest draft mistake (BY FAR) Hortiz/Harbaugh have made in two years was taking Colson in round 3 in 2024. Obviously hindsight is 20/20, but the 2024 actually had a lot of talent at IOL and there were several guys on the board that would’ve been good picks.
All that said, agree with general premise of their needs for next season and its basically the same that I was harping on all offseason. If it were up to me, I would want to see every pick in the first 4 if not 5 rounds on the OL and DL (including Edge when I say DL).
Let’s see them finally get tough in the trenches. Their “weapons”, secondary and LBers are good enough and will all only look better if the trenches are actually good.
Completely agree that, in hindsight, that is a big issue. Not sure about you, but, at the time, I thought it was a good pick. I think this was a good decision, bad outcome situation.
Was there ever confirmation that they had a trade back deal in place, were ready to pull the trigger and a “communications glitch” caused the trade to fail???
I liked the player, but I didn’t really like the pick because I’m in the camp of never drafting linebackers until around the late 4th or 5th round. LB as a position group is one of the highest odds of getting a late round “hit” so I wouldn’t take one with a top 100 pick personally. And that is not even to mention how bad this team has needed IOL talent.
I think if they knew what they had in Henley, Colson would not have been selected. Remember, he was a TT pick and never saw the field in 2023.
I think we thought it was a good decision because we thought Harbaugh, et al. knew Colson and thus he must be a perfect fit. In hindsight, maybe the Michigan / Ravens connections haven’t been as great as we thought they were.
I think the answer is very clear that the team should have traded down. Didn’t hate the Hampton pick, but taking a 1st round RB was definitely a luxury pick this team could not afford. The team is now paying off the debt of that decision by playing 2 offensive linemen that were not on the team in August.
Playing bargain bin replacement players is not what you want at the “tip of the spear.” For the brand of football this team espouses they want to play, they need to be investing HEAVILY in the OL. Failing to adjust to the adversity of playing bad players on the OL is going to get Herbert (and maybe Lance) hurt.
Just my two cents, but I’d guess the reason they didn’t trade down is how weak this draft class was in general. There were supposedly only around 15 players (+/-) with first round grades and the Chargers probably thought they were getting one of them.
I did think Judkins was a great prospect though, and would’ve been interesting to see if they could’ve landed him and another starter or at least rotational player. Not really sure what Philly was offering but the talent at picks from 50 – 100 seemed way weaker this year than usual.
Whoa whoa whoa, that’s not how I would characterize the debate. You presented your argument, not the topic, mister.
If we knew would the Eagles trade package was, I’d very likely have preferred trading down… since we don’t know it, I don’t throw the trade down into my calculus of whether or not Hampton is worth the 22 overall pick (or top-tier RBs for that matter).
Sounds like we need to have a TDU/PKP debate 😛
The answer to this is clearly yes. Very difficult to complete passes to your 2nd round WR from your hospital bed.