Sometimes you can’t judge a book by its cover. Then again, sometimes you can. When judgment comes from your peers, it tends to lend a whole more credence than outsiders’ articulated opinions. The annual NFL Top 100 list is one of those platforms where the playing field is leveled for the players by the players.
The BS meter is tossed unmercifully to the sidelines as the best of the best in the National Football League is rightly recognized by their colleagues. The Los Angeles Chargers are in pretty good standing when it comes to that format.
As the NFL Top 100 grinds through its countdown, the Chargers represented on that list give their fans more than enough hope that their team will be in the mix as possible Super Bowl contenders. Yes, it’s just the beginning of summer. Expectations run high for every NFL team. But it is incredibly conceivable that the Chargers’ balance of top-tier veterans and talented young bucks, might finally land them into the oasis of competing for NFL supremacy.
And if looks can reflect that possibility, the Chargers should be feeling pretty good as the team rounds up workout activities before minicamp and training camp looming in the nearby horizon. A good reason that the Chargers can point to an optimistic 2018 campaign with strong playoff possibilities is how many players they have on their roster that made the NFL Top 100 list.
The names of the players are nothing to sneeze at. Shutdown cornerback Casey Hayward made it at No. 59. You have quarterback Philip Rivers earning a No. 56 spot on the list. Defensive line bookends Melvin Ingram (No. 76) and Joey Bosa (No. 37), and last year’s NFL Comeback Player of the Year-wide receiver Keenan Allen (No. 41) mark their outstanding 2017 season with a well-earned placement on the list.
How does that spell success for the Chargers in 2018? Well, what that proves is that the Chargers shouldn’t be slept on for the upcoming season. The Chargers are young and sturdy, anchored by the play of Bosa, Ingram, Hayward, and linebacker Denzel Perryman.
With the addition of former Florida State standout Derwin James to the league’s No. 3 pass defense, the Chargers’ defensive unit should be even more stingy when it comes to defending the pass and limiting what opponents can do offensively.
With Bosa (12.5 sacks) and Ingram (8 sacks) handling their business in their pass-rushing escapades, their line activities allow Hayward and the other Chargers defenders to blanket opposing wide receivers. The Chargers are loaded on the defensive side of the ball. But what makes this team scary to comprehend is that Rivers and Allen are one of the top three quarterback-wide receiver tandems in the game.
Dennis is the editor and publisher of News4usonline. He covers the NFL, NBA, MLB, racial and social justice, civil rights, and HBCUs. Dennis earned a journalism degree from “The Mecca” aka Howard University. “I write on what I am passionate about.”