A lot of football fans, and sometimes even coaches, underestimate how impactful a rookie class can be. Sometimes it’s one player like Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady. Sometimes it’s a whole class like the Seattle Seahawks, who started almost all of their draft picks last year, all playing above average or better. A franchise can literally flip itself around with just one draft class. Let’s look at the Chargers rookies this year and see how impactful they could be. I will be going over the first three draft picks as I predict the others to be either practice squad or special teams contributors.
1st Round Rookie: Quentin Johnston
This is the rookie I feel will have the biggest impact for the Chargers this year. It doesn’t always have to be a 1st rounder. Last year I thought it was 3rd round pick JT Woods, but it didn’t turn out that way. I hope I’m right this year when I say Johnston will be huge for the Chargers. Most fans might think he won’t because we already have Mike Williams and Keenan Allen, which I completely understand. Hear me out, though. With Johnston and new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, our offense could be top five this year.
We’ll have Williams and Johnston on the outside. Both can run past defenders, win 50/50 balls, and run after the catch. You can’t double them both, so Herbert will toss it up to the one being single-covered and likely get an easy completion. If the defense does decide to double them both with a corner and a safety, then Allen will be able to manipulate the middle of the field a whole lot easier. There aren’t many receivers who are better route runners than Allen. Having fewer bodies to cover his area and he’ll get open with no problem. With Johnston bringing attention his way, lanes open up for the run game and screens.
Last year whenever Williams was out, and Jalen Guyton was out for the season, most defenses had at least nine defenders close to the line of scrimmage. I remember seeing way too many times opposing defenses not having a single safety deep. The reason was that without Williams, there was no deep threat. Last year’s OC had Allen running nothing but short routes, and when he went down, we had no one to threaten a deep pass. The defenders surrounded the line of scrimmage to easily stop the run and the short passes. That wouldn’t be the case with Williams and Johnston threatening to take it all the way, and even more so if Guyton returns fully healthy.
This is why Johnston could be the last piece to the puzzle for our offense and the rookie with the biggest impact on the team. Derick Jelley says in his article that he thinks Johnston is their biggest addition this year.
2nd Round Rookie: Tuli Tuipulotu
Former USC EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu (49) – by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
We already discussed the injuries the Chargers had to the receivers group; now let’s talk about the injuries they had to the edge group. There was so much hype with Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack last year. Unfortunately, we only saw it for two weeks as Bosa went out in week 3. He returned in week 17, but you could tell he wasn’t fully healthy and ended up being a liability in the playoff game against the Jaguars. Without Bosa, Mack was constantly doubled, and no one else could get to the quarterback. The Chargers had to constantly blitz their linebackers and safeties, which allowed far too many big plays in the run.
Now Bosa should be fully healthy, and we have another rusher who can bring down opposing QBs. Not only that, but he is so versatile we can even play him inside. What worries me is Tuli’s experience and age. He wreaked havoc in college, there’s no doubt about that, but the guy is still only 20 years old, which is young for a rookie. With how complicated and detailed Staley’s defense is, it’s worth wondering if Tuli will pick it up in year one. Even Bosa took a year to feel comfortable in the system, and he was a five-year pro. If Tuli does pan out, then rotating these three would be awesome to watch.
Chargers writer Omar Navarro has the edge group as a whole as his biggest x-factor group for the Chargers this year in his article. I personally can’t wait to see how they do.
3rd Round Rookie: Daiyan Henley
Confidence is half the battle – that isn’t a problem for Daiyan Henley (Darren Yamashita/USA TODAY Sports).
Both Johnston and Tuli have a medium floor and a really high ceiling. Henley has a low floor and a high ceiling, in my opinion. I personally think that Henley was a great pick and that some fans are taking for granted just how good he can be. As told by Draft Network’s Justin Melo in his article, Henley was a former wide receiver before switching to the defense. Because of this, he can read the routes receivers and tight ends are going to make, and he has good hands to catch the ball. He also has good playing speed and can jump high.
What I think he needs to work on is his angles when pursuing defenders. In college, it wasn’t a big issue because he could easily outrun most players. That won’t be the case in the NFL. I think he’s a good tackler, and if he takes good angles will get his guy down easy. I also think he needs to work on his blitzing, but honestly, we drafted him to cover, not blitz. I’m sure he’ll develop his blitzing skills as he gets more playing time.
Speaking of playing time, Henley could compete with Kenneth Murray for snaps. Murray is a more athletic player to me, but he takes horrible angles and is worse in coverage. That gives Henley an opportunity to be a starter in his rookie season. Not really, because Staley uses one linebacker in most of his packages, but on paper, Henley would be the second LB listed as a starter. I truly believe Henley will outplay Murray and take that role.
Conclusion
All three of these rookies could have a big impact this year. I think Johnston will have the most, but Tuli and Henley could play on more than half the snaps in games. That would keep Bosa, and Mack refreshed and keep us from worrying about our LBs letting running back go through the lanes and not covering the tight ends. If these three turn into what Staley and Telesco want them to be, this could be the breaking point for the Chargers to make their mark as a Super Bowl-caliber team.
