One Sleeper Player For The Los Angeles Chargers

By now, it is no secret that the Los Angeles Chargers had one of the most well-rounded offseasons in the NFL. With a new coaching staff and some home run free agent pickups, to one of the best draft classes in the Tom Telesco era, the Bolts struck gold. As camp approaches, there are the usuals: Justin Herbert, Austin Ekeler, Keenan Allen, Derwin James, and Joey Bosa. However, there are some sleepers on this team that are flying under the radar.

One Sleeper Player For The Los Angeles Chargers 

Rashawn Slater and Asante Samuel Jr. were the 1st and 2nd picks, respectively, for the Chargers. Mike Williams is the WR2 and Kenneth Murray is back in the middle of the defense after a stellar rookie campaign. Everybody knows those guys.

So, let’s examine one player that is flying under the radar for the Chargers.

Jerry Tillery 

A former first-round pick flying under the radar? Precisely.

First thing first, Tillery is a well-known name. However, Tillery has been overshadowed by Murray, Bosa, James, Casey Hayward, and so forth. Melvin Ingram and Bosa were the talks of the front group on the defense. Now Uchenna Nwosu has stepped in for Ingram and Linval Joseph had a productive first year in Los Angeles.

With all that being said, Tillery is a name some forgot about. Rest assured, the new head coach and defensive guru Brandon Staley could work wonders with Tillery.

Remember a guy named Morgan Fox? Yeah, Staley coached him as well, and he had a career season with the Rams last season.

When the Chargers selected Tillery with the 28th pick in the 2019 draft, they were getting another Notre Dame star (Telesco’s favorite) and a true stopper up front for the defense.

He played in 15 games as a rookie and registered just nine tackles with a pair of sacks, then played in every game in 2020 and had 19 tackles with three sacks.

Gus Bradley is off to Las Vegas and the Chargers defense as a whole should be much more effective, especially in the trenches with Staley working hands-on with this group.Yes, Tillery did improve last season, but he is wildly overlooked on the Chargers’ defense. Now they also added Samuel Jr. and are getting James back healthy, not to mention cornerback Michael Davis and Chris Harris Jr., hence the reason why Tillery is one the sleeper players for the Chargers.

The third season of Tillery’s NFL career could easily be his best one and Staley will be in his ear constantly. With a revamped defensive group and a full offseason training program, mini camps, and OTAs, the sky is the limit for Tillery, and Telesco is hoping it works out before he gets slapped with another failed draft pick.

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