Chargers News: Bolt Experts Concerned Over LA's Safety Depth

Could the Bolts lack of seconday depth be a concern?

The 2023 season is approaching for the Los Angeles Chargers, and they have made significant upgrades in various positions. With these improvements, it is expected that the team will perform much better than it did in 2022, provided they stay healthy. 

The Chargers have the advantage of having the best safety in the league, Derwin James. However, there are concerns about the overall quality of their defensive backfield. Players like Alohi Gilman, JT Woods, and Mark Webb Jr. are considered questionable in terms of their performance. Additionally, the team has some undrafted rookies who could potentially make a difference before the regular season begins.

Chargers insider Daniel Popper shares these concerns and recognizes this could be the weakest group on the team. 

Los Angeles Chargers

 

Safety depth 

The Chargers have

Derwin James

and

Alohi Gilman

as their starting safety tandem. But the depth behind those two is a question mark. Safety depth is particularly important in Brandon Staley’s defense because of how often James moves around. When James moves closer to the line, someone must replace him at safety. Right now, that is slated to be second-year defensive back

J.T. Woods

, who struggled as a rookie. Tackling is his biggest weakness. The Chargers are expecting huge improvements. They are banking on it, really. But they will not know what they have until pads come on in camp. —

Daniel Popper

(via The Athletic)

The team needs players to step up in a significant way to strengthen their defensive backfield. It remains to be seen if any of the players, including the undrafted rookies, will rise to the occasion and fill the gaps effectively. This will be an area of focus for the Chargers as they prepare for the upcoming season.

Overall, the Chargers have addressed several needs and have the potential to make a deep postseason run if they can stay healthy and if the concerns in the defensive backfield are adequately addressed. As the season progresses, it will be interesting to see how the team performs and if they can overcome any challenges that arise.