Chargers DE Isaac Rochell receives Charges nomination for Walter Payton Man of the Year Award

What are Chargers DE Isaac Rochell's two goals in the NFL?

Chargers defensive end, Isaac Rochell earned Los Angeles's nomination for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award and it's no surprise why. Despite playing in a new stadium and through a pandemic, the 25 year-old created his own apparel company aimed at helping others. The brand, called Local Human, puts 100% of their proceeds back into the community through the Do Good Foundation. Currently, Rochell is in his five weeks of giving in Southern California where the organization has already fed over 450 families Thanksgiving meals, surprised grocery shoppers with $5,000 in free groceries and donated 150 Christmas trees to families in need. Although Local Human is helping families this holiday season, the foundation has been giving back to the community for the last seven months. 

In an interview with Sports Illustrated host Kaitlin O'Toole, Rochell shared he has two goals while he's in the NFL, to have a great career and to make a massive impact in the community. "I want to be as good as a football player as possible. That's obviously goal number one and that makes all this stuff possible but close to that is doing my part in the community. I'm blessed to be here, not everybody has the same blessings so if the least I can do is create a company to raise money, I'm gonna do that."

Rochell has managed to give back to the community all while dealing with changes in his own career. The defensive end shared the challenges he's faced playing football during a global pandemic. "For me it's definitely been challenging. A lot of ups and downs, and a lot of uncertainty even going into the season. Just the idea that we didn't know if we were even going to have a season, let alone if we were going to have fans or any of that. In general it's been a challenging year. A lot of guys have had to lean on their routines, lean on what they know from past experience but it's been tough."

One thing we've learned about Rochell is that even in tough times, this defensive end keeps going. Creating a company in a pandemic is no easy task, playing football on top of it- is impressive. It's easy to understand why the Chargers selected Isaac Rochell for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award and it's safe to say this nominee is already accomplishing both of his goals.