Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers are a good team—a really good team. Really, they have no business placing third in any division, but it just makes the most sense in the AFC West.
Los Angeles ‘bolted up’ this offseason, adding names such as Jackson, Mack, Sebastian Joseph-Day, and Kyle Van Noy to the back of Charger jerseys. On paper, this team truly looks as good as any, but there’s one problem with that: the Chargers always look good on paper.
Even in 2021, the AFC West team in L.A. fielded a great product. Herbert had a season many referred to as MVP caliber, Austin Ekeler logged 20 combined touchdowns on 1,558 scrimmage yards, and the offensive line finished top-10 via Pro Football Focus’ metrics. Beyond that, star safety Derwin James managed to stay healthy. Still, the team finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs.
They couldn’t get it right last season, and while additions such as J.C. Jackson and Khalil Mack are certainly notable, there’s no real reason to believe it will magically happen this year without any evidence to back it up. After all, the head coach and both the offensive and defensive coordinators are still the same people.
Ceiling
While it’s true the Chargers haven’t been able to translate their talented rosters into playoff appearances over the last two years, the potential of this team cannot be ignored. Pound-for-pound, this is one of the best rosters the NFL has to offer, and that has to have a large influence on the team’s ceiling.
Record: 14-3
Floor
Again, Los Angeles hasn’t been able to bolt up into a playoff spot since the 2018 season. That said, this roster is simply too talented to give a low ceiling, even if it doesn’t translate to a postseason berth. There’s no way the Chargers fall below .500 in 2022.
Record: 9-7-1
Note: Despite giving the Chargers a higher ceiling and lower floor than Las Vegas, L.A. is still under the Raiders in my division rankings. There’s a reason for that. The floor for the Raiders is an extremely worst-case scenario, and I don’t believe it will happen at all. In my opinion, Las Vegas, in my opinion, finishes closer to their ceiling, while Los Angeles finishes closer to their floor.