The Chargers Bet On Kenneth Murray And I Hope It Was Worth It
The Chargers have had one position that has consistently underperformed over the last decade.
Runningback was a little tough in the Matthews era, but got better with Gordon and Ekeler.
Receiving was very sketch at the start of the 2010s, but the introduction of Allen started their comeback.
Hell, even their shart-ass offensive line has had it's moments.
The position that has been consistently bad is linebacker. They never have a unit that is above-average vs the run and the pass. Some years, they can cover a little better. Some years they pass rush better, but never at the same time. It crippled their ability to win big games, with the most obvious example being their loss to the Patriots 2 years ago. Part of it has to do with studs like Denzel Perryman constantly going down with injury and big contract guys like Donald Butler underperforming, but a lot more has to do with drafting. Kenneth Murray presents an opportunity to fix this problem not just in the future, but also this year.
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Murray has the length, speed and tenacity that the LB's have been missing, not to mention he is an athletic freak. Here is a look at Derwin James' combine results. Keep in mind that he is able to play nearly every position on defense, and is already considered one of the better safeties in the league.
Here is the results from Kenneth Murray's combine. Keep in mind that he is a good 30 pounds heavier than James as well.
Most analysts agree that he can move and play like a safety, as well as get into the backfield to pile up TFLs. This type of positionless speed and athleticism combined with a good football IQ should help bring this defense to another level if he can prove he is pro-ready this year. If healthy, this defense has Casey Hayward, Chris Harris, Desmond King and Derwin James roaming the secondary, Bosa, Ingram and Linval Joseph rushing the passer, and now Murray, Perryman and Uchenna Nwosu in the middle. If this defensive unit can play up to their potential and avoid injury, they are extremely fucking dangerous.
The only thing I'm a little scared of with the loss of 2 picks is depth. That word has come to haunt me over the years because the Chargers have had precious little of it at basically every position except RB for the better part of two decades. The name of the game is now AVOID INJURIES.