State of the Los Angeles Chargers: Jim Harbaugh era begins with optimism
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Where does your squad stand ahead of the 2024 NFL season? Adam Rank sets the table by providing a State of the Franchise look at all 32 teams, zeroing in on the new faces to know, one significant fantasy spin and the stakes at play in the campaign to come.
Members of the Charges organization, Chargers fans around the world and those who realize the hip fashion in California this year will be wearing khakis while living at the beach.
Who has it better than the Chargers right now? Well, a number of teams. But the Chargers made the decision after they sacked Brandon Staley in December to hire proven winner Jim Harbaugh to turn this team around. The coach is known of turning programs around — dating back to his days at the University of San Diego. How quickly can he get the Chargers trending upward? Let’s take a look.
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2024 brain trust
| POSITION | NAME |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Jim Harbaugh |
| General manager | Joe Hortiz |
| Offensive coordinator | Greg Roman |
| Defensive coordinator | Jesse Minter |
| Special teams coordinator | Ryan Ficken |
Roster reshuffling
Below is a rundown of the Chargers’ most notable roster developments for the 2024 season, including this year’s draft class, as well as key acquisitions and departures via free agency and trade.
| Draft class (round-pick) | Key additions | Key departures |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame (1-5) | J.K. Dobbins, RB | Will Grier, QB |
| Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia (2-34) | Gus Edwards, RB | Austin Ekeler, RB |
| Junior Colson, LB, Michigan (3-69) | DJ Chark, WR | Joshua Kelley, RB |
| Justin Eboigbe, DL, Alabama (4-105) | Will Dissly, TE | Keenan Allen, WR |
| Tarheeb Still, DB, Maryland (5-137) | Hayden Hurst, TE | Jalen Guyton, WR |
| Cam Hart, DB, Notre Dame (5-140) | Bradley Bozeman, C | Mike Williams, WR |
| Kimani Vidal, RB, Troy (6-181) | Poona Ford, DL | Gerald Everett, TE |
| Brenden Rice, WR, USC (7-225) | Bud Dupree, OLB | Nick Vannett, TE |
| Cornelius Johnson, WR, Michigan (7-253) | Troy Dye, LB | Will Clapp, C |
| Denzel Perryman, LB | Corey Linsley, C | |
| Kristian Fulton, CB | Austin Johnson, DL | |
| Nick Williams, DL | ||
| Eric Kendricks, LB | ||
| Kenneth Murray, LB | ||
| Essang Bassey, CB | ||
| Michael Davis, CB | ||
| Jaylinn Hawkins, S | ||
| Dean Marlowe, S |
New faces to know
Hiring college coaches can be a risk. Not this one. Jim was 44-19-1 as coach of the 49ers in 2011-14, the fifth-highest winning percentage with a minimum of 60 games. He took the 49ers to the Super Bowl and never had a losing record in his four seasons with the 49ers. He then went to his alma mater Michigan, where his win-loss record was 89-25 and won the 2024 national championship. This was such a great hire for the Chargers. The Chargers have never had a coach with this kind of swagger. I liked Marty Schottenheimer a lot, but this beats that.
The Chargers held the No. 5 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and made the decision to select Alt, who’ll be an immense help to the NFL’s most-pressured quarterback since 2022 in Justin Herbert. It was the right position to target, especially with Greg Roman coming in as offensive coordinator. You could ask why they didn’t take receivers Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze, who were still on the board, given the Chargers parted ways with veterans Keenan Allen and Mike Williams this offseason. But this situation reminds me of when the Lions selected Penei Sewell in the 2021 draft with major questions at WR1. The offensive line is the strength of that team. It will someday be the same for Los Angeles.
The Chargers are going to run the ball under Roman. Austin Ekeler is gone, so it made sense for the Chargers to go after two running backs, Dobbins and Edwards, who have worked with Roman in the past. Both have been successful with Roman, with Edwards coming off career highs in carries (198), rush yards (810) and rush TDs (13) and Dobbins flashing despite his vast injury history. These two will step right in and aid Herbert, but I’m going to tell you here in a minute – don’t skip ahead – there is another guy you absolutely need to be aware of for fantasy football.
State of the QB room
People want to sleep on Justin Herbert, and that’s just mind-blowing to me. He’s been amazing, especially for a quarterback who was playing for a defensive-minded head coach for the majority of his career. And yet, Justin has thrown 114 touchdown passes over his first four seasons, the second-most in NFL history. However, the metrics like passer rating, yards per attempt and air yards are down over the last two seasons. I’m not too concerned about that give, you know, Jim Harbaugh and everything. Herbert’s numbers should improve. Jim and Roman won’t turn him into a fantasy superstar like Patrick Mahomes, where he throws 50 touchdowns in a season, but he’s going to be a better and more efficient quarterback. Alex Smith revived his career with Harbaugh. Colin Kaepernick got the 49ers to the Super Bowl with Harbaugh. Justin is better than both and will thrive in this system.
Most important non-QB
The Chargers traded Keenan Allen to Chicago, released Mike Williams, lost Ekeler and Gerald Everett to free agency. Who is going to catch the football? Joshua Palmer is fine. DJ Chark is in the building. I’m still not confident Quentin Johnston will ever get the trust of Justin. That’s why I’m banking on McConkey here. The Georgia product does his best work from the slot, and if there is one receiver position that benefits from Roman’s offense, it’s slot receivers. Plus, Herbert said earlier this month that McConkey has “picked up the offense so easily. It’s like he’s been a four- or five-year vet.”
My HOTTEST Chargers fantasy take:
I won’t leave my draft without taking rookie Kimani Vidal.
The Chargers are going to run the football, and Vidal, a rookie out of Troy, will undoubtedly start the season as the backup behind two veterans. But he’s a true workhorse – rushing for 1,661 yards on 297 carries in 2023, second-most rush yards in the nation — so I could totally see the sixth-round draft pick being a league-winning running back down the stretch.
2024 roadmap
Three key dates:
- Week 1: vs. Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders still have a large fanbase in Southern California, which makes this the perfect time for the Chargers to take a shot at their division rival and show them what’s up.
- Week 4: vs. Kansas City Chiefs. I’m really excited to see what Harbaugh has in store for the Chiefs. He is undefeated against Reid in the NFL (2-0). The key for Harbaugh’s team will be the defense, which ranked 28th in yards allowed last season. Harbaugh and new Chargers DC Jesse Minter had the No. 1 scoring and total defense at Michigan last season. How the Los Angeles defense plays under Minter is something to monitor.
- Week 16: vs. Los Angeles Chargers. This is the last home game for the Chargers before they finish on the road in New England and Las Vegas. Who knows, maybe they’ll be in the playoff mix.
For 2024 to be a success, the Chargers MUST:
A) Win the Super Bowl
B) Make a playoff run
C) Earn a playoff berth
D) Finish above .500
E) Show progress
My answer: C) Finish above .500. I’m sort of torn about the Chargers. Jim made quick work of rebuilding teams in San Francisco and with Michigan. Hell, he nearly took the 49ers to the Super Bowl during his first season as head coach back in 2011, but special teams cost them against the Giants in the NFC Championship Game. Prior to his first HC gig in the NFL, he was at Stanford. And it took him a minute to get started there. I feel like this Chargers job is more akin to Stanford than going to Michigan or San Francisco. Patience should be preached here. But I still expect the Chargers to be feisty. To win some games they shouldn’t on paper. Take some swings at the Chiefs and other teams in the AFC. Expectations will be much higher in Big Jim’s second year in L.A.
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- NFC East
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