2023 Los Angeles Chargers Preview: Roster Moves, Depth Chart, Schedule, Storylines and More

This article is part of our Team Previews series.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers finally ended their three-year playoff drought in 2022, but a second-half, wild-card collapse against the Jaguars left a bitter taste to what was an otherwise positive season. New offensive coordinator Kellen Moore will be tasked with continuing the development of quarterback Justin Herbert, who seemed to stall at times in the previous dink-and-dunk system. A more high-octane offense could have Los Angeles contend within a top-heavy AFC conference.

2023 Los Angeles Chargers Quarterback Room

• Veteran Additions: None
• Draft Picks: Max Duggan (Rd. 7, No. 239 – TCU)
• Departures: Chase Daniel (FA)

Justin Herbert compiled 4,739 passing yards and a sterling 68.2 completion percentage on 699 attempts in 2022. Despite those facts, it's hard to quantify his third season as a step back, but a dramatic drop in total touchdowns (25 after compiling 77 in his first two years) and just seven passes of 40-plus yards tell the story of an uneven Chargers offense.

A gnarly rib injury in Week 2, which noticeably hindered the electric signal-caller for months – he didn't miss a game – plus multi-game absences to top targets Keenan Allen and Mike Williams were factors in the statistical regression, as was the checkdown-heavy scheme employed by former offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi.

The arrival of former Cowboys offensive mind Kellen Moore should help an attack that struggled to do much vertically, as will the additions of rookies Quentin Johnston and Derius Davis, with the former immediately projecting to start in three-wide sets. Health permitting, Herbert should be poised for another massive season.

2023 Los Angeles Chargers Backfield

• Veteran Additions: None
• Draft Picks: None
• Departures: Sony Michel (to Rams)

For a second year in a row, Austin Ekeler again racked up a career high in total touches, tallying 200-plus carries to go along with an absurd 107 receptions on 127 targets. While he wasn't "quite" the touchdown fiend that he was in 2021, the 28-year-old still scored 18 times and became the only reliable weapon in a Chargers offense hammered by injuries and an ineffectiveness.

While Joshua Kelley ultimately pushed out Michel for change-of-pace work, the third-year pro was hardly dangerous in relief of Ekeler, and the lack of depth was exacerbated further by the complete disappearance of fourth-round rookie Isaiah Spiller, who often was a healthy scratch to end the season.

As a result, the multi-time Pro Bowler requested a trade this offseason after not receiving a healthy extension from the Chargers, but a free-agent market littered with talented backs ultimately saw Ekeler walk back the request, settling for a minor bump in financial incentives added to his preexisting deal. Even in a new scheme, expect the Chargers to rely heavily on Ekeler as he enters the final year of his contract.

2023 Los Angeles Chargers Receiving Corps

• Veteran Additions: None
• Draft Picks: WRs Quentin Johnston (Rd. 1, No. 21 – TCU), Derius Davis (Rd. 4, No. 125 – TCU)
• Departures: WRs DeAndre Carter (to Raiders), Michael Bandy (to Broncos)

Injuries ravaged the Chargers' receiving corps in 2022. Veteran stalwart Keenan Allen missed all or portions of the team's first nine contests with a balky hamstring, while the big-bodied Mike Williams missed a month in the middle of the season with a problematic ankle issue. Those injuries, along with a torn ACL by speedster Jalen Guyton in Week 3, forced five different receivers to see 40 or more snaps in at least three contests, with Joshua Palmer stepping up with 72 catches.

Squeezed against the cap, the Chargers opted to improve their depth by conventional means, drafting Johnston, a lanky target from TCU, in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft and following that up with his teammate Davis in the fourth round. While it's hard to imagine Johnston assuming the type of workload that would make him a fantasy starter right away, Allen's impending contract status in 2024 (the team would save $23 million if cut next offseason) and Williams' constant health issues made his selection a necessary forward-thinking choice.

Unheralded tight ends Gerald Everett and Donald Parham also mix into a passing attack that, on paper, rivals most of its contemporaries in the AFC.

2023 Los Angeles Chargers Sleepers

⬆️  Sleeper: Gerald Everett

Everett quietly parlayed 87 targets in his first season with the Bolts into a serviceable 58 receptions for 555 yards, all career-high figures. Perhaps more importantly, the veteran tight end established a rapport with Justin Herbert as an intermediate target capable of moving the chains as a checkdown option. New offensive coordinator Kellen Moore helped Dalton Schultz thrive as a similar target in Dallas, giving Everett plenty of fantasy upside for his inexpensive price tag.

😴  Super Sleeper: Joshua Palmer

The arrival of first-round pick Quentin Johnston and the reported healthy status of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams have dramatically dimmed the prospects of Palmer, but the third-year wideout is fresh off a season in which he compiled 107 targets. Given that the aforementioned duo have hardly been a beacon of health, Palmer represents one of the rare situations where drafting a backup receiver could pay off nicely if – or when – one of the top targets goes down.

2023 Los Angeles Chargers Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Brandon Staley (Year 3)

Offensive Coordinator: Kellen Moore (Year 1) – Air Coryell

Defensive Coordinator: Derrick Ansley (Year 1) – 3-4 scheme

2023 Los Angeles Chargers Depth Chart

QB: Justin Herbert / Easton Stick / Max Duggan

RB: Austin Ekeler / Joshua Kelley / Isaiah Spiller / Larry Rountree

WR1: Keenan Allen

WR2: Mike Williams / Jalen Guyton / Derius Davis

WR3: Quentin Johnston / Joshua Palmer

TE: Gerald Everett / Donald Parham / Tre' McKitty / Stone Smartt

O-Line: LT Rashawn Slater / LG Zion Johnson / C Corey Linsley / RG Jamaree Salyer / RT Trey Pipkins (RotoWire Rank: No. 9)

Kicker: Dustin Hopkins / Cameron Dicker

Full 2023 Depth Chart

Stats to Know for the Los Angeles Chargers

2023 Projected Wins via FanDuel Sportsbook: 9.5 (T-7th)

2022 Record: 10-7

2022 Points Scored: 391 (13th)

2022 Points Allowed: 384 (26th)

2022 Point Differential: +7 (T-21st)

2022 Run-Play Rate: 34.9 percent (31st)

2022 Offensive Snaps: 1,154 (2nd)

2022 PFF O-Line Ranking: No. 17

Full 2022 Team Stats

2023 Los Angeles Chargers Schedule

Los Angeles Chargers Odds To Win Super Bowl LVIII

• Chargers Super Bowl 58 Odds: 25-1

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 9:00 PM ET on July 29, 2023.