Chargers grades show disaster in front of Justin Herbert, one starter LA must bench

Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Chargers are a mess along the offensive line in front of Justin Herbert right now.

Some of that can’t be avoided, of course. Star left tackle Joe Alt is currently injured and working his way back from an ankle sprain. Right tackle Rashawn Slater is out for the season and his backup, Trey Pipkins, missed the game against the Miami Dolphins. 

Even so, most of the grades are pretty concerning. 

Free-agent signing Mekhi Becton, for example, posted a 53.8 PFF overall grade against the Dolphins. That was actually lower than Bobby Hart’s grade, and he’s the guy who just joined the team and started on an emergency basis in Pipkins’ spot at right tackle. 

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If there’s a silver lining, it’s that former first-round pick Zion Johnson wound up as the highest-graded player on the line, netting an 88.4 grade. If he can continue to do that, what looked like one of the most concerning spots on the roster suddenly stabilizes. 

Now…for the bad. 

Chargers need to bench Bradley Bozeman

Amanda Perobelli/Reuters via Imagn Images

How many more examples do Jim Harbaugh and the coaching staff need to see? 

Against the Dolphins, starting center Bradley Bozeman checked in at a 33.4 grade, bottom on the Chargers offense, even under tight ends and running backs. 

On the season, Bozeman has a 48.9 grade at PFF, 48th out of 50 centers. 

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The veteran consistently gets praised by Harbaugh and others as a leader, which is a fine. And he might communicate and see things at the line of scrimmage just fine. But overall, it’s hard to imagine things could get much worse if they give someone like Andre James a shot. 

Maybe the Chartgers are simply waiting for Alt and Pipkins to get back and stabilize the edges before making a big change to the interior. Heck, maybe they’re looking at adding outside help via the waiver wire or even trade. 

Either way, it’s pretty clear something needs to change here. 

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