Chargers' High-Earning Secondary Defender Looked at As Team's X-Factor

The Chargers defnese will be the focal point for many going into the new season, and it'll need to do better for LA to fulfill its goals.

The first thing is health. The Chargers' star players need to be available if they want any shot at doing better and secondary, they need to show up and show out. That may sound easy, but it didn't seem like it for the Chargers high-paying DB, J.C. Jackson. Jackson suffered mightly before suffering a season-ending knee injury early last season.

He didn't look like his 2021 self and was viewed as a bust of a signing by the Chargers. Nonetheless, 2023 is a new season, Jackson is recovering well, and if he's out there, there will be some lofty expectations for the team and himself.

This is a big year for all parties involved, including Jackson, who is viewed as the biggest X-Factor for the Bolts by Bleacher Reports, Kristopher Knox.

Jackson is close to a return and

plans to be available

in Week 1. The unknown is if he'll be at 100 percent and can return to the Pro Bowl form he last had with the New England Patriots in 2021.

The Chargers could desperately use that version of Jackson in their secondary. Los Angeles has loads of offensive talent but ranked only 20th in yards allowed per pass last season. The Chargers' inability to contain opposing passing attacks played a big role in their inability to protect a 27-point lead against the Jaguars in the wild-card round.

If Los Angeles hopes to be more than just a postseason footnote in 2023, it needs a secondary that can hold up against the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow. Jackson can help provide it if he can bounce back from a very forgettable year.

(via Bleacher Report)

All hands on the defensive side will need to be on deck to make LA a top-10 defense in the league. Jackson must be all on his Ps and Qs for the LA defense and prove that last season was a fluke.

DB is one of the most challenging positions to play, but Jackson made it look easy in years past; if he can play like some version of that, the Chargers will be a scary sight on that side of the ball.

The 27-year-old will be critical, and if he's healthy, I'm sure he will prove all the naysayers wrong.