Chargers News: Bolts Insider Gives Perspective on Eric Kendricks' Role for 2023

Kendricks is entering his first season in LA.

The NFL season is just around the corner.

After the longest of waits following the Los Angeles Chargers' shocking loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Wild Card Round, it's just about time for them to officially put that behind them.

Some key changes happened over the offseason.

Notably, head coach Brandon Staley returned for another season. But the Bolts brought in a new offensive coordinator in Kellen Moore and drafted wide receiver Quentin Johnston in the first round of this year's draft to bring a true deep threat into the offense.

There's another addition that may be flying under the radar, though, and that comes on the defensive side of the ball.

Veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks signed a two-year, $13.2 million contract with the Bolts after a standout eight-season tenure with the Minnesota Vikings.

Paired primarily with Anthony Barr in Minnesota, Kendricks became one of the more productive linebackers in the NFC over his time in the North Star State, earning a First-Team All-Pro nod in 2019 and averaging more than 100 tackles per season over his career.

Now the 31-year-old and UCLA alumnus is heading back to the area he once called home, and he'll try to shore up what was a porous run defense last season.

The Athletic's Daniel Popper sees Kendricks having a quality first season in powder blue.

I believe he can still be an above-average run defender. In addition, I think his football IQ, awareness and communication will help the Chargers be a more consistent run unit as a whole. We will not know for sure until the pads come on, though. Kendricks is expected to be wearing the green dot and relaying the plays to the defensive huddle this season. 

^{(via The Athletic)}

If Kendricks can be productive for the Chargers, the team should have a successful year, given the additions they made offensively on the field and on the coaching staff.

And given what Kendricks has done over his career and the fact that he's only 31, all signs point to him being a great addition to the Bolts' defense.

A big year lies ahead for the Chargers organization. But as it stands now, they're set up to succeed when the regular season kicks off this fall.

It's almost time to turn that potential into results.