1 Overlooked Reason Chargers Have a Huge Advantage Over Most of AFC

Don't look now, but there's a smaller, overlooked thing that paints the Chargers' future in a great light.

Tuli Tuipulotu | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Chargers quietly have one of the younger NFL cores in the entire NFL. 

In fact, it’s extremely easy to overlook the age of the Chargers right now. After, or right alongside star quarterback Justin Herbert, the most recognizable name is 35-year-old superstar Khalil Mack. 

Adding to this, most of the conversation around the Chargers’ trip to the NFL draft is the fact the team appeared to take a big risk when selecting Akheem Mesidor in the first round. After all, he’s 25 years old, making him very old for a first-year player. He and the Chargers could be looking at a fifth-year option on his first NFL contract right around the time he’s 30 years old. 

But zooming out, the Chargers aren’t doing all that badly when it comes to overall age, especially when looking at the key pieces of the long-term future. 

Luckily for Chargers fans, one national take on the matter gets this right. 

Chargers’ young core positioned to contend for years

Justin Herbert | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Start with the easy stuff: Justin Herbert is still only 28 years old.

In fact, going back to last year, the Chargers were doing a pretty good job on the age front while doing some serious roster churn over the first two years of the Jim Harbaugh era. 

That’s a big part of the reason why Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox recently put the Chargers at sixth overall in his ranking of every NFL team’s young core. 

“Los Angeles opened last season as the seventh-youngest team in the NFL,” Knox wrote. “They experienced multiple injuries along the offensive line, and yet, they still finished with their second straight playoff berth.”

Much of the current young star power rests on Herbert’s side of the ball. There are the big names in the offensive trenches, plus Ladd McConkey at wideout, Oronde Gadsden at tight end and Omarion Hampton at running back. 

One could argue the defense is a little more long-term developmental, but upstart pass-rusher Tuli Tuipulotu is only 23, as is a promising corner like Tarheeb Still. 

And on this same list, there’s only one AFC team in front of the Chargers: New England. The rest are on the NFC side. Not bad for a Chargers team that is still remodeling the roster around someone like Mike McDaniel while getting younger and thinking about the long-term future. 

Sign Up For the Chargers Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Los Angeles Chargers Newsletter