Chargers general manager Tom Telesco predictably didn’t reveal his free agency and draft strategies during his annual NFL Scouting Combine media availability on Thursday, but he did provide tidbits in a unique way.
With the combine canceled this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Telesco deflected specific questions from his office in Costa Mesa. But instead of discussing positional needs for improving the roster, Telesco listed situational areas and statistical categories of concern.
Telesco mentioned the lack of efficiency from the running game last season and how that hurt the offense in the red zone and goal-to-goal situations. With the Chargers losing seven one-score games in 2020, improving the rushing game’s efficiency could be what they need for becoming a playoff team after a 7-9 season.
But Telesco made it clear that focusing on one area will not make all the difference for the Chargers in 2021.
“I don’t know if we’re just a better offensive line away from winning a championship,” Telesco said. “We’re trying to build a whole football team.”
From the public’s perspective, it seems many want the Chargers to improve the offensive line for star quarterback Justin Herbert. Many draft experts and analysis stories have Telesco’s team taking an offensive lineman with the No. 13 overall pick in April’s draft and signing a top free agent when the legal tampering period opens March 15.
Telesco declined to say if he’s prioritizing the offensive line this offseason, but upgrading that unit would likely improve the rushing game’s efficiency.
“You can’t really look at one spot and say, ‘Look, if we just fix this one thing we’ll be playing for a championship,’” Telesco said. “It doesn’t work like that. We’re looking to try to build the best balanced football team we can.”
Telesco also wants the defense to apply more pressure on quarterbacks and increase takeaway opportunities, which would assist the Chargers in two-minute situations during one-score games. As for the special teams, Telesco wants to see better field position for a unit that mightily struggled last season.
All these concerns will be on Telesco’s mind when making personnel decisions this offseason. But Telesco knows the offensive line needs improvement, and the draft might be a good way of doing that.
“Overall, I was talking to somebody yesterday that I think it’s a deep draft,” Telesco said about the offensive line prospects for the upcoming draft. “I really do. But I don’t know if the whole offensive line is deep in the draft, but there are certain areas that are better than others, but we probably look at it differently than you would.
“I know the focus is on the first round, but we’re looking through all seven rounds and trying to see where the depth is at different positions. But yeah, looks pretty good.”
POTENTIAL CUTS
Telesco guessed that many notable veterans from other teams will be released before the new league starts on March 17 because the salary cap was drastically lowered for the 2021 season.
The Chargers have the option of keeping most of their veteran players with a high salary cap hit because they have a projected $25.3 million in cap space, according to OvertheCap.com. But Telesco didn’t rule out the possibility of making his own notable cuts.
“You try to keep as many options open as possible, but yeah, we’re in a better situation than most, which is good to know,” Telesco said. “It gives us some flexibility, but it’s not like we have so much cap space that we can be overly aggressive in free agency.”
NO DECISION ON HENRY
Telesco didn’t rule out the possibility of using the franchise tag on tight end Hunter Henry for a second consecutive season.
He mentioned Henry’s importance to the team, but also noted that the salary cap could make it difficult to use the franchise tag on him. The Chargers have until Tuesday to make that decision.
If the Chargers don’t use the franchise tag, Henry will become a free agent on March 17 if they don’t agree on a long-term contract extension before then. If Henry gets tagged, his projected salary for 2021 would be around $12.7 million, which would take a chunk of the team’s free cap space.
“We’re just leaving all the options open right now,” Telesco said. “Obviously, this year where the cap is, it makes it more difficult than other years, but I think we gotta keep all doors open at this point.
“(Henry is) a big part of the football team and love how he plays the game. He fits what we do on the field, off the field and he’s a high-level player.”
MIKE WILLIAMS’ FUTURE
Telesco had a similar response when asked about wide receiver Mike Williams’ contract situation.
The No. 7 overall pick of the 2017 draft is heading into the final year of his rookie contract with a base salary of $15.6 million for the 2021 season.
Agreeing to a long-term contract extension with Williams would likely give the Chargers some cap-space flexibility, but Telesco isn’t viewing it that way.
He credited Williams for making big plays, despite not seeing many targets the past two seasons. Williams is regarded as a clutch player and arguably the best jump-ball receiver in the NFL, but he lacks the statistical numbers that tend to lead to Pro Bowl appearances and other yearly awards.
“We’re going to keep all options open,” Telesco said. “Mike has done a heck of a job for us. I think he’s a really, really high-level football player. The opportunities that he gets, he makes big plays for us, and it’s not necessarily his fault that he’s got Keenan Allen on one side and he’s got Hunter Henry at tight end and Austin Ekeler at running back.
“We only have one football to go around, but Mike is a very talented high-level football player in this league.”
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