SAN DIEGO -- Even with the use of 24 different offensive line combinations because of a rash of injuries last season, San Diego Chargers general manager Tom Telesco doubled down on the personnel he had already secured along the offensive line.
Previous high-dollar free agent signings -- left tackle King Dunlap and left guard Orlando Franklin -- remain in the fold, and are projected starters at their positions once again for 2016.
Telesco re-signed the most durable offensive lineman on the team last season -- right tackle Joe Barksdale -- to a four-year, $22 million deal in free agency. He brought back swing tackle Chris Hairston on a two-year deal, and retained exclusive rights free agent guard Kenny Wiggins, who started eight games last season.
Oft-injured interior offensive lineman Chris Watt remains the projected starter at center for now.
Instead of an infusion of talent, the Chargers hope adding a fresh set of eyes -- switching offensive line coaches from Joe D'Alessandris to Jeff Davidson -- will help improve a position group that struggled with injuries and underperformed last season.
Head coach Mike McCoy and Davidson worked together in Carolina for two seasons in 2007 and 2008, with Davidson serving as offensive coordinator while McCoy worked as the quarterbacks coach and passing coordinator.
"Him and I have worked together for a couple years, and just understand how we want to play the game up front," McCoy said. "The good thing with him coming in is a lot of things are the same -- we’ve changed a couple things with terminology and things like that -- but really the philosophy of how we want to run the ball hasn’t changed.
"As a staff, with the new guys here it’s building a scheme that best fits our players. It’s not going to be just one scheme. We’re going to do a little bit of everything. I think with the knowledge that he’s had from working at a number of different places and the success he’s had wherever he’s been, with Jeff, Ken Whisenhunt and the rest of our staff, we’ll do whatever our players do best."
San Diego averaged a league-worst 3.46 yards per carry last season, and a lot of that started up front. The Chargers failed to consistently control the line of scrimmage on offense, and it’s the reason San Diego threw the ball 63 percent of the time last season.
The Chargers have to figure out a consistent way to run the football in 2016, which could mean employing more zone-blocking schemes that fit second-year running back Melvin Gordon's skill set.
One thing offensive lines led by Davidson have been successful at is running the football. In six of the past eight seasons, offensive lines led by Davidson have cleared a path for rushing attacks that finished in the top eight in the league in total rushing.
Of course, Davidson had Adrian Peterson in Minnesota, and DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart with Carolina, so having talented runners helped.
The Chargers also essentially added two offensive line coaches, with the addition of assistant offensive line coach David DeGuglielmo, who served as the offensive line coach for the New England Patriots for two seasons before his arrival at Chargers Park.
Though some draft analysts have penciled in offensive line as a primary need for the Chargers at the top of the draft board, San Diego has a couple developmental prospects they like already on the roster, including interior offensive lineman Michael Huey and tackle Tyreek Burwell.
An undrafted rookie free agent out of Cincinnati last season, the Chargers kept Burwell on the 53-man roster coming out of training camp rather risk losing him to another team on the waiver wire.
"This will be a big offseason for him and training camp to get a little stronger," Telesco said about Burwell. "He’s a really good prospect for us."
Although the Chargers gave up 40 sacks in 2015, the offense’s sack-per-dropback rate was in the middle of the pack for the league, which isn’t bad considering the Chargers had the most passing attempts in the NFL last season.
With Whisenhunt back as offensive coordinator, expect a return of the short passing game for the Chargers, which means Philip Rivers will get the ball out quick and San Diego should have less sacks.
But overall, like everything else, McCoy said San Diego’s offensive line needs better execution in 2016.
"We’ve got to play better," McCoy said. "We’re not going to make excuses for all of the injuries and things, but some guys have to step up and do their jobs better. And we’ve got to do a better job as coaches."
