The New League Year inches closer, as Wednesday will be among the next steps of building the 2023 Chargers roster.
A lot can change from here until the season kicks off, but the Bolts will once again be led by core pieces such as quarterback Justin Herbert and others on both sides of the ball.
ESPN's Mina Kimes recently sat down with Chargers.com to give her take on where the Bolts are at at this point in the calendar year.
The NFL analyst believes the perception of the Bolts in 2023 will be similar to what it was this past season, as the Bolts should once again be in the mix for the postseason.
"I think it'll be honestly pretty similar to how it was coming into the season, where in the division, most people had them behind Kansas City," Kimes said. "I think that will probably be the same.
"I think otherwise, everybody will have the Chargers slotted in as a playoff team," Kimes added. "One that should be healthier, knock on everything, and has some specific areas to improve that are pretty narrow. This is not a team that has a lot of work to do this offseason. People will, myself included, will probably be pretty optimistic."
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One of the bigger moves of the Chargers offseason came on the sidelines, as the addition of offensive coordinator Kellen Moore has created a lot of positive buzz surrounding this Herbert-led offense.
Moore's offenses with the Cowboys saw a lot of success throughout his four seasons calling plays. His creativity and what he will be able to do with Herbert is something that Kimes is excited to watch this upcoming year.
"Kellen's tenure in Dallas, numbers speak for themselves," Kimes said. "It was one of the more efficient and explosive offenses in the NFL. I thought it demonstrated a lot of creativity too and I think it's going to be exciting to see what he brings to LA in that regard.
"Excited to hopefully see the offense push the ball down the field a little bit more," Kimes added. "That's not just about the coordinator, that might be about bringing in some talent, some speed, but I'm excited to see what he does. Especially paired with Justin Herbert who, at this point, has had quite a few coaches in his young career."
Take a look back at photos of the Chargers offense from the 2022 season
The excitement around Moore paired with the offense goes further than Herbert as well, as Kimes believes an X-factor for the Chargers in 2023 will be wide receiver Mike Williams and how he looks with a new play caller.
"I'm excited to see Mike Williams [and] his role in Kellen's offense in particular," Kimes said. "Like I said, I would like to see some speed added to the roster so it might be a player that we don't know yet because we certainly know what Justin's capable of in terms of throwing the ball down field."
On the defensive side of the ball, Kimes had a couple of X-factors, as a few factors could make the group fun to watch again next season.
"Defensively, this was a defense that was so fun to watch, especially down the stretch on a game-specific basis," Kimes said. "Michael Davis is a guy who I don't think anyone had on their radar coming into the season, and to see him play so well was pretty exciting.
"I think a healthy season from Joey Bosa would be really great," Kimes added. "Defense is in pretty good shape, obviously want to shore up against the run a little bit."
Kimes' full interview can be found here.
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