Hall of Fame running back and Chargers legend LaDainian Tomlinson knows a thing or two about the trenches.
After all, he played with some of the greatest offensive lines in Chargers history and routinely credits those groups with helping him get enshrined in football immortality.
One of the Chargers' biggest investments this offseason came with fortifying that unit.
Right tackle Bryan Bulaga, is the familiar face despite 2021 only being his second season with the Bolts. Additionally, the team added guards Matt Feiler and Oday Aboushi, and center Corey Linsley in free agency and selected left tackle Rashawn Slater out of Northwestern in the first round of this year's draft.
We know what a solid offensive line means for a quarterback, but with Tomlinson out at Chargers Camp this week, I had to ask what it means for the running backs.
"From a running back's perspective, you build chemistry out here in practice first," Tomlinson reflected. "Once those guys get a feel for how you run the football, your pace and tempo, then they're able to do their job a lot better. We use the [mantra] as runners, runners help the offensive line make their blocks. We actually create the blocks. They do their job, but we create the blocks for them. So with that said, the more you play together, the more you run the football, the better they will get."
Tomlinson also discussed how beneficial this Chargers offense will be for the position he previously played.
"If I'm Austin Ekeler, I'm back there smiling because he has all these weapons all over the field. He has a stud quarterback and now it's kind of like, is the defense gonna forget about me? No. You're gonna see Austin Ekeler bust through there a number of times for big scores."
You can catch LT on the sidelines this Saturday when the Chargers take on the Rams.
Fans in Los Angeles can watch Saturday's game at 7:00 P.M. PDT on KCBS. For fans outside of the local Los Angeles market – Chargers vs. Rams is LIVE on NFL Network or with NFL Game Pass.
Take a look at some of the best photos from the thirteenth day of Chargers Training Camp 2021.
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