The predictions are rolling in as we've reached less than two weeks until the start of the regular season.
ESPN released their annual top 100 players list ahead of the 2024 season, with a total of four members of the Bolts making the cut.
ESPN asked a panel of dozens of NFL experts to rate players based on performance expectations for the 2024 season. They emphasized that this was based only on the upcoming season and a prediction to how the list will look following the season.
The highest-ranking Charger on the list was Justin Herbert once again at No. 28, the seventh quarterback listed.
With a new offensive approach that believes in running the football, ESPN believes Herbert will see a shift in the way the Bolts offense is run in 2024 that will take some of the load off of him.
ESPN's Kris Rhim wrote:
For the first time in his career, Herbert should have a dominant rushing attack. The Chargers have ranked in the bottom half of the league for his first four seasons, making this offense predictable and overly reliant on passing. Since entering the league in 2020, Herbert has averaged 277.8 passing YPG (only Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes have averaged more over that span). The Chargers drafted Joe Alt with the fifth pick and added RBs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards to establish a feared rushing offense and make life easier for Herbert.
ESPN's Mike Clay projected Herbert to throw for 3,559 yards, 23 touchdowns, 10 interceptions to go along with 257 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
The next member of the Bolts was on the defensive side in Joey Bosa, who came in at No. 91.
After notching 6.5 sacks in just nine games last season, they believe Bosa has flashed enough to be back to being a big contributor this year with 40 tackles and eight sacks.
Rhim wrote:
Bosa said he feels perhaps the best he has in years after playing 14 games over the past two seasons due to various injuries. When healthy, he is one of the league's best players. He has shown that in camp, dominating former All-Pro tackle Rashawn Slater and first-round rookie Joe Alt. Bosa's production will depend on his health, which he is convinced is in a great spot.
A pair of Bolts rounded out the Chargers mentioned in back-to-back spots — tackle Rashawn Slater at No. 95 and safety Derwin James, Jr., at No. 96.
Slater returned last season after missing most of 2022 with an injury. Now going into Year 4, he could continue to show why he's one of the best young tackles in the NFL.
Rhim wrote:
Slater finished 127th in pass block win rate (87.3%) and 36th in run block win rate (75.6%) last season, a significant decrease from the Slater who was an All-Pro as a rookie in 2021. However, he played through an ankle sprain that could have contributed to his drop-off in play. In 2022, he played three games before missing the remainder of the season with a ruptured biceps tendon. Slater looks to be healthy and motivated in 2024.
And for James, a bounce back season could be upon him with an exciting new defensive playcaller this year.
Rhim wrote:
James had a down year in 2023… With a new defensive coordinator in Jesse Minter, James could return to form in 2024.
One of the more glaring exemptions from the list was Khalil Mack, who is coming off a year where he set a career-high with 17.0 sacks and tied the Chargers franchise record for a season.
Mack was NFL analyst Lindsey Thiry's biggest snub of the list as she opined that, despite his age, he could put together another good year in 2024 with what's around him.
Thiry wrote:
This is predictive, and Mack isn't getting any younger at 33 while going into his 11th NFL season. However, he showed no signs of slowing last season in ranking fourth in the league with a career-high 17 sacks -- and he did so despite his edge-rushing counterpart Joey Bosa spending the final seven games on injured reserve. Going into the 2024 campaign, Mack will be under the direction of first-year defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, who called Mack "one of the best football people I've ever been around," and Mack could benefit from the return of Bosa, whom foes will have to account for in playing on the opposite edge.
To read the full top 100 list, click here.
