Chargers Training Camp is on the horizon.
The team will host 14 open practices as they welcome fans to The Bolt in El Segundo for the first time.
The Bolts are looking to have an instant impact in Year 1 of the Jim Harbaugh era and have a new-look coaching staff and roster that relentlessly attacked the offseason program.
Chargers.com will take a look at each position group leading up to training camp. Next up, the running backs.
Who's on the roster?
Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, Isaiah Spiller, Kimani Vidal, Elijah Dotson, Jaret Patterson
Camp outlook
Like many of the other positions on the roster, the Chargers running back room went through some changes this offseason.
And under Head Coach Jim Harbaugh, the run game has been a major talking point of the offense in recent months.
With Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman calling the plays, the team brought on some familiar faces for the playcaller who will help push the physicality of the run game the group is looking for.
First was the signing of running back Gus Edwards, who was in the offensive coordinator's system from 2019 to 2022 in Baltimore.
Edwards is coming off a career-best season in which he rushed for 810 yards and 13 touchdowns (good for fourth in the NFL among running backs).
And with his familiarity of the offense, he's been able to fit right in from the start.
"I like his mindset. He's a consummate professional," Chargers running backs coach Kiel McDonald said. "That's the one thing that jumps out about Gus. He is very smart and knows the scheme inside and out. I am pretty excited about him."
Edwards added: "[Roman] wants to run the ball and play off of that. We were very successful with his offense over in Baltimore. I love this scheme, the way that he schemes everything up. And just the whole mindset — the physicality — I really like."
Edwards is joined in the backfield by a familiar face in J.K. Dobbins, with whom he has played alongside since 2020 with the Ravens.
Dobbins was signed in mid-April and brings some depth to a room, as the 25-year-old running back has played 24 games the previous four years in Baltimore, rushing for 1,347 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The veteran duo of Edwards and Dobbins will lead a group that is somewhat an inexperienced unit outside of those two.
2022 fourth-round pick Isaiah Spiller is one of the members of the room who will look to try and earn some snaps during camp after playing in only 15 games his first two seasons.
The room also features a recent draft pick in 2024 sixth-rounder Kimani Vidal.
The rookie brings forward an impressive resume having finished his Troy career setting the all-time (4,010), single-season (1,661) and single-game (248) rushing records and will now look to make his impact heading into training camp.
Elijah Dotson and Jaret Patterson round out the group returning to the Bolts after spending time with the room last season.
It still remains to be seen how the workload is split up between the room, but the expectation remains the same — they are going to be physical no matter who is out there.
"What do I think that it's going to look like? I think that we're going to be a physical team," Edwards said. "I think that is what the guys that we have been bringing in as of late, that's what everybody has in common — some bigger guys, some more physical guys.
"Just going off of what the last couple weeks have been bringing, I'd say that we're going to be physical," Edwards added.
Quick quote
"It takes a lot of work, it doesn't just [snaps] happen like that. We're in that process now and we're going to kind of just see where everything settles at a certain point. I definitely think we want to have some balance in our offense, but we're not just going to run the ball into a brick wall either. Bang our head against the brick wall. Sometimes the illusion of wanting to run the ball a lot is just as powerful as the ability to. We'll see how it all comes together." – Roman on running the ball and balance in the offense
Player to watch: J.K. Dobbins
Dobbins will be an intriguing player to follow in 2024 as he looks to bounce back after a pair of seasons battling injuries.
The running back has seen limited action since he jumped on the scene as a rookie rushing for 805 yards on 134 carries (6.0 yards per attempt) and nine touchdowns.
Now in the powder blue, Dobbins said that although he hears the noise, he believes he's on the way back to becoming the player he was before the injuries.
"I couldn't care less. I know that's out there, as it should be. It should be, I got hurt, two major injuries. I haven't been on the field as much as I should, that's true," Dobbins said in late April. "But, it's not like I'm having these little dinky injuries and sitting out, it's something that I can't control, literally. That's why I'm not bothered by it.
"Yeah, I am injury-prone, you could say that, but I do think that the Chargers are getting a guy that's going to be healthy from now on, God willing," Dobbins added. "It's going to be great. I do think that it's going to be a great however-many years here."
Dobbins has averaged 5.8 yards per carry since 2020, the highest mark by any running back in the NFL (minimum of 200 rushing attempts) in that timespan.
And while working his way back during the offseason program, he's stood out to the offensive staff so far.
"He's looking really good. I'd say if you asked him, he'd say he's not quite there yet but he's working, he's getting there," Roman said about Dobbins during minicamp. "His work ethic, attention to detail, everything has been outstanding.
"J.K. has great vision, he always has and we see that out on the practice field. He's going to make great decisions out there," Roman added. "It's just a matter of him getting back to speed physically and hopefully we can keep him there because he's a huge asset for us."
The results have been there for Edwards and Dobbins in Roman's offense and a return to form could help the Bolts field a potent two-headed rushing attack.
Key question: How can the run game help Justin Herbert?
What could happen if Herbert gets a run game? The Bolts certainly are excited about the idea.
It started in free agency and continued through the draft but the topic of running the ball has been something talked about since day one of the Harbaugh era.
While Herbert will still be the focal point of the offense under center, a successful run game next to him can help take the Chargers offense to another level.
"I think every great quarterback when surrounded by a quality run game has the opportunity to have plays that are a little bit of a breather play," Chargers run game coordinator/tight ends coach Andy Bischoff said. "Not everyone needs to function like [Hall of Fame QB] Peyton Manning did to win football games.
"Can he do that? I mean, the guy [Herbert] is brilliant. Intelligence-wise, this is a guy with rare intelligence," Bischoff continued. "However, in our system of football, do we really need to put him under that much stress on every single down? The answer is no.
"How do you do that? You have a balanced offense that brings out the greatest strengths in everyone on the unit," Bischoff added. "Certainly, when you have a player of his caliber, you're excited about the outcome."
It's a prospect that the running backs are also excited about to see what the rushing attack can provide the franchise quarterback.
"I think that it's going to be great," Edwards said about the run game. "Coach [Roman], I think, is for sure going to make a lot of adjustments to Herbert's game, as well. That will be great.
Edwards added: "Seeing him on tape, I'm really excited to play with him and see what he does."
The team will be able to tell more about what they see during camp and during the preseason, but even Herbert himself has been able to see what they bring to the unit even before the pads have come on.
"They're going to be fun to hand the ball off to," Herbert said during minicamp. "We don't have pads on so you can't feel the impact of the run game right now, but you can feel the juice. They've got energy and they bring it."
