COSTA MESA — It’s early days, of course, but by the looks of it, the Chargers would appear to be strongest of all at outside linebacker with Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu and Bud Dupree forming a menacing group of pass rushers who could be very impactful when the 2024 season begins.
Bosa and Mack are seasoned veterans and Tuipulotu is a second-year player who modeled his play after his more experienced and more accomplished teammates. Dupree is a veteran who signed with the Chargers as a free agent after stops with Pittsburgh, Tennessee and Atlanta.
“It’s a very talented group in leadership all across the board,” Chargers defensive line coach Mike Elston said Wednesday as organized team activities continued. “It’s a very veteran group and a very experienced group. Putting the pieces where we need to put them in different situations is going to be the fun part.”
For now, during workouts leading up to mini-camp next month and training camp starting near the end of July, Elston is working more closely with interior lineman such as Morgan Fox and Poona Ford and defensive assistant Dylan Roney is working with the edge rushers. In time, they’ll combine efforts.
“Right now, we’re in the early stages of installing everything and teaching technique,” Elston said. “When we get more into game-planning and further down the road, then we’re going to spend a lot more time together just so we’re on the same page with the rush plans and things like that.”
The idea is to create a formidable defensive front that is capable of stuffing the opposing ground game as well as harassing the quarterback. The Chargers excelled at times at pressuring quarterbacks last season, thanks to Mack’s career-best 17 sacks and Tuipulotu’s remarkable advancement as a rookie.
Bosa was hurt for the final seven games of the 2023 season, but is sound now and has joined Mack and their teammates for OTAs. Dupree had 6½ sacks last season with the Falcons after battling injuries for several years with the Titans and Steelers. He played all but one of 17 games last season.
Giving the opposition varied looks and keeping them guessing is critical.
“You want to have great versatility,” Elston said. “The first thing you want to teach is technique and blocking destruction. We’ve got to be able to knock people back and play the run, and I think we’ll do that very well. I think we have a lot of really good block destructors, guys who are very talented. And then we’ve got to be able to get after the quarterback. That edge room is probably as talented and as deep as any edge room in the country. We’ve got to lean on them for that part of it.”
Elston is part of the maize-and-blue wave that arrived from the University of Michigan along with head coach Jim Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter during an offseason of change throughout the Chargers’ coaching staff. Elston coached the Wolverines’ defensive line the past two seasons.
Michigan’s opponents averaged a mere 10.4 points per game last season as the Wolverines marched to a 15-0 record and a national championship.
“Going back to last year (at Michigan), we knew we were more talented on the inside with more depth from pass-rush ability from the defensive tackle position,” Elston said. “We were still able to be creative and put guys in certain situations, but we didn’t have to lean on (edge rushers) to create that pressure.
“Here, I think we have some good interior pass rushers. I think we’re going to be good there. But, obviously, where we can take a big step forward is using all those edge guys in a way to create disruption and create havoc in the backfield in passing situations. Our creativity will be our biggest strength.”
LEATHERWOOD SIGNS
The Chargers signed offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood, a first-round draft pick of the Las Vegas Raiders who started all 17 games as a rookie in the 2021 season. He played only four games for the Chicago Bears in 2022 after the Raiders waived him and was on the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad last season.
