NFL Offseason Roadmap: San Diego Chargers

NFL Offseason Roadmap is a series focused on the needs of NFL teams as they begin the offseason.

If you were to ask a Chargers fan four months ago what the team's biggest need would be this off-season, it would almost certainly have something to do with finding a way to get rid of general manager A.J. Smith (and, by association, Norv Turner) and to convince Marty Schottenheimer to return as head coach. I mean, the guy did win 14 games in 2006.

Instead of imploding after a 1-3 start, San Diego finished 10-2 and won two playoff games (two more than Marty ever did, by the way) before losing to the Patriots in the conference final. So while every team could stand to improve this off-season, the Chargers are a lot better off than many of us figured back in October. Still, there are some things that need fixin.'

1. Wide Receiver. This was Vincent Jackson's make-or-break year and after a slow start, he finally started putting it all together. He managed just 30 receptions in his first two seasons, but hauled in 41 passes for 623 yards (15.2 average), including three touchdowns in 2007.

The team also gave up a second-round pick for Chris Chambers and he had a solid showing (35, 555, 4); first-round pick Buster Davis played in 14 games but only had 20 receptions for 188 yards. When Antonio Gates and LaDainian Tomlinson are the team's two leading pass-catchers, it's a sign that there needs to be more depth at wideout. Jackson's a start, and if Davis can make strides this off-season, that would help too.

2. Running back. Obviously, LdT is still the best running back in football, but there's a good chance his backup, Michael Turner, will leave for a big payday. Turner proved his worth during the last two games of the season; with LdT hobbled by a bad knee, Turner carried the load, rushing 43 times for 164 yards. Even with Turner a likely goner there's still Darren Sproles, but he's too small to take the once-a-week pounding that goes with Turner's job description.

The Chargers may also need to think about finding the next Lorenzo Neal because the original battled injures in '07 and he'll be a 16-year veteran when training camp rolls around.

3. Health. For a team that was seemingly chock full of problems to start the season, there is very little tweaking that needs to be done. One thing that will help, though, is the six months off. Philip Rivers and LdT are recovering from knee injuries and Gates has a raging case of turf toe. Assuming everybody's ready to go in 2008, San Diego's the obvious favorite in the AFC West, and they should be one of the top three or four teams in the conference.