The Buffalo Bills will be taking on the AFC West, which is arguably one of the toughest divisions in football. Luckily, the Bills drew the Los Angeles Chargers for an early home game at Highmark Stadium in Week 3 this season.
Believe it or not, the Bills and Chargers do have similarities when it comes to their overall rosters. However, Buffalo has the better quarterback and a lot more recent playoff experience. At the same time, we can't deny what kind of quarterback Justin Herbert is and will now be able to grow even more with Mike McDaniel as his offensive coordinator.
Even though training camp is still over a month away, it’s important to know what the Chargers have been up to and what excitement (and concerns) they have. That’s where Grant Bellchamber, Site Expert for Bolt Beat, comes in as he has given some insights on the Chargers before training camp arrives.
Chargers expert gives Bills fans insights about LA
1.) What is one move (free agency, NFL Draft, etc.) that Chargers fans are excited about heading into the 2026 season?
"There are plenty of moves Chargers fans are excited about from the Draft and free agency, but the one central throughline of excitement this offseason has to be the hiring of offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel."
"After the frustration that mounted under Greg Roman, expectations are sky-high for how McDaniel can leverage Justin Herbert and the rest of the offensive arsenal's talents and especially for how he'll be able to work around some of the deficits they have on the interior of the offensive line. The success of almost every other move they've made this offseason on that side of the ball, including the David Njoku signing, will depend on the successful implementation of McDaniel's offense."
2.) With Jesse Minter no longer as the DC, what could Bills fans expect from a defensive philosophy with Chris O'Leary?
"Chris O'Leary worked under Jesse Minter at three stops, most recently as the Chargers' safeties coach in 2024, before he took over as defensive coordinator at Western Michigan last season. Considering that, much of the bones of the defensive scheme should remain the same— heavy reliance on zone coverage and maximizing the talent available in the secondary by leveraging Derwin James in a 'Swiss Army Knife' role."
"On a more granular level, though, O'Leary blitzed quite a bit last season in a typically risk-averse MAC conference, and he also tended toward a stronger man coverage approach when he went to it. Pre-snap communication will still be key, and many of the tenets will be the same as they were under Minter. The on-field expression of the scheme, however, may be slightly different."
3.) If you had to choose one underrated player that could emerge as a big time player for the Chargers, who would you pick and why?
"It's hard to say Tuli Tuipulotu is underrated after he just rounded off a 13-sack season and asserted himself as the Chargers' alpha pass-rusher. But if Los Angeles doesn't get an extension sorted out this offseason, he'll be entering the final year of his contract with something to prove. Khalil Mack certainly has some gas left in the tank, and we'll see what Akheem Mesidor can provide as a rookie. But I think that Tuipulotu can really wake the league up to his case for star-status if he's able to replicate what he accomplished in 2025."
4.) What is a major area of weakness that the Chargers have going into training camp that opponents could take advantage of?
"Joe Hortiz's specialty is building strong, all-around rosters, and that's what the Chargers have heading into 2026. If there's room for an area of major weakness, though, it's (of course) the offensive line. McDaniel has remained confident in his ability to scheme around sub-par guard play, but it's hard to get around the fact that the Chargers are taking a risk by entering Week 1 with Cole Strange at RG and either Trevor Penning, Jake Slaughter, or Kayode Awosika at LG."
"Tyler Biadasz should be a major upgrade over Bradley Bozeman, and Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater are both on track to be fully healthy for training camp. But there's certainly a wide gap between the floor and the ceiling for this unit."
Add us as a preferred source on Google