2023 NFL Power Rankings: Los Angeles Chargers

Throughout the 2023 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Below you will find a Week 4 roundup for the Los Angeles Chargers in our consensus 2023 NFL Power Rankings.

ESPN -- Rank: 14

Biggest issue on offense: Running the ball

After gaining 233 yards in the season-opening loss to the Miami Dolphins, the Chargers' rushing offense has turned nonexistent. They have gained 91 yards on 36 carries over the last two games. In Sunday's win over the Vikings, they averaged two yards per carry against a team allowing the third most rushing yards in the NFL coming into the game. The caveat is that the Chargers have been without starting running back Austin Ekeler, who has missed the last two weeks with an ankle injury. His return could turn this unit around. -- Kris Rhim

NFL.com -- Rank: 15

Even in a much-needed win, the Chargers left the door open for criticism with porous pass defense (again) and a questionable decision by Brandon Staley. Going for it on fourth-and-1 near his own end zone while leading by four late in the game was a wild risk, for sure; though his defense bailed him out, I wonder what the message would have been had it failed. Between that and Mike Williams' season-ending ACL injury, it feels like the Chargers barely got to enjoy a road victory. All of this really overshadowed a special performance from Justin Herbert and Keenan Allen, doing it late without Williams or Austin Ekeler available. The Bolts host the Raiders this week, followed by the bye, which might not come at the worst time.

Continue reading Los Angeles Chargers NFL Power Rankings Roundup

2023 NFL Predictions: AFC West

Before the start of the season, we will post NFL division-by-division predictions for the 2023 NFL regular season and postseason.

Instead of projecting an outright winner and loser in all 272 regular-season games, we've assigned a win probability to each team in every game and totaled them up.

The four AFC West teams are projected to win the fourth-most games combined as a division in our 2023 full-season projections.

See where the Chargers stand in our 2023 AFC West Predictions

2023 Fantasy Football Projections: Los Angeles Chargers

Our Fantasy Football Projections will be viewable by both position and team.

Below you will find our 2023 fantasy football projections for the Los Angeles Chargers.

MORE: Fantasy football projections for more NFL teams

QUARTERBACKS

Player	Att.	Comp.	Yards	TD	INT	Rush	Yards	TD	Points
Justin Herbert	630.6	421.9	4616	30.9	11.98	56.3	197.1	1.41	312.45
Easton Stick	40.3	26.2	278.1	1.41	0.85	4.3	3.9	0.04	15.69

Justin Herbert: Through three seasons, Herbert has averaged a 17-game pace of 4,696 yards, 31.3 touchdowns and 11.7 interceptions with another 237 rushing yards and three touchdowns. In his three seasons, he has finished as fantasy's QB9, QB2 and QB11, respectively. First-round rookie wide receiver Quentin Johnston adds a big-play weapon to this offense, and a new offensive scheme that encourages more shots down the field should boost Herbert's upside. Of the 36 quarterbacks with a minimum of 200 dropbacks in 2022, Herbert ranked 34th in ADOT, per PFF.

MORE: Continue reading our 2023 Fantasy Football Projections: Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Chargers: 2023 NFL Schedule

Below you will find the weekly NFL regular-season schedule for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2023.

MORE: 2023 NFL Strength of Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Time (ET) / Tickets
Week 1	Sun., Sep. 10	vs. Miami Dolphins	L 34-36
Week 2	Sun., Sep. 17	at Tennessee Titans	L 24-27 (OT)
Week 3	Sun., Sep. 24	at Minnesota Vikings	W 28-24
Week 4	Sun., Oct. 1	vs. Las Vegas Raiders	4:05 PM / Tickets
Week 5		BYE
Week 6	Mon., Oct. 16	vs. Dallas Cowboys	8:15 PM / Tickets
Week 7	Sun., Oct. 22	at Kansas City Chiefs	4:25 PM / Tickets
Week 8	Sun., Oct. 29	vs. Chicago Bears	8:20 PM / Tickets
Week 9	Mon., Nov. 6	at New York Jets	8:15 PM / Tickets
Week 10	Sun., Nov. 12	vs. Detroit Lions	4:05 PM / Tickets
Week 11	Sun., Nov. 19	at Green Bay Packers	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 12	Sun., Nov. 26	vs. Baltimore Ravens	8:20 PM / Tickets
Week 13	Sun., Dec. 3	at New England Patriots	1:00 PM / Tickets
Week 14	Sun., Dec. 10	vs. Denver Broncos	4:25 PM / Tickets
Week 15	Thu., Dec. 14	at Las Vegas Raiders	8:15 PM / Tickets
Week 16	Sat., Dec. 23	vs. Buffalo Bills	8:00 PM / Tickets
Week 17	Sun., Dec. 31	at Denver Broncos	4:25 PM / Tickets
Week 18	Sun., Jan. 7	vs. Kansas City Chiefs	TBD / Tickets

MORE: Los Angeles Chargers historical W-L records - Los Angeles Chargers historical head-to-head records

Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule (SOS)

How easy or difficult is the fantasy football schedule for Los Angeles Chargers players?

Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule by position:

Los Angeles Chargers Mock Draft Roundup 1.0

Throughout the year and leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft, we will update our Los Angeles Chargers Mock Draft Roundup showing picks for the Los Angeles Chargers from several prominent sites and draft analysts.

The following are picks in recent mock drafts for the Los Angeles Chargers:

EDSFootball - Kevin Hanson (5/9)

18. Leonard Taylor III, IDL, Miami (FL)

Taylor is a former five-star recruit, who has the potential to end Miami's first-round defensive tackle drought that goes back to Vince Wilfork (2004). The disruptive interior defender had 9.5 TFLs as a true freshman in 2021 and 10.5 in 2022, both of which either led or tied for the team lead. Per PFF, Taylor (19.5%) had the highest pass-rush win rate among returning IDL with at least 25 pass-rush snaps in 2022.

CBS Sports - Josh Edwards (5/8)

22. Jack Sawyer, EDGE, Ohio State

Los Angeles adds another ex-Buckeye to upgrade the pass rush.

ESPN - Todd McShay (5/4)

25. Denzel Burke, CB, Ohio State

Six Ohio State players make the list here, though Burke needs to take the next step and play his way into Round 1. He has the talent to do it. Burke has only one interception through two years, but it was a pick-six. Michael Davis is a free agent after this season, and J.C. Jackson is returning off a right knee injury, so the cornerback room is an area that needs a boost. But the Chargers could also get a defensive tackle to shore up the run defense if there's one on the board.

The Athletic - Dane Brugler (5/2)

24. Ja'Tavion Sanders, TE, Texas

As he developed chemistry with Ewers, Sanders set a school single-season record for a tight end with 54 catches and announced himself as a legitimate pro prospect. His athletic traits have the attention of scouts.

MORE: Continue reading our 2024 Los Angeles Chargers Mock Draft Roundup

Los Angeles Chargers - 2023 Draft Results

The table below are all of the 2023 NFL Draft picks selected by the Los Angeles Chargers.

Round	Overall	Player	Position	School
1	21	Quentin Johnston	WR	TCU
2	54	Tuli Tuipulotu	EDGE	USC
3	85	Daiyan Henley	LB	Washington State
4	125	Derius Davis	WR	TCU
5	156	Jordan McFadden	G	Clemson
6	200	Scott Matlock	DT	Boise State
7	239	Max Duggan	QB	TCU

More: 2023 NFL Draft Results - Los Angeles Chargers Draft History