Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh has historically liked to build his offenses from the offensive line out. But right now, his offensive line has some real question marks.
Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater are guaranteed starters at the offensive tackle positions, but Slater is still working his way back from the torn patellar tendon that cost him all of last season. It looks like Jake Slaughter is the team’s starting center, but he’s just a rookie and is thus unproven.
At right guard, Cole Strange, whom the Chargers obtained in free agency this offseason, seemed to be penciled in as the starter. But on Thursday against the San Francisco 49ers in preseason action, he performed poorly.
McDaniel feels Strange was a mixed bag versus the 49ers
Pro Football Focus rated Strange’s performance last week very poorly. It gave him a 49.3 run-blocking grade and an 18.5 pass-blocking grade, and overall, it gave him a 40.5 overall offensive rating for that contest.
Los Angeles lost, 41-17, and it only managed 68 rushing yards, with 42 of them coming from backup quarterback Trey Lance.
While McDaniel made it clear that Strange’s technique was poor, he did admit he liked the 28-year-old’s intent and that he’s not worried about the guard.
“This past game he had nine snaps and there was a couple where Cole, he really went after an opponent and ended up being in a poor body position,” McDaniel said, per Alex Insdorf.
“I was happy with his intent, not the execution…but he’s not somebody I’m worried about.”
Strange played for McDaniel last season as a member of the Miami Dolphins after spending his first three NFL seasons with the New England Patriots. He was a first-round draft pick and mainly played center at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, but so far, he has been considered something of a bust in the pros.
Strange himself admitted that he didn’t do well in Thursday’s matchup.
“Not happy with how I played,” he said, per Kris Rhim of ESPN. “I’d like to play better.”
Given the beating that starting QB Justin Herbert has taken over the last few years, the Bolts need to shore up their offensive guard spots. Right now, there is a competition for the left guard spot, and while McDaniel and Harbaugh both said that Kayode Awosika is the favorite there, there are a couple of other competitors, including Trey Pipkins III.
