Who is most important to the Chargers' success in 2025? Counting down the top 10
Welcome to Part 2 of my rankings of the 20 players most important to the Los Angeles Chargers' success in 2025.
Part 1 ran earlier this week, counting down players 20 to 11. Below is the top 10.
A quick reminder: These are not necessarily the 20 best players on the Chargers roster. Instead, these are the 20 players I think will have the biggest impact on how the Chargers perform this season. It is an exercise more geared toward finding the pressure points of the roster. Where do the Chargers need to see improvement? Who are they relying on? Where can they least afford injuries or performance regression?
Earlier this month, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said Johnson will be starting at one of two positions in 2025 — left guard or center. During Tuesday's on-field work, Johnson was snapping to Justin Herbert as the center in drills. He has started at left guard the past two seasons. He was the Chargers' starting right guard as a rookie in 2022. Johnson has not played center in the NFL. He did not play center in college. He did work at center in the Senior Bowl during the 2022 pre-draft process.
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Despite Johnson's lack of experience, the Chargers believe the 2022 first-round pick has potential upside as a center. The range of outcomes here are pretty wide, and that is a big reason Johnson cracks the top 10. He could move to center, play at a really high level and solve the Chargers' hole at the position for a decade. He could fail in the move, stay at left guard and remain the functional yet frustratingly inconsistent player he has been so far in his NFL career. Those are two very different worlds and could mean very different things for how the Chargers offensive line comes together. The Chargers did not pick up Johnson's fifth-year option for 2026, so he is on the final year of his contract.
Cam Hart and Still both make our list. Both cornerbacks were fifth-round picks in 2024. Still gets a higher ranking because he is more versatile than Hart, who came in at No. 16. While Hart is an outside-only corner, Still showed as a rookie that he can play inside and outside. That flexibility is integral to the Chargers defense. When Derwin James Jr. plays in the slot, Still can play on the outside. When James is at safety, Still can take over in the slot and provide playmaking. Still has tremendous instincts in zone coverage, and that made him an ideal fit in coordinator Jesse Minter's defense, as evidenced by his 10 passes defended, including four interceptions. The Chargers will need Still's versatility and ball production to replicate their defensive output from 2024.
The Chargers drafted Alt with the No. 5 pick last year and he lived up to his draft position as a rookie. He quickly established himself as one of the best young linemen in football. He was remarkably consistent for a player of his age. He did not turn 22 until February. And the question now is: How good can Alt become? He had welcome-to-the-NFL moments against T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett, two the league's best edge rushers. That is expected of any rookie. Alt also played one of his worst games of the season in the playoff loss at the Houston Texans. I am convinced that will only fuel Alt to even greater heights.
'Always things to improve in the run and the pass,' Alt said the day after that loss. 'I take those things, along with all my notes from other games, and those are things I'm really going to hone in on as I go into this offseason. Making sure I try to minimize those things by going back to work, taking it a day at a time and just improving those things so you don't have this feeling in your mouth anymore.'
Alt was already really good as a rookie. He has a chance to etch his name firmly among the best right tackles in the game. This mentality is a big part of that.
Slater and Alt form one of the best tackle duos in the league, and tackle play is always going to be a big driver in team success. These two are pretty much interchangeable in our rankings, but Slater protects Justin Herbert's blindside. Slater battled injuries in 2023, and that affected his play. He bounced back to put together a stellar season in 2024, especially in pass protection. Slater has proved himself as one of the elite left tackles in football. Four years into his career, he has earned a top-of-the-market extension. That extension is not done yet, though. Slater is under contract for this season on his fifth-year option. I still expect a deal to get done before the end of training camp. The Chargers have historically operated this way with big second contracts. Herbert signed his long-term extension on July 25, 2023. James signed his long-term extension on Aug. 17, 2022. Joey Bosa signed his long-term extension on July 28, 2020.
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Henley had a breakout season in 2024 and is clearly the Chargers' best linebacker. He is a three-down player. He can impact the run game. He is a natural in coverage, both in man and zone. He can blitz and get after the quarterback. And Henley really came into his own as the signal caller of the defense, wearing the green dot while relaying the play calls to his teammates. He still has room to grow. He was a difference-making starter last season. This year, if he continues on the same trajectory, he could earn Pro Bowl or even All-Pro honors. I think we will see a considerable uptick in Henley's counting-stats production, which should help his cause in getting more national attention. He had one sack and one interception last season. He had chances for more in both categories that he just missed.
The Chargers offensive line will go as Becton goes. I believe that is more so the case for Becton than any other player in the room. The Chargers signed Becton in free agency to be their clearly defined upgrade on the interior offensive line. If he plays at the level he did for the Philadelphia Eagles last season en route to a Super Bowl, Becton should elevate the interior as a whole, even if they have two holdover starters in Johnson, Bradley Bozeman or Trey Pipkins III. How many games will Becton play? And how will he perform when he is no longer playing for Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland? Those are the questions I keep coming back to. He has a checkered injury history with his right knee. He played 18 games for the Eagles last season between the regular season and playoffs, his first year starting at guard. Was that the aberration? Or will the Chargers get similar availability from Becton? Becton has been tabbed as the solution to one of the biggest weaknesses on the team last year. That puts him into our top five.
McConkey set multiple rookie receiving records last season, and he will enter 2025 as Herbert's primary target. The Chargers added passing-game threats across the roster this offseason: Tre Harris, Mike Williams and KeAndre Lambert-Smith on the outside; Oronde Gadsden II and Tyler Conklin at tight end; Omarion Hampton and Najee Harris out of the backfield. They got more explosive and deeper with these additions. They also ensured that some defensive attention would be forced away from McConkey, who operates most often and effectively out of the slot. McConkey set rookie records while being Herbert's only reliable option. What will he accomplish when there are other players on the field who can stress defenses in the passing game, particularly down the field?
James had a resurgent season in 2024 under defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. He rediscovered his love for the game and the physical, downhill, relentless play style that made him one of the league's rising stars early in his career. Minter devised an ideal role for James. He got more snaps closer to the line of scrimmage, where he could impact the game as a blitzer, make plays in the run game and match up in press coverage on opposing tight ends. The result was James playing like James again, and the Chargers were a top 10 defense. James has to continue playing this way for the Chargers to be that level of defense in 2025. One thing I will be watching: Safeties coach Chris O'Leary departed this offseason to return to the college ranks. He was replaced by Adam Fuller. O'Leary was instrumental in James' rebound, and Fuller has big shoes to fill.
Mack re-signed with the Chargers on a one-year deal at the start of free agency. He has one goal and one goal only: winning a Super Bowl. Mack turned 34 in February. He will be even more important to this defense now that Bosa is gone. The Chargers cut Bosa in March, and he signed with the Buffalo Bills. At the combine in February, GM Joe Hortiz said, 'Khalil's got more than one year left in his body if he wants to do it.' Mack did battled multiple groin strains last season that affected his play. He was still an elite run defender. He was not quite as good as a pass rusher compared to 2023, when he had 17 sacks. The room is not the same without Bosa, and if edge rusher is going to continue being a strength of the team, Mack has to remain a dominant player. I would never doubt him.
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Despite all his accomplishments in the NFL so far, Herbert still does not have a playoff win. And that will inevitably hang over his head until he gets back there and gets another chance. His two playoff appearances include a blown 27-0 lead and a four-interception performance that amounted to the worst game of his career given the stakes. First and foremost this season, Herbert has to stay healthy. He missed virtually all of training camp in 2024 with a plantar fascia injury. He suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 2. He had a thigh contusion and another ankle sprain later in the season. If the Chargers are going to contend this year with a much tougher schedule, they need Herbert on the field. It starts there. No player is more important to the Chargers' success than their QB1.
(Top photos of Justin Herbert and Khalil Mack: Tim Warner and Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
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New York Times
25 minutes ago
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Inside Paris chaos: Violence and disorder prove familiar footnote to historic game
Desire Doue's deflected shot had barely had time to nestle in the net before the first firework broke across the sky in the eastern Paris suburb of Montreuil. Here, as across the French capital, fans piled into bars and cafes, squeezed themselves onto beer-garden benches and crowded around televisions in their sitting rooms to witness Paris Saint-Germain's historic 5-0 annihilation of Inter in the Champions League final. Advertisement It was a success that had been a long time coming: five years since PSG's only previous appearance in the final, 14 years since the club's agenda-changing takeover by Qatar Sports Investments, 32 years since hated rivals Marseille had claimed France's first — and hitherto only — men's Champions League success. PSG may be a young football club, having only come into being in 1970, but their supporters, young and old, had been waiting for this moment their entire lives. 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Shockingly graphic images showing the aftermath of a collision between a car and a group of people, this time in the south-eastern city of Grenoble, which left two people seriously injured. On the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, police deployed water cannon and tear gas to disperse supporters who attempted to break through crash barriers in order to reach the Arc de Triomphe at the top of the iconic cobbled street. Running battles between troublemakers and members of the CRS, France's notorious riot police, continued throughout the night. Advertisement 'We arrived on the Champs and we saw the first lines of CRS,' says Mathieu Faurie, who was out watching the celebrations and witnessed some of the disorder first-hand. 'We got to the first shops and some people started smashing the windows in Foot Locker. Behind us, the police started tear-gassing people, so there was a moment of panic and everyone started running towards the top of the street. 'It started to get chaotic everywhere. There were crowds of people surging this way and that. People were trying to leave but the cops weren't letting people down the side streets — you had to walk back down the street towards the Place de la Concorde. 'It took a long time to get out and that killed the atmosphere a bit but we carried on towards Grands Boulevards, where there were loads of people, and it was much better.' At Place de la Bastille, east of the city centre, fans massed in their thousands to celebrate PSG's triumph. But a journalist from the German newspaper BILD reported having had to take shelter at the back of a restaurant after it came under attack from rioters. 'Paris made it 4-0. Again, there was great cheering. But this turned into hatred,' wrote Torsten Rumpf. 'The guests in the restaurant were attacked with fireworks and bottles, chairs and tables were thrown. Windows were broken. Fights broke out. 'I saw children and young women crying and heard loud screams. 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They were trying to have a party but it wasn't very cool for the people in the cars. 'You'd go past certain streets and there were scenes of chaos. It was unfortunate because it gives a bad image of football and a bad image of the people of Paris. They should have been scenes of joy and they turned into scenes of horror.' On either side of the bridge, street vendors have opportunistically set up stalls offering refrigerated drinks. Cars speed past honking their horns, some twirling PSG flags and scarves from their windows, while youngsters in small groups nimbly dart and weave their way through the crowds on bicycles. Although the atmosphere is relaxed and festive, the sound of police sirens and the whir of the helicopter's blades serve as reminders that the authorities remain on high alert. 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Beside one of them, a black-clad police officer eyes the small crowd that has formed beside the crash barriers and mutters something into his walkie-talkie. The supporters there seem more concerned about missing the parade than inadvertently wandering into a riot. There were further skirmishes between supporters and riot police shortly before the trophy procession, as reported by L'Equipe. The clashes continued during Sunday evening, with Reuters reporting that police deployed tear gas when dozens of ticketless fans sought to enter the security perimeter, and again after supporters threw fireworks at police as the stadium emptied out. It was something of an achievement that it was even allowed to take place at all. Mindful of the scenes of serious disorder that had marred a previous PSG trophy parade in 2013 at the Place du Trocadero, which overlooks the Eiffel Tower, Paris authorities were initially minded to reject the club's request before being persuaded into performing a U-turn. Advertisement To cite a more recent example, Liverpool supporters will not need reminding of the carnage that took place before and after the 2022 Champions League final at the Stade de France, where fans were kettled and tear-gassed by police prior to the game, and then picked off by opportunistic muggers as they left the stadium afterwards. Patrick Mignon, a sports sociologist and author, says that eruptions of violence around sporting events in Paris reflect the underlying mistrust that exists between the police and disaffected young people from the city's disadvantaged suburbs. 'When you get events like this, which bring masses of people into the streets, they're an opportunity for people to display the tensions that exist within French society and the phenomenon of political polarisation,' he says. 'The conflict between young people from working-class neighbourhoods and the police is an old story. We also had riots here in 2022 and 2005. 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