https://chargerswire.usatoday.com/2024/01/22/chargers-most-disappointing-players-austin-ekeler-michael-davis/

Valentina Martinez
January 22, 2024 2:00 pm PT

The Chargers were supposed to make a name for themselves this season and
cement their dominance in the AFC.

Instead, they had a nightmarish season, finishing with a 5-12 record.
Here are the most disappointing players of 2023:

Austin Ekeler

Coming in at No. 1, Ekeler was by far the most disappointing player this
season. 2023 was Ekeler’s opportunity to show the organization that he
was worth a contract extension, especially since last offseason he
requested a trade in March after he and the Chargers could not come to
terms on a new contract. With the $2 million incentive Los Angeles gave
him, there is no question whether he had the proper motivation to play
at a high level this season. However, he had some of his most
disenchanting performances this year. He ranked 38th in the league for
rushing yards, totaling 628 on 179 carries (career-low 3.5 yards per
carry), and he had just five rushing touchdowns.

Derwin James

James became the highest-paid safety in the league when the Chargers
signed him to a four-year, $76 million extension in August 2022. In
Brandon Staley’s scheme, James played five different positions. He had
always played in dime packages when Staley was the team’s coach. But by
the end of this season, he was playing limited snaps at safety. Against
the Bills, James played slot defender for most of the game and was on
the sideline at the end of the fourth quarter. He used to be fast. He
used to be ferocious. But all of the playmaking that made him an All-Pro
has since left, and it’s clear that he needs to revamp his caliber of
play.

Michael Davis

The Chargers’ defense had some of its worst performances this season and
one of the unit’s weakest points was the pass defense. A big contributor
to their woes in the secondary was Davis, who gave up 55 completions on
84 targets. The defense allowed opposing teams to average over 260
passing yards per game. Like James, Davis was a ball magnet, but he only
recorded one interception the entire season and had far too many lapses
in coverage.

Offensive Line

Along with several issues with the defense, the offense also had some
performances that were disheartening for fans. The Chargers offensive
line allowed 43 times this season. If a quarterback has no protection,
he can’t do his job. There were several occasions where the offensive
line added pressure on Herbert instead of giving him time to run deep plays.