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Brock Bowers, Joe Burrow, Khalil Mack, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, Trey Smith, Creed Humphrey and Joe Thuney are all making an impact in 2024. Composite: AP, Getty
Khalil Mack, Los Angeles Chargers
Mack has been a superstar since he first stepped foot in the league. But the future Hall of Famer has been asked to reimagine his game this season at the age of 33. As pass-rushers wind down their careers, their reps are usually restricted. They become pass-rush specialists, put on the field on passing downs solely to crush opposing quarterbacks. Call it the Von Miller path.
Last season, Mack was more of a specialist. He finished the season with 17 sacks, but there were signs that a decline was on the way, that he would be pushed into a pass-rush-only role as the Chargers tried to squeeze the final drops out of his career. Instead, they have made Mack the bedrock of the league’s top defense.
Under Brandon Staley, who was fired towards the end of last season, the Chargers fielded a ropey defense that failed to slow the run. New defensive coordinator Jessie Minter has revamped the Chargers’ structure this season, building the top defense in the NFL by EPA per play without any significant additions in the offseason and turning the Chargers, on a dime, from a sieve against the run to the league’s stingiest unit.
Stopping the run takes everyone. This year, no defense has been as air-tight and well-coordinated as the Chargers. And Mack has been the cornerstone. Once the league’s pre-eminent pass-rusher, he has now become more of a run-down thumper. The Chargers have shuffled him tighter to the line of scrimmage, limiting some of his impact as an edge rusher on early downs to help tighten up the defense as a whole.
Mack has delivered. He has embraced the drudgery of bashing away inside, leading all edge defenders in run stops this year. And while tweaks to his alignments have restricted the number of opportunities he has to chase quarterbacks, he has still posted 31 total…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-2024-sleeper-stars-joe-100001731.html
Author : The Guardian
Publish date : 2024-11-07 10:00:01
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