Los Angeles Chargers (D/ST, LAC) - 2021 Fantasy Football Draft Targets

BALLER MOVE: Target Around ~210 Overall

CURRENT ADP: ~245

Even though getting 10+ points per game from your defense is beneficial, we still don't want to reach and draft a D/ST early in our fantasy drafts. While some defenses like the Ravens, Steelers, and Bears have proven to be season-long holds in years past, you're far more likely to stream defenses each week. With that in mind, I'm going to focus on my D/ST's on teams with strong defensive talent as well as their early-season schedules.

I've created a D/ST Rankings metric that weighs together all of the stats I've come to believe are most important for determining if a defense will be a strong fantasy unit: pressure rate, sacks, quarterback hurries, drives ending in a turnover, drives ending in an offensive score, and yards allowed per play.

ANALYSIS: 

My interest in the Chargers stems primarily from them being overlooked pretty much everywhere due to their poor season last year. However, there are a few major differences to the 2020 team that has me back in on the Chargers. For one, they hired Brandon Staley as their head coach right after Staley coordinated the Rams' dominant defense. He will surely have a hand in shaping the Chargers' defensive vision and scheme, so I'm confident he can take a defense anchored by Joey Bosa, Linval Joseph, Derwin James, and Chris Harris Jr. and make it a talented unit.

Another reason I'm in on the Chargers is because of one of the names I mentioned above: Derwin James. The talented 24-year-old missed all of 2020 with a torn meniscus and having him back drastically re-shapes the Chargers' defense. Add to that the fact that Joey Bosa was only able to make 10 starts last year and Chris Harris Jr. was only able to make nine and you realize that the Chargers were without all three of their best defenders for over a third of the season last year. With those three back, plus the emergence of Kenneth Murray and the arrival of second-round pick Asante Samuel Jr., I'm buying a return to form for the formerly feisty Chargers defense.

EARLY SCHEDULE: @Washington, vs Cowboys, @Chiefs, vs Raiders

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