by Sean Meusch (@FF_SMeusch)

As I had mentioned on Twitter the other day, I had started a series of these articles in preparation of the Chargers’ selection at #3-overall, fully expecting there to be some fan backlash regardless of who the pick was. I added the caveat that I had not prepared one such article for Notre Dame offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley as the pick; I didn’t express why that was, however.

This isn’t me tooting my own horn so much as explaining why I had the sort of confidence I did that there wasn’t going to be a need for a Stanley episodic. I preface this by saying that I had no prior knowledge at the time of the drug-related or accepting-money character issues that have since arisen with regard to Ole Miss tackle Laremy Tunsil. While it’s certainly possible that Tom Telesco and the Chargers scouting staff were aware of this to some degree while we (and seemingly the media) were not, there were enough questions surrounding Tunsil to not make him squeaky clean. However, in the instances of news tidbits that hit the wire (and by that I mean social media outlets), the only ones that actually provided anything remotely close to a direct quote from Tom Telesco came either from Telesco himself in his pre-draft presser or from ESPN’s Britt McHenry who quoted the Chargers GM as saying that they’d “been locked into 1 player for a while.”

Now certainly that could have been Ronnie Stanley as a the Tennessee Titans, when they were in possession of the #1 overall pick, were touted to be tunneling on Tunsil – the anointed “top prospect in the draft” alongside defensive back Jalen Ramsey. But then I considered history and past trends of Tom Telesco, who if we’re being fair is pretty darn predictable. Those who know me know I’m big on statistics and probability and, in particular, on observing trends for tells; it’s the poker player in me. One particular quote stood out to me from Telesco’s presser, one which a lot of fans and media folk went in the entirely opposite direction with: Tom Telesco observed of the defensive line class that it was “incredibly deep this year.” Go back and look at his comments about other glaring needs for the Chargers in previous drafts Telesco has chaired. You’ll find that in 2013 he praised the depth of the offensive line class. The same held true for the cornerback class in 2014 and the running back class in last year’s draft. And yet, in each of those drafts, despite his recognition of the depth, he selected a player at that position in the 1st round. Moreover, as if calling his shot like Babe Ruth in the Bronx, he left that one position as one of the few pressing needs that he did not address in free agency leading into each of those drafts.

The writing was on the wall, which was why I was so critical of certain other draft bloggers and media members so insistent that they’d some inside scoop on Telesco’s plan. The man had identified his guy – Ohio State defensive lineman Joey Bosa – and he saw, with the swirling reports that Bosa’s stock was “taking a bit of a swoon,” that there might be the opportunity to trade back in the 1st and still acquire his guy. Note that in just about any instance where Telesco was actually quoted about his desire to move back he was almost always specific about remaining within the Top 10 picks (which was perceived to be Bosa’s floor with Cleveland picking at #8, Tampa Bay at #9, and the New York Giants at #10.

As was extensively detailed on Bolts From the Blue by Garrett Sisti several weeks ago, logistically it made no sense for the Chargers to pick Tunsil or any offensive tackle at #3 due to guaranteed monies committed to the tackles Dunlap, Barksdale, and Hairston – the later two in this off-season – a number which tickled $40 million when DJ Fluker’s 5th-year option was executed roughly one week ago. When the rumors started swirling that Stanley was preferred by the front office to Tunsil (something Telesco has since refuted – stating that they had them roughly even), I admonished that philosophically this was not a viable move either so long as Telesco was taken at his word, per the actual quotes he’d given. Specifically, that he’d stated his desire was bolstering the rushing attack, less worried about pass-blocking, along with the aforementioned this position is deep statement which has become something of a trademark tell of his. Consider then, as well, that with the return of Ken Whisenhunt as offensive coordinator the Chargers are almost certain to return to the quick passing, “get the ball out quickly” approach to moving the ball through the air seen under Whis in 2013, which in itself had and would likely again lessen the stress on the pass-blocking unit. However, this would also mean a return to a power-blocking rushing attack, to which Laremy Tunsil’s skill-set fit considerably better than Ronnie Stanley’s.

So, long story short (and I’ve already quite failed at that, haven’t I?), Joey Bosa is a San Diego Charger and the question of the moment is how does he fit into this defense. The first thing to get out of the way, as was clarified by Telesco post-selection (credit again to Britt McHenry who conducted the interview), the Chargers intend to deploy Bosa as a defensive end with the option of moving him around on the line, specifically kicking him inside, in sub-packages.

This should hopefully dispel those who immediately suspected that Bosa was being drafted only to be miscast as an EDGE-rusher in the Chargers’ 3-4 formation. However, as was also referenced by Telesco, ­the Chargers spent some 60% of their defense snaps last season in sub-packages, which makes Bosa’s versatility to be able to play base-end in a 4-man set as well as under-tackle, in addition to 5-technique and 4-technique defensive end in a 3-man front, an incredible boon. Further of note, when the Chargers were in their subpackages at (mostly) full strength the last two seasons, the side showed a good number of Cover-1 and Cover-3 shells as well as an increased amount of formation looks similar to the 4-3 Under and Over variants used by the Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons, and Jacksonville Jaguars – as well as Texas A&M and TCU at the collegiate level.

(Photo Credit: Eric Stoner of Big Cat Country)

Consider the unbalanced 4-3 alignment that the Seahawks use as their base, as described by Pete Carroll, a “(4-3 defense) with one-gap principles” that also can and does use some two-gap principles. The particular relevance to the Chargers is when considering that the variant of 3-4 most Chargers fans are familiar with (the Phillips-Burroughs; yes, the “Phillips” in that is referencing Bum Phillips, father of former San Diego DC Wade Phillips) is a 1-gap variant of the scheme – meaning the players front seven players are assigned one particular gap that is theirs on a given play. Other 3-4 variants, such as those used by Romeo Crennel in Houston, formerly in New England, as well as the zone-blitz Lebeau variant (see Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals, New York jets, Tennessee Titans) implement more 2-gap assignments – giving the players the gap to either side of a particular blocker rather than one or the other.

As can be seen above, the most popular 4-3 Under used in the NFL currently actually plays to the strengths of a number of current Chargers players better than the Phillips-Burroughs 3-4 does. The player lined up in the photo as the 2-gap-assigned 1-technique DT is the same Brandon Mebane come over to the Chargers from Seattle this off-season. This is also a slot, conceivably that Ryan Carrethers could see some time at. To that man’s right is a 3-Technique defensive tackle, who in most instances is given a single-gap assignment, that being the “B-gap,” aligned with his inside foot to the outside foot of the (left) guard opposite him. These two players are interchangeable depending on the look and the play-call, and while Corey Liuget would project to primarily play that 3-technique role (a position he played often, along with the 1-tech, at Illinois), this present options of allowing him to play the 1-tech on obvious passing downs while bringing on 1-gap penetrators like Darius Philon or Damon Square for different looks. The formation is designed so as to do everything possible to prevent the 3-tech from getting hooked, something Liuget was a victim of all too often (being realistic, he was being held, but in the modern NFL where there is holding on every play, interior DL rarely get the benefit of holding calls unless they’re lat out tackled to the ground). So where does Joey Bosa fit in?

You see that 5-Tech, who if we’re being honest isn’t really a traditional 5-technique player? This is a position that, while often given a 2-gap assignment, is one that is a pivotal cog in this particular scheme and , as has often been the case, is a more mobile and athletic player in its proper fit than you tend to see in most 2-gapping 5-Technique players. Often you’ll see this player shade inward and play the 4- or even the 6-technique depending on the look the offense gives. This position is charged with playing the C-gap and defending the run, primarily through means of maintaining leverage. This position is not specifically designed to be a pass-rushing position, rather to play the run on the way to the pass – however, as Seattle has been able to create by plugging in the likes of Michael Bennett and Frank Clark at the position, and which Jacksonville just committed $15 million APY to Malik Jackson in hopes of replicating, a more athletic and technically-proficient end who can maintain his assignment until confirming that the run is not happening then quickly stack, shed, and rush – as Joey Bosa has shown he can do – can stand to become a truly influential defensive piece.

Now, while I’m not saying that Joey Bosa definitely will become a second-coming Michael Bennett with his 10-sack campaign in 2015 (the previous two years he averaged 8 per), he has the potential in the proper fit to certainly push that territory. Bosa compares similarly, athletically and in terms of explosiveness and agility metrics, to former San Francisco 49er Justin Smith, the only 5-Tech that Vic Fangio – normally a staunch 2-gap proponent – allowed to 1-gap (and from the strong-side at that) in his scheme. Readers should be sure to continue on from this article to one Kyle Posey assured me he’ll be putting out, detailing film examples of when and how Bosa has won when lining up in these particular techniques and similar positions/tactics. The simple fact remains that this 5-technique/4-technique LDE position is one where Bosa’s renown for strong hands and active hands, ability to stack-and-shed, experience against ROT’s, and consistency in setting a hard edge suggest a near-deal fit. Pro Football Focus’ Steve Palazzolo even went so far as to draw the comparison between him and Michael Bennett, so I’m not completely out there with this one.

(Graphic Credit: Mike Chan of Field Gulls)

Furthermore, in the alignment as I’d expect to be put out if such a formation because the choice standard for the Chargers, Bosa would have Melvin Ingram slotted in as the SAM linebacker, lined up in the 9-Tech (outside the outside shoulder of the tight end) where he cannot be reach-blocked by the TE, which means that the ROT who Bosa is lined up over is left with two options: Give his TE a free release and haul butt to get out wide enough to block Ingram in time or leave Ingram to his TE and help his RG, who will also have to be mindful of helping his center with Mebane, to hand Bosa. The concepts aren’t terribly different, and we’ve more recently seen both Wade Phillips in Denver and Bob Sutton in Kansas City use similar tactics to deploy Von Miller and Justin Houston in similar roles to play havoc with the Chargers’ RT be it Fluker, Barksdale, or the ever-revolving door of 2015.

In the ever-evolving NFL, we’ve seen many a change come to pass as it pertains to defense, many of which are a direct result of the staggering spike in passing downs and attempts thrown (pun intended) by offenses these days. As a result, we’ve seen teams willing to deploy more of a hybrid LB/S, willing to forego some size and mass on the player for fluidity, coverage ability, and versatility. Similarly, we’ve seen players stick and continue to produce because they simply grind down the opposition with consistency to the point that eventually a hole or flaw is presented and capitalized on. Many that wanted to detract from Joey Bosa point solely to his production, or more specifically his sack total. I would direct those people to his forced fumble total and even beyond that the number of times he got himself in position and was a stray swipe away from create far more. I fervently stand behind my player comparison of Justin Smith for Joey Bosa, but even if “all he is is another Chris Long” (a player, I might add who played somewhat out of position in St. Louis and whose production really only waned when he was given assignments to stay home and protect against the run as a primary objective) this is a darn good pick and a darn good fit. Even if he’s only Patrick Kerney – which I feel is Bosa’s absolute floor – this is a good pick and fit.

And if you don’t know who Patrick Kerney is… then by God, I feel old.