Offseason moves could lift under-the-radar Chargers into playoffs

Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns, and spent the last 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast."

Few seem to be talking about it, but the San Diego Chargers have had a fantastic offseason and should be poised to take a huge jump forward in 2016. Of course, they pretty much have nowhere to go but up after a dismal 2015 season, but expect the jump to be drastic.

Working against the Chargers, however, is the fact they play in a very competitive division. The Oakland Raiders look vastly improved, the Kansas City Chiefs will remain difficult to play against, and the Denver Broncos are, well, the reigning Super Bowl champions. And despite having a last-place schedule that gets San Diego fellow last-place finishers Cleveland and Miami on the slate, the Chargers' schedule overall is quite tough, mostly due to their six divisional games.

Although the team is in a challenging situation, Chargers fans have several reasons for optimism thanks to the franchise's work in free agency and at the draft.

It starts with Rivers

Philip Rivers remains one of the league’s best quarterbacks and, frankly, might be the most underrated signal-caller of this generation. He deserves serious Hall of Fame consideration and is playing as well as ever. Like many quarterbacks that have aged well, Rivers is a great, quick decision-maker and fantastic at the line of scrimmage. Given those skills and all the Chargers' offensive line issues of late, the coaching staff has devised an effective quick-passing game that allows Rivers to excel. But he's still a very good deep passer too, and the free-agent acquisition of Travis Benjamin could pay off downfield throughout the year while also backing defenders off the line of scrimmage.

The arsenal

While Antonio Gates (with Hunter Henry waiting in the wings) remains reliable and excellent moving the chains and near the goal line, Keenan Allen is the rightful crux of the receiving corps. Not a burner, but highly efficient, Allen is ideal for what this passing game is looking to do. Allen caught 67 passes in just his eight games last year and should be a lock for well over 100 receptions in 2016.

The running game - Melvin Gordon in particular - is still a real worry, but the quick, controlled passing game makes up for some of those concerns, and this offensive line is almost assured to be better than in previous seasons. Danny Woodhead remains a very valuable piece of this attack in both phases.

As for that offensive line, San Diego has been absolutely crushed with recent injuries. That just can’t keep up, right? To potentially make up for that bad luck, though, the Chargers drafted Max Tuerk in the third round and picked up Matt Slauson in free agency. Both are centers, a huge problem position previously, but they can also play guard. Tuerk only fell to the third round because of injuries and has a chance to become an exceptional NFL lineman.

The other side

Key to the much-improved defense is the likely progression of several young holdovers from last year, as well as some excellent additions. The Chargers couldn’t stop the run or rush the passer last season, but that shouldn't be the case anymore.

First, the incumbents: On the defensive front, Corey Liuget was really the only above-average player of the bunch. The Chargers recently gave him big money and he should be far more effective next season with much better players around him.

But the best player on the defense is and will be Jason Verrett, who doesn’t get the credit he deserves as one of the league’s best corners. An improved pass rush will make it apparent how good Verrett truly is, and he plays far bigger than his listed size.

Two young players primed to take a big step forward are Jeremiah Attaochu and Denzel Perryman. Attaochu has loads of ability, but entered the league as a raw prospect. He is beginning to show what he is capable of and should pair with Melvin Ingram (who needs to stay healthy) to make a very good pair of athletic edge-rushers.

This will be Perryman’s defense before long. He's a rugged leader who reads the play very well and arrives with authority. Perryman is a throwback for the position and the leader this group needs. Manti Te’o has been very average in the NFL, but the Chargers wisely added Joshua Perry in the fourth round and Jatavis Brown in the fifth at inside linebacker.

Perry is one of the new Chargers defenders ready to make big contributions. He's a very solid player that could push Te’o from the start, while Brown is small for an inside linebacker but has rare speed and explosion. San Diego might use Brown as a safety/linebacker tweener as well as a great special teams player. Inside linebacker should no longer be an area of weakness.

But it's Perry’s college roommate, Joey Bosa, who should do an awful lot for this defense against the run and pass. Many were shocked that Bosa, who many saw as just a pure 4-3 defensive end, was the choice for San Diego at third overall. But Bosa is a great run defender, big and powerful enough to line up inside over a guard, and athletic enough to play on his feet on the edge. Not at all a project, he should be an immediate contributor and maybe the favorite for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Also now on the front line of the defense, Brandon Mebane is exactly what this group needs. Coming from a winning organization and providing veteran leadership, Mebane will be a plugger in the middle of the defense. He should garner plenty of double teams in the run game and allow the inside linebackers to flow more freely to the ball carrier - an element San Diego lacked last year.

Eric Weddle is gone and will be tough to replace, but Dwight Lowery is a quality player in his place. Another smart addition by the Chargers this offseason was prying Casey Hayward away from the Packers. Although he's another short cornerback, Hayward is an excellent player in the prime of his career. Not only does he represent a big upgrade at the second cornerback spot opposite Verrett, but his presence will push Brandon Flowers down the depth chart.

Given their division, they might not end up in the playoffs or even with a winning record, but the Chargers will be much better next year. The front office did a fantastic job of addressing the correct areas.