The Los Angeles Chargers entered the 2018 NFL Draft in with the stated goal of upgrading their defense. More specifically, they wanted to improve the run defense and give defensive coordinator Gus Bradley more options in matching up with opposing tight ends. And, even if they didn’t want to say it out loud, they had to be focused on scaling back the roles of Kyle Emanuel, Hayes Pullard, and Adrian Phillips.
In adding Derwin James, Uchenna Nwosu, Justin Jones and Kyzir White, the Chargers made a concerted effort to upgrade the first two levels of their defense.