The Chargers have won the Gus Bradley sweepstakes.
While this is a team moving to a new city that recently hired a new head coach, there are several intriguing defensive pieces for Bradley to work with.
No. 3 overall pick Joey Bosa had an electric rookie campaign, finishing with 10.5 sacks in 12 games. The quarterback takedowns don't even do him justice, as he was constantly terrorizing opposing signal callers and helpless blockers.
While Melvin Ingram is about to hit the open market (he's No. 7 on Gregg Rosenthal's list of the top-25 impending free agents), Los Angeles can still apply a franchise tag on the pass rusher who has 18.5 sacks over the past two seasons. The secondary has a trio of tantalizing corners in Casey Hayward, Jason Verrett and Brandon Flowers.
The Chargers additionally possess the No. 7 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, where NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah projected ball-hawk safety Malik Hooker would be taken in his first mock draft.
Bradley's time in Jacksonville was unremarkable to say the least, as he compiled a 14-48 record before he was canned two games before the 2016 season ended.
Before his head-coaching stint with the Jaguars, he was the architect behind the Legion of Boom. Bradley took over as Seahawks defensive coordinator in 2009, and Seattle's defense gave up 356.4 yards (24th in the NFL) and 24.4 points (25th) per game. During Bradley's final season in Seattle, the team improved to 306.2 yards (fourth) and 15.3 points (first) in 2012.
If Bradley can create a similar beast in Los Angeles, the Chargers can certainly be a playoff contender next season.
