Cornerback

The Chargers ranked 28^th against the pass in 2011. Quentin Jammer was pretty bad. The 33 year old could move to safety long term. Meanwhile, Antoine Cason wasn’t much better opposite him. They have Marcus Gilchrist, their 2^nd rounder last year, in the mix, but they’ll need one more cornerback.

Rush Linebacker

Their struggles against the pass are a bit of a chicken and the egg problem. Do they suck in coverage because they can’t get any pressure on the opposing quarterback or can they not get any pressure on the opposing quarterback because they suck in coverage? They should fix both of these problems this offseason. Antawn Barnes, a situational player, led the way with 11 sacks last year, but no one else had more than 4. Shaun Phillips, once a good pass rusher, had just 3.5 sacks in an injury plagued season. He turns 31 this offseason and is a declining player. Nick Perry will be considered at 18.

Offensive Tackle

Left tackle Marcus McNeill is expected to be a cap casualty after an injury plagued season. Right tackle Jeromey Clary was awful once more last season, allowing 7 sacks and 42 pressures, while committing 11 penalties. In McNeill’s absence, swing tackle Brandyn Dombrowski was awful, surrendering 6 sacks and 17 pressures, despite playing just 257 snaps. Extrapolated over 1000 snaps, that’s 24 sacks and 68 pressures. So yeah, he was pretty bad. He was so bad that they signed Jared Gaither, who had been waived from 3 teams in the last year because of back problems. The once elite left tackle was good on the left side down the stretch, but he’s a free agent and hardly a sure thing going forward with his injury history. They are expected to resign Gaither to play the left side and give Clary one more shot on the right side, but neither of them are sure things. They, at the very least, need a good swing tackle behind those two.

Guard

As you can tell, the offensive tackle position is in a bit of flux in San Diego. The guard position is as well, though not as much. Kris Dielman is one of the best interior offensive linemen in the league, but he’s considering retirement. That makes sense because he suffered seizures following a concussion this season. Health is most important. However, in his absence, Tyronne Green was pretty awful. They should select a couple versatile offensive linemen through the draft this April.

Running Back

The Chargers offense really missed Darren Sproles last season. Ryan Mathews broke out as the lead back, but they didn’t have a niche player like Sproles. 3^rd down back Mike Tolbert is a free agent so look for them to target a Sproles like player through the draft to play on 3^rd down for them and compliment Mathews, more of a two down player.

Wide Receiver

Vincent Jackson is a free agent. He’s expected back, which seemed unlikely 12 months ago, but he’ll need to be resigned. Even if he isn’t, they could still add another wide receiver to the mix. Malcom Floyd can’t stay healthy and while 2011 3^rd round pick Vincent Brown was solid at times, he’s still an unproven commodity.

Safety

They need another safety opposite Eric Weddle. Quinton Jammer could move to safety and be that player, but he’s no sure thing and even if he plays well, he’s still 33, so I think they need to add a safety either way.

Center

Nick Hardwick had another good season last year, but the 30 year old is a free agent and reportedly considered retirement. If he’s not back with the team, they’ll need a new center.

3-4 Defensive End

Luis Castillo is not expected back, so they’ll need to add depth behind starters Vaughn Martin and Corey Liuget.

Nose Tackle

Antonio Garay is a great player, but a 32 year old free agent. Cam Thomas was solid in limited action last season, but if Garay is not resigned, they might be best off adding another nose tackle to compete with and possibly split snaps with Thomas.