Camp Outlook
The Chargers linebacker room is almost running it completely back from a season ago.
And it's a position that has shined with its depth over the past few seasons.
"Another position group where, there's eight, all are really good," Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said. "That's another position group where everybody out there is a real NFL player."
Seven of the eight linebackers on the roster heading into camp were on the roster heading into last year's training camp.
Led by Daiyan Henley, they have been able to provide quite the production no matter who is out there, and aim to continue that trend under new Chargers linebackers coach Sean Spence.
Henley remains the mainstay of the unit, with 33 starts for the Bolts over the last two years. He led the team in total tackles with 103 and added 3.5 sacks, two picks and five pass breakups last season.
But his role as a leader continues to be one of the biggest factors as to why he'll once again wear the green dot in the middle of the defense.
"That's the first thing I noticed, he's a leader," Spence said. "I tell him we're going to need him to be a leader for us to be a good defense.
"We're going to need him to play with the confidence and the swagger that he's always played with, we need him to bring the energy every day and every play, down in and down out," Spence said. "I know he's up for it."
Behind Henley is a bevy of experience.
Denzel Perryman, Troy Dye and Del’Shawn Phillips all return to the room after a year where each saw significant defensive action at various points in the season.
"I'm a blessed man, I'm not going to lie," Spence said about the veterans. "There's a lot of veterans in that room, guys that played a lot of football, played a lot of meaningful football.
"It makes the coaching easier, it makes the transition a lot smoother," he added.
They are backed up by a pair of younger players in Junior Colson and Marlowe Wax, the latter of which played in all 17 games in a reserve role, with Emany Johnson and undrafted free agent Lander Barton rounding out the group.