San Diego Chargers 2015 Profiles: Corey Liuget

As long as they stay healthy, the San Diego Chargers should have one of the best secondaries in the NFL next season with elite safety Eric Weddle, veteran Brandon Flowers, and potential second-year superstar Jason Verrett making life difficult for opposing wide receivers. But since the Chargers have playoff aspirations, key players on their front seven like Corey Liuget, Melvin Ingram, and the inside linebackers (Manti Te’o, Donald Butler, and Denzel Perryman being the big three) will have to step up on that side of the ball.

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In 2014, the Chargers allowed a whopping 4.5 yards per carry and had no players surpass the 5.0-sack mark, so you can see why getting better play out of their front seven is so important; their run defense and pass rush were not up to par.

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No player is more vital to the Chargers up front than Liuget, which is why the team signed him to an aggressive six-year, $58.219 million contract with $30.477 million in guaranteed money. Although Liuget hasn’t played well enough to this point in his career to merit that kind of money, he has the potential to be worth that type of a deal, as he is just 25 and led the team with 5.0 sacks last season to go with a career-high 57 tackles.

Liuget has always been an above-average interior pass rusher, and he’s put up a combined 17.5 sacks in the past three seasons. He still has plenty of room to improve in the consistency department, but Liuget deserves bonus points for doing most of the pass rushing work on his own.

He’s also been highly productive in run defense, and he enjoyed the best season of his career in that facet of the game in 2014. Not only did he rack up the most tackles of his career, but he was also eighth among all 3-4 defensive ends in Pro Football Focus’s Run Stop% with just three missed tackles against his ledger. Plus, only five 3-4 DEs had more total defensive stops against the run, so that’s another feather Liuget can put in his cap.

Instead of quickly agreeing to deals that will keep all-important veterans Philip Rivers and Eric Weddle locked up, the Chargers decided to go after a younger guy and put some faith in Liuget. It’s a huge investment on their part, of course, since they are paying a good-but-not-great defensive lineman elite money.

Based on the numbers found on OverTheCap.com, Liuget’s contract contains less money per year than Pittsburgh Steelers star Cameron Heyward‘s recently negotiated deal and New Orleans Saints dangerous pass rushing DE Cameron Jordan‘s contract.

Both Heyward and Jordan have a higher percentage of fully guaranteed money on their deals as well, but that’s to be expected. Heyward and Jordan have been more productive and are better pass rushers than Liuget, so the Chargers are hoping that their decision to proactively extend Liuget pays off if he has a 2015 season on par with Heyward’s 2014 campaign and Jordan’s 2013 outburst.

Whether or not you agree with the San Diego Chargers decision to make Liuget the fifth highest-paid 3-4 DE per year and in terms of fully guaranteed money over the lifetime of his deal, you have to agree that he’s a big part of this defense. He’s the best player on the Chargers front seven, and you could make the case for him being their second-best player on defense overall. I prefer both cornerbacks, but Liuget has one key disadvantage that I hinted at earlier.

Far from the members of the Chargers secondary who all benefit from each other’s prowess, Liuget shares space with some well below-average defensive linemen around him. I mean, take Kendall Reyes as an example. Reyes is one of the worst 3-4 defensive ends in the NFL, and I feel quite confident making that statement. His run defense is beyond deplorable, as he had the worst Run Stop% among 27 qualifying players at the position last season. To make matters worse, Reyes made absolutely no noise in the passing game with just one sack in the 2014 season after having 10.5 sacks in his first two years.

Sep 15, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; San Diego Chargers defensive end Corey Liuget (94) during the second quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The Chargers defeated the Eagles 33-30. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

There’s hope that Reyes and Sean Lissenmore can help Corey Liuget out more in 2015, but it’s hard to put any eggs in their baskets after their below-average seasons (that’s putting it very mildly with respect to Reyes) next season. Liuget is going to have to show that he’s worth even more than the contract the Chargers gave him, simply because a lot is riding on his ability to be a disruptive playmaker and to take control at the point of attack in the running game.

While it’s true that the Chargers have interesting pieces like Ingram, Perryman, Te’o, and Butler at linebacker, the only true building block and potential star player in their front seven is Liuget. That’s why they paid him so much, and that’s why a big fifth season from the former Illinois star is so vital for this team. After a 9-7 finish in 2014, the Chargers are hungry for another playoff appearance, and Liuget will be a big part of that.

Unlike others, I’m fine with how bullish the Chargers are on his future prospects by signing him to that deal, because he has the ability to be worth it. For Liuget, the key is now to become a more consistent pass rusher, and, perhaps, a little extra help from his teammates up front will do the trick.

Next: Where Does Weddle Rank Among NFL's Best?

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