3. Roster always lacked depth
Telesco served as the Chargers general manager from 2013 through part of the 2023 NFL season, as he was fired towards the end of the year. During that time, the Chargers had marginal success, but the roster was never as loaded as one may think it was.
According to Reed, "The Chargers consistently lacked depth, and even though they had some big names, the overall talent on the roster was always underwhelming."
There has been some big-time players to play for the Chargers in that span, as he brought in Khalil Mack, while also having guys like Antonio Gates, Philip Rivers, Justin Herbert, Keenan Allen, Derwin James, Joey Bosa, and Melvin Gordon to name a few. However, while the talent was there in the starting lineup, the talent behind those guys were usually lacking.
That led to an incredible lack of depth on the roster, and when injuries popped up, there was not enough talent to weather the storm. In the end, that can prove to be more than costly for a franchise, and usually leads to them finishing outside of the playoffs.