How Jesse Minter has led Chargers to a defensive transformation through 4 weeks

Coordinator Jesse Minter has transformed the Los Angeles Chargers defense.

Through four games, Minter’s unit has been the strength of the team. The Chargers are playing like one of the best defenses in football. The turnaround is staggering. Minter, in his first season calling plays in the NFL, is proving to be exactly what this group of players needed.

From 2021 to ’23, the Chargers ranked 31st in expected points added per play and 26th in success rate on defense, according to TruMedia. This season, the Chargers are second in EPA per play and first in success rate. Holding the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes to 17 points in Week 4 cemented this improvement as something real and not a mirage.

The Chargers tweaked their personnel in coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz’s first season together. They signed defensive lineman Poona Ford, cornerback Kristian Fulton, linebacker Denzel Perryman and edge rusher Bud Dupree. They also traded for safety Elijah Molden at the end of August. These additions have all played well.

At the same time, Minter has gotten substantially better play from returning players who were key defensive pieces under the previous regime. That comes purely down to coaching. Minter is getting the most out of his personnel. He is masterfully toeing the line between simplicity and complexity. The result is a unit that is presenting challenges to opposing quarterbacks while still playing fast and confidently.

The performance thus far starts with the run defense. The Chargers rank first in EPA per play on designed rushes and third in success rate, according to TruMedia. First and foremost, the Chargers are playing with a different level of physicality against the run. Ford is a big part of that. Same with Perryman. But this mentality change is evident among all the defensive players. Physicality is non-negotiable on a Harbaugh team. That was made clear to players early in the offseason, from Harbaugh to the coordinators, Minter and Greg Roman. The physicality standard is intrinsic to the culture.

The Chargers are playing sound team run defense.

Here is an example from the Chargers’ Week 3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Chargers were in base personnel with three interior defensive linemen and two edge rushers.

Quarterback Justin Fields took the snap and tossed to running back Najee Harris. Ford beat his blocker to create immediate penetration.

Harris was forced to cut laterally.

As Harris tries to attack the edge, the Chargers maintained gap integrity.

Tuli Tuipuloti set a firm edge by blowing past tight end Darnell Washington.

And the Chargers converged on Harris as a group.

This has been a through-line in the Chargers’ run defense: Swarming to the ball with sustained effort from snap to whistle.

From 2021 to ’23, the Chargers were last in the league in rushing success rate, according to TruMedia.

In the passing game, Minter has leaned heavily into zone coverages. The Chargers have played zone on 82.9 percent of their defensive plays, the highest rate in the league, according to TruMedia. This strategy has helped elevate the strengths of the Chargers defensive backs. The Chargers have a number of players, like Asante Samuel Jr., Fulton, Alohi Gilman and Derwin James Jr., who are at their best when they can read, react and drive from depth.

Within these zone calls, Minter has implemented a lot of disguise. At times, the Chargers will play offenses straight up. For instance, they will show a two-deep safety look pre-snap and then play two-deep coverage without any rotations. However, on other plays, Minter is mixing in post-snap rotations in an attempt to create confusion for opposing quarterbacks.

The execution on these disguises has been very impressive. There is always risk in disguises. More moving pieces means more opportunities for busted assignments. The Chargers have limited blown assignments, another sign of good coaching.

Here is a disguise example from the Chargers’ Week 2 win over the Carolina Panthers. It was late in the first half, and the Panthers faced a third-and-15. The Chargers came out in a dime package, meaning six defensive backs. James and Molden were the safeties (Gilman missed this game with a knee injury). Samuel and Fulton were the outside corners. Ja’Sir Taylor was playing nickel. And AJ Finley was the dime backer.

The Chargers were showing a two-high-safety look pre-snap, with James and Molden in the deep part of the field.

As quarterback Bryce Young took the snap, though, Finley started retreating to the deep middle part of the field.

The picture for Young changed as he hit the bottom of his drop. Instead of some sort of two-high coverage — Cover 2, Cover 4, Cover 6, etc. — the Chargers end up in a Cover 3 look. Finley is the single-high safety responsible for the deep middle third. Samuel and Fulton are both responsible for the outside thirds. James and Molden are playing underneath right at the first-down marker — also known as playing the sticks.

The disguise led to Young checking the ball down to running back Miles Sanders.

The Chargers swarmed for the third-down stop.

Minter has also done a really good job of mixing up his pressure looks. He had a particularly sound plan against Mahomes and was able to create havoc with a variety of disguises.

This was a third-and-9 in the second quarter. The Chargers had six players on the line of scrimmage: three edge rushers in Dupree, Khalil Mack and Tuipulotu, one interior defensive lineman in Fox and two inside linebackers in Daiyan Henley and Troy Dye.

The Chiefs had a blocker for each of the six players on the line.

At the snap, though, Henley and Tuipulotu dropped into coverage. And that left slot cornerback Tarheeb Still — starting in place of the injured Taylor — unaccounted for off Mahomes’ right side.

Still got the initial hit, and Dye ended up beating running back Samaje Perine one-on-one to clean up the sack.

This was another look later in the same game, this time on a third-and-3 in the red zone.

The Chargers again showed six men on the line of scrimmage, with both inside linebackers — Henley and Perryman — walked up.

This time, Minter dropped three of the six players on the line of scrimmage into coverage — Henley, Perryman and Ford. On the previous six-down look, Minter dropped an inside linebacker and an edge rusher. This time, he dropped both inside linebackers and his defensive tackle. Similar look pre-snap, vastly different post-snap.

Mahomes pumped once then tried to escape up the middle.

Mack tackled Mahomes from behind to force a field goal.

The Chargers have only allowed two red zone touchdowns on the season.

Minter is establishing himself as one of the emerging defensive coordinators in the league through his first four games.

He is pushing the envelope with his creativity, on the front and the back end. But he is not doing it at the expense of his players’ ability to execute.

The most encouraging part for Minter and the Chargers is there is still plenty of room for improvement.

The Chargers can be better on third down. They are currently 20th in third down efficiency.

There is also untapped potential with the pass rush. The Chargers rank 23rd in pressure rate.

Joey Bosa has only played 56 snaps this season while he’s dealt with a number of injuries. If Bosa can get back on the field, Minter will have more playmakers at his disposal. Early in the season, Minter was utilizing third-down packages with Bosa, Mack, Tuipulotu and Dupree all on the field, along with Fox.

Like on this third down in the Chargers’ Week 1 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Minter has only been able to use this package on six snaps this season as Bosa has missed time.

The early returns suggest that this Chargers defense is sustainable.

Minter has arrived as a play caller in the NFL.

(Top photo of Jesse Minter: Ric Tapia / Getty Images; screenshots via NFL+)