#1. San Diego Chargers: Trevor Robinson
PFF grade (position rank): -50.6 (40th)
2015 salary cap hit: $825,000
The center position was cursed with injury for the Chargers in 2014, as San Diego became the first team since the AFL-NFL merger to start five players at the position. Robinson was the last player to take over at the position then and was pressed into duty again this season after Chris Watt fell victim to the injury bug in Week 3.
Robinson stayed healthy for the rest of 2015, but that didn’t exactly help the Chargers. He graded out negatively in PFF’s system during all of San Diego’s games, giving up a position-high eight sacks, the most by any center since 2008. PFF also anointed him as the second-worst run blocker at his position.
Truthfully, the entire Chargers team was an injury-plagued mess once again. Only one player — right tackle Joe Barksdale — graded out positively on the season, and he was still ranked as the league’s 30th-best tackle. Meanwhile, three of San Diego’s guards ranked among the bottom 15 of the NFL’s 82 qualified guards.
Melvin Gordon was basically hung out to dry during his rookie season. Though his average of 3.5 yards per carry was dreadful, he elicited 34 missed tackles, a top-10 mark in the NFL. If the Chargers are going to contend anytime soon, they’ll need to find some linemen who can stay healthy and productive. Otherwise, the waning years of Philip Rivers’ prime will be wasted.