The Chargers would love it if last year’s first round pick Ryan Mathews stepped up and took over the San Diego backfield.
That clearly isn’t happening yet, so they are back to selling a dual backfield approach.
“I don’t know if [Mathews] will be one of the leading rushers because I think the emergence of Tolbert gives us a chance to have a one-two punch,” coach Norv Turner said Monday. “[Mike] Tolbert gives us a nice changeup. Obviously he’s a physical, hard-to-tackle, punishing runner and Ryan has great speed, so it’s a good situation.”
It’s the right idea; Tolbert was terrific last year. With Mathews expected to miss the Chargers first preseason game with yet another injury, we wouldn’t be surprised if Mathews complemented Tolbert this year rather than the other way around.