Chargers 90-in-90: DT Christian Covington

The Bolts added some beef to the interior this offseason.

Christian Covington is a native of Vancouver, British Columbia and attended Vancouver College Prep for his entire academic career as the school is a rare K-12 situation. While playing prep ball, Covington recorded 276 tackles and 38 sacks, including 83 stops and 15 quarterback takedowns as a senior. He helped lead his team to a Provincial Championship and was rated the top defensive lineman in all of Canada coming out of school.

Covington redshirted his first season at Rice before putting together a phenomenal first season on the collegiate gridiron. In 12 games, Covington recorded 43 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and a career-high five sacks. As a sophomore, he upped his tackles for loss to 11.5 and finished with another four sacks and two blocked kicks. For his efforts, he earned his first and only First-Team All-CUSA honor.

His final season at Rice was unfortunately cut short sue to injury. In seven games, Covington totaled just 13 tackles, 2.5 for loss, and 2.5 sacks. Despite having one more year left to play at Rice, Covington decided turning pro was the best option for him.

In the sixth round of the 2015 draft, Covington was selected by the Houston Texans. During his four year stint with the team, Covington started nine games and totaled 65 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks, including a career-high 3.5 in 2018.

Covington spent the 2019 season with the Cowboys after signing with the team in free agency. He saw a career-high six starts that year and finished the campaign with 28 tackles, four tackles for loss, and a lone sack.

The 2020 season saw Covington set another career-high with 14 starts due in large part to an injury to starting defensive tackle Geno Atkins. Unfortunately, that year saw Covington total just 39 tackles (career-high) while laying a goose egg in both the TFL and sack categories.

Covington would go on to sign with the Chargers in free agency in May 11.

Basic Info

Height: 6’2
Weight: 289
College: Rice
Experience: 6
Years with team: 0

Contract Status

“Christian Covington signed a 1 year, $990,000 contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, including an average annual salary of $990,000. In 2021, Covington will earn a base salary of $990,000, while carrying a cap hit of $850,000.” – Spotrac.com

The Good

Covington provides versatility along the defensive line as a rotational piece for all three spots up front. He’ll fit best at either of the three-techniques, but he’s also strong enough to play nose in a pinch. Aside from the starting three, he has the most experience on the team and then after him, it’s a bunch of undrafted and young players. It’s highly likely he’s also playing a bit of a veteran role in the locker room, as well.

The Bad

He’s been in the league long enough for us to paint a pretty solid picture of who he is as a player. He’s been his best as a rotational player and unfortunately saw the worst season of his career — statistics-wise — during his latest season with the Bengals. No tackles for loss or sacks is never a good thing, especially when you started all but two games on the year.

Covington doesn’t need to be a world-breaker with the Chargers, but being able to chip in pressure and takedowns as a backup will go a long way for a team that had little to no pass rush a year ago.

Odds of making the roster/What to expect in 2021?

Covington is a lock to make the final roster as the main backup at all three defensive line positions. His versatility certainly helps, but he’s also the most-experienced of the reserve players. I expect him to be a reliable rotational piece to a defensive front that is still a bit shallow for my taste.