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Is San Diego rookie tailback Ryan Mathews up to the task of bringing balance back to the Chargers’ offense?

It is only May, and San Diego has just seen Mathews at a rookie minicamp. Still, the team is very pleased with what it has seen of Mathews so far.

Thus, San Diego is thrilled it gave up a bundle of draft picks to move up from No. 28 to No. 12 to snare the Fresno State running back last month. I think there is little doubt that Mathews will be an instant impact player, who should vie for offensive rookie of the year honors. The big, strong Mathews is a perfect fit for the Chargers’ offense. That’s why they gave up a lot to get him.

Expect Mathews to be a big upgrade over the LaDainian Tomlinson of the past two years. Mathews is going to extend some drives, eat clock and -- most important -- take pressure off San Diego’s great passing game. His presence will allow quarterback Philip Rivers and his receiving crew to be more dangerous because defense will have to account for the San Diego ground game.

Last season, San Diego had the No. 31-ranked run offense. Mathews’ presence also will allow change-of-pace back Darren Sproles to stay fresher and remain in the role that best suits him. The addition of Mathews is going to be enormous for San Diego for many reasons.

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NFC West teams have acquired 10 veteran players by trade this offseason. Which one will have the greatest impact in 2010?

Let's define impact first.

Cardinals safety Kerry Rhodes, acquired from the Jets, has the best chance to finish the 2010 season with the most snaps played among players acquired by NFC West teams. He'll start and presumably be an every-down player on defense.

Seahawks running back Leon Washington and 49ers receiver Ted Ginn Jr. have the best chance to make an electrifying play or two, perhaps swinging a game in their team's favor. Washington first must overcome a broken leg. Ginn scored two touchdowns on kickoff returns for the Dolphins last season. He had a 53-yard TD reception last season and a 40-yard scoring run in 2008.

Charlie Whitehurst, the quarterback Seattle acquired from San Diego, could make the greatest impact -- positive or negative -- based on the nature of his position. Early returns suggest Matt Hasselbeck will hold off Whitehurst for the starting job, but injuries have slowed Hasselbeck over the past two seasons. If Hasselbeck is banged up again, the Seahawks will presumably turn to Whitehurst.

A quick look at the veteran players NFC West teams have added and subtracted this offseason:

Arizona: added Rhodes; subtracted receiver Anquan Boldin.

St. Louis: added linebacker Bobby Carpenter and safety Kevin Payne; subtracted tackle Alex Barron and defensive lineman Adam Carriker.

49ers: added Ginn; subtracted quarterback Shaun Hill.

Seahawks: added Whitehurst, Washington, running back LenDale White, defensive end Chris Clemons, defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson and defensive end Robert Henderson; subtracted guard Rob Sims, defensive end Darryl Tapp and quarterback Seneca Wallace.

Seattle has been the busiest NFC West team in the trade market this offseason. I think that is because the Seahawks are the only team in the division with a new coaching staff and new general manager. They wanted to shake up the roster.

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Is Phillip Dillard a viable candidate to start at middle linebacker?

Something strange has taken place since the New York Giants' first rookie minicamp a couple weeks ago. It's almost like we're assuming that Phillip Dillard, a fourth-round pick out of Nebraska, should be the starter at middle linebacker. So does that say more about the team's shaky status at that position or Dillard's upside?

Antonio Pierce is gone because of injuries and declining play. But the Giants certainly will miss his leadership at middle linebacker. It's the job of new defensive coordinator Perry Fewell to identify someone who's not afraid to be vocal while getting the front seven in the right spots. The good news for Fewell is that rookie linebackers have flourished as starters over the last few years in the league. I think of the impact DeMeco Ryans had as a rookie with the Texans. And you immediately knew that Patrick Willis would be Pro Bowler when he stepped on the field for the 49ers.

Dillard has a long way to go, but there are signs that he has the type of ability to take over the position. And honestly, I don't think Jonathan Goff, Bryan Kehl and Gerris Wilkinson are viable alternatives. I'm not sure there's a fourth-round pick in the league who faces more pressure than Dillard. Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com caught up with Redskins middle linebacker London Fletcher to ask him about rookies in the starting lineup. Fletcher played for Fewell with the Bills, so he knows what the defensive coordinator's trying to accomplish.

"If the rookie comes in and is a great talent and they can live with the growing pains that come with the rookie, and that rookie learns from his mistakes and doesn’t repeat the same mistakes, he can excel in that defense,” said Fletcher.

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Who will be Drew Brees' backup in New Orleans this year?

My guess is that quarterback isn’t even on the roster yet. Yes, the Saints took a long look at several quarterbacks in their recent rookie camp. They brought in Syracuse’s Greg Paulus and seventh-round pick Sean Canfield also took part. Paulus is a former Duke basketball player who played only one year of college football. At best, he’s a developmental prospect. Maybe he spends some time on the practice squad.

Canfield also is a prospect. He was a seventh-round pick and it’s unrealistic to expect him to start off as anything more than a No. 3 quarterback. But that role was held by Chase Daniel last season and it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Daniel and Canfield competing for the No. 3 job this year.

Yes, the Saints like Daniel, but he’s got no real experience. It’s kind of a stretch to imagine the Saints just handing the No. 2 job to Daniel at this point.

They’ve got a Super Bowl championship team. Let’s get hypothetical for a second and say Brees twists an ankle and has to miss a couple of games. Are the Saints ready to turn it over to Daniel? Or Canfield?

I seriously doubt it. This is a veteran team and just about anything less than another Super Bowl will be a disappointment. The Saints need an insurance policy behind Brees. They need someone with experience who could come in and lead them for a couple games.

You’ve got to believe something will happen on this front, especially when you look at how the Saints have collected depth just about everywhere else. Mark Brunell, last year’s backup, is still available as a free agent and I still think he’s the leading option. Yes, Brunell is old, but he already knows the system.

Even if the Saints think Brunell is too old, they’ve got to look at other guys with experience. The list of available free agents isn’t all that impressive right now. But someone like Marc Bulger could make the Saints feel a lot more comfortable with their backup situation.

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What are realistic expectations for controversial Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones, who was inactive in 2009?

On one hand, the Bengals recently added a talented former first-round pick at cornerback who's known for his return skills. But on the other hand, Cincinnati also added a player with a checkered past who hasn't played in the NFL since 2008.

Welcome to the enigma of Adam "Pacman" Jones.

The Bengals signed the embattled cornerback to a two-year deal. But there is no way to know exactly what Cincinnati is getting next season.

Jones could quickly develop into the athletic, No. 3 cornerback the Bengals are hoping for. If that's the case, Jones would provide an immediate impact by filling a void in the secondary for the reigning AFC North champs. Cincinnati's defense struggled covering slot receivers last year.

But Jones' history also suggests that, potentially, he could become a distraction for the Bengals. Rust also will be an issue. Cincinnati is trying to make the jump to being a legitimate contender in the AFC and can't afford any problems.

The "Pacman" Jones experiment didn't work for the Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys. Both franchises tried, then eventually felt he wasn't worth the headache and moved on.

Now it's the Bengals' turn, and they're hoping for different results.

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What will the Colts’ offensive line look like in 2010?

Straight answer: We don’t know and only can speculate. There will be a new left guard, as Ryan Lilja was let go. Beyond that…

The team has added three players: sixth-year tackle Adam Terry, fourth-year guard Andy Alleman and fourth-round draft pick Jacques McClendon. They also added three undrafted tackles (one who was on the practice squads in Cincinnati, San Diego and Philadelphia last season) and an undrafted guard.

Team president Bill Polian recently said the intent is to toss all 15 offensive linemen on the roster into the OTA, minicamp and training camp mix and see what shakes out. That leaves a lot of room for a lot of scenarios including a tackle like Charlie Johnson kicking inside.

It’s my feeling that of the four remaining incumbents, only center Jeff Saturday is a lock to return in the spot he was in last season. But I also wouldn’t be at all surprised if all four -- Johnson at left tackle, Saturday at center, Kyle DeVan at right guard, Ryan Diem at right tackle -- were in place on opening day in Houston, with only Lilja’s replacement a newcomer. The group, after all, was good enough to get the Colts to a second Super Bowl in four years.

Pass protection is going to remain priority one with Peyton Manning taking the snaps, but more effective run blocking in some crucial scenarios is a factor that can help the Colts.

They need to lock in a left tackle and go from there. Charlie Johnson could remain in the spot, though some think he’s best as the sixth man who can fill in for a few games here and there at tackle or guard. Tony Ugoh needs to make his claim to the job now, and could get a clean slate with Pete Metzelaars taking over for longtime offensive line coach Howard Mudd.

A scout from another team told me recently that he thought Polian wanted to see Ugoh developed at the spot while the decisive Mudd had determined Ugoh couldn’t be effective enough for the Colts last year. We’ll likely never know if that’s the case, thought the results of the competitions could give us some degree of information.

Whoever the tackles are, they and the run game should get a boost from Brody Eldridge. He's the big blocking tight end the Colts drafted in the fifth round out of Oklahoma. He’s not going to hurt the Colts while getting in the way of an extra pass rusher either.

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Should an NFC North rookie replace the suspended Brian Cushing to win the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year award?

Cushing, the Houston linebacker who violated the league's steroid policy last fall, remains on the ballot for an unprecedented re-vote set to be completed Wednesday. As we noted Monday, Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews finished third in the original balloting and could benefit from those who withdraw their support from Cushing. After all, only 10 players finished the 2009 season with more than Matthews' 10 sacks, which was also a Packers rookie record.

But there is another Black and Blue player who deserves to be in the discussion, and I wonder if at least a few voters will take this opportunity to re-focus their views on Detroit safety Louis Delmas.

Delmas didn't receive a vote in the original balloting, and it's difficult for anyone to get national recognition while playing for a defense that performed as poorly as the Lions' last season. But don't forget that Delmas became the first rookie in NFL history to record a safety as well as fumble and interception returns for touchdowns. His 101-yard return of an interception against Arizona, moreover, was the longest by an NFL rookie since 1926. That's the definition of a playmaking safety.

We're really in uncharted territory here. This vote isn't as simple as re-shuffling the original deck. The balloting usually happens in the final days of the regular season. Delmas' reputation has grown since then, and whether they admit or not, voters now have an entire offseason's worth of analysis to work from. They also have the comments of people like Lions coach Jim Schwartz, who in February called Delmas the Lions' best defensive player.

I don't think Delmas will win the award, and he might not get a vote. But if nothing else, this instance provides an opportunity to remind everyone of his historic rookie season.

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Could the AFC playoffs feature three teams from the AFC East?

For the past three years, the AFC East hardly deserved to send multiple teams to the playoffs.

The AFC East arguably didn't warrant extra inclusion in 2009 either. The New York Jets clinched a wild-card bid with massive assistance from their last two opponents, while other contenders withered into pretenders.

But this year is shaping up differently. The AFC East could send three teams into the postseason for the first time since 2001.

Anticipation already is building for what should be an ultra-competitive division shootout. The New England Patriots are defending champs. The Jets reached the AFC Championship Game. The Miami Dolphins won the AFC East in 2008 and were mathematically alive for a wild-card berth heading into Week 17 last year. They beat the Jets twice.

As respectable as those organizations were at the end of 2008, expectations have escalated. All three have improved their playoff chances through free agency, trades and the draft. ESPN.com senior writer John Clayton recently rated the most productive offseasons, and his Nos. 1 through 3 were the Patriots, Dolphins and Jets.

For eight straight seasons, the AFC East hasn't acquitted itself well. It qualified a lone wild-card team in 2004, 2006 and 2009 (all the Jets), but none in the other seasons. Although it should be pointed out the Patriots had an 11-5 record two years ago, but failed to get in because they lost a tiebreaker to the Dolphins for the division crown and to the Baltimore Ravens for the second wild-card spot.

But in 2010, the AFC East's strength of schedule is around the middle of the pack. The Patriots have the sixth-toughest schedule, but the Dolphins, Jets and Buffalo Bills are tied for 16th.

The AFC North has been shaky. Can anybody count on the Cincinnati Bengals to repeat as division champs? The Pittsburgh Steelers failed to make the playoffs at all last year and are experiencing serious turbulence with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

The AFC West has been weak for a few seasons, producing one winning record over the past two seasons combined and two over the past three seasons.

We can pretty much pencil in the Indianapolis Colts to continue their AFC South dominance, but the other clubs have struggled off and on.

What makes the AFC South's outlook even more daunting is the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans are tied for the most-difficult schedule based on their opponents' aggregate 2009 records. The Jacksonville Jaguars own the fifth-toughest schedule. The Colts have the 10th.

Odds would appear decent multiple AFC East teams will make the tournament.