Chargers rookie linebacker Manti Te'o can expect to play a lot as the team's second-round draft pick in 2013. First-year Chargers head coach Mike McCoy told Sports Illustrated's Peter King that the team expects Te'o to start right away as a three-down inside linebacker in its 3-4 scheme. "Our plan is for him to play three downs, and when we scouted him, we believed that's what he'd be,'' McCoy said. "But he'll have to earn that, obviously. We're going to play the best guys, and if he's the best guy on all three downs, he'll be in there.'' Te'o will have the luxury of lining up next to Donald Butler, one of the game's most active playmakers. In a more complementary role to an established star, the concerns about Te'o's power-tackling and coverage abilities that stemmed from his last college game for Notre Dame—the BCS championship against Alabama—won't be as pressing. Te'o also will be supplemented in the middle of the field by do-everything Pro Bowl safety Eric Weddle. Source: Sporting News
