SAN DIEGO – ESPN NFL Insider Adam Caplan appeared on the air with Darrin Smith of The Mighty 1090 AM radio from Arizona on Tuesday.

You can listen to the full interview here.

Caplan pointed to the defensive side of the ball when asked to address the San Diego Chargers' most pressing needs in the draft and free agency this year.

“They’ve got to go defense,” Caplan said. “I think that [Chargers defensive coordinator] John Pagano has done a nice job, they just don’t have enough talent. Cornerback is an issue. They need safety depth and outside linebacker obviously -- they need more pass rushers.

“At receiver they’re fine. Tight end they’re fine. Offensive line is always a problem, always an issue, and they need help there. This is a team on paper that is 9-7 -- they played to their record.”

Caplan also was asked about the possibility of running back Ryan Mathews returning to the Chargers in free agency.

“The leverage is clearly with the Chargers based on his injury history,” Caplan said. “The one thing though in his favor is that they have no one who is ready to take over. They don’t have anyone. [Branden] Oliver is a nice story, but he’s more of a change-up. [Donald] Brown is a nice No. 2 back, a good third-down back, but he’s not a starting running back.

“The committee thing is just not going to work. You’ve got to be able to run it. Running back is a position you can fill in the draft. You’d like to bring him back. I think he’d be better off taking a one-year deal with the Chargers, having a great season and seeing what he can do. He’s still a young running back.”