Filed under: Chargers, Chiefs, AFC West, FanHouse Exclusive

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — I went to Charger Park with an empty notebook, looking for dope on the team’s new Hot Shot, and it’s good that I’m quick with the pen because Chargers linebacker Stephen Cooper hit me fast with the money quote.

“He’s a little bit like L.T. — but more physical,” Cooper said of Ryan Mathews, without being asked about LaDanian Tomlinson. “Honestly, Kansas City has a lot to look out for.”

Southern California’s NFL team will open its season in Flyover Land against the Chiefs on Monday night, and the Hot Shot will be among the better reasons to watch.

He’s fresh. With Tomlinson wearing Jets green after nine years in Chargers blue, Mathews steps in wearing No. 24, or L.T. plus three. The rookie knows the Chargers shed draft picks last April to reach up and draft him 12th overall. He cheered for L.T. and wore No. 21 at Fresno State, but if he’s sentimental about succeeding The One, who was voted greatest Chargers player by fans a year ago, it wasn’t evident as his NFL debut drew closer.

“They drafted me because they needed help on the run game,” Mathews said on Wednesday. “I think that’s why they brought me in. That’s what I’m going to do.”

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