When Brandon Staley was hired for his first NFL head-coaching position in 2021, he came in with a clear plan for the Chargers: The first offseason was about building the offense around second-year quarterback Justin Herbert. They did that.

This offseason, the plan was to build the defense around safety Derwin James.

The first look at his defense will be Sunday when the Las Vegas Raiders come to SoFi Stadium with their high-powered offense featured by quarterback Derek Carr and receiver Davante Adams.

The last time these teams met was in that blockbuster main event nine months ago in a “win and you are in” regular-season finale. Daniel Carlson, Raiders kicker, sent the Silver and Black into the playoffs with a 47-yard field goal in overtime and sent the Chargers home.

There has been a lot made about that game this week as it was the last time the Chargers have been on the field.

“Both teams are completely different than the team that was at that last game,” Staley said. “If you look at their team, they have brand new coaches, brand new players, a brand new scheme. Same with us; over half of our team is different.”

There is much unknown with the Raiders’ offense because of the addition of not only Adams from Green Bay but a new coach in Josh McDaniels, who was a big part of the longtime offensive success of the New England Patriots.

Sunday could see a lot of communication between the coaches, players moving around, and adjustments made on the fly. There is much mystery with this Raiders offense because the starters didn’t play in preseason.

“You have to be ready to go out there and figure it out,” Staley explained. “There’s that element to the beginning where your guys have to figure it out together. The one thing I’m excited about is who I am figuring it out with. I really like who we’re going to go compete with on Sunday.”

Staley’s new-look defense should be built for this after the moves they made in the offseason, which were necessary.

The 2021 Chargers defense was held together by the talent of James and edge rusher Joey Bosa. They were the worst in the NFL in two crucial categories.

Staley’s defense allowed 138.9 rush yards a game while conceding over 170 rush yards in seven games. They decided to almost completely clean house on the defensive line.

They added Sebastian Joseph-Day, Austin Johnson, Morgan Fox and drafted Otito Ogbonnia. Breiden Fehoko made it out of camp because he has improved as a run stopper, while Jerry Tillery is a former first-round draft pick.

Those six will be tasked with helping improve the run defense. Another problem the Chargers faced in the past is they get consistent pass rush from the edges but not up the middle. They want to suffocate opposing quarterbacks.

“To go up against those guys week in and week out, it made us better going into the year,” Herbert said about facing the new-look defense.

One of the biggest additions is edge rusher and former enemy Khalil Mack. He used to disrupt the Chargers’ offensive line and quarterback Philip Rivers when he was a member of the Raiders.

Then on Sept. 1, 2018, following a preseason holdout, Mack was traded to the Chicago Bears. That is where he met and developed a close relationship with Staley, who was the Bears’ outside linebackers coach.

To Mack, Sunday is just another game.

“I mean the people that I didn’t like probably aren’t there anymore,” Mack said. “I’ll always have respect for the organization. It has calmed down [from the first two meetings]. It’s still the same. You’ll see.”

He still has a relationship with Carr, so the edge rusher is excited to see him before and during the game.

“That’s my brother,” Mack said of Carr. “I like to talk trash here and there. I feel like that’s a bond that can’t be broken when it comes to that, but come Sunday it’s on and poppin’ … He’s an ultimate competitor. One of the best in the game. Somebody that I highly respect when it comes to the leadership aspect, as well as the quarterback position.”

Mack is coming off a shortened 2021 season due to a foot injury, but he still had six sacks in seven games for Chicago, who traded him to the Chargers in March.

He has rehabbed, and the team was careful with him during the offseason.

“Best I’ve felt in a long time at the beginning of the season,” he said.

The hope is Mack and Bosa can turn into the best pass-rushing duo in the NFL. They have been picking each other’s brains since May. They could be seen going over pass rushing as soon as they came off the field during training camp.

“I knew (Mack) was a football guy that dove in fully, but every moment that I look over, him and Joey are talking about the run game, the pass game, the pass rush,” Chargers defensive coordinator Renaldo Hill said. “He’s fully invested in it and that’s the one thing that you couldn’t see from afar, but when you are up close and personal, every moment is a ball moment.”

Former Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy was added to be a hybrid. He could play middle linebacker and edge rusher on Sundays because a big part of his game is his versatility. He is a former Super Bowl champion and a respected veteran.

In the secondary, the Chargers also added the top-rated free-agent cornerback. J.C. Jackson, another former Patriot, is a ball hawk with 25 interceptions in his first four seasons.

Jackson brings an intelligence that will add a lot to a Chargers secondary that couldn’t get off the field on third down last season. They allowed an NFL-high 49.5% conversion rate on third down.

He is doubtful heading into Sunday, but once he gets on the field, he will be a big piece. The coaching staff has a renewed faith in cornerback Michael Davis, who struggled last season. The former Glendale High star said he felt brand new during training camp, which showed during the practices and preseason games.

Davis will be called upon Sunday if Jackson doesn’t play.

“He’s done a great job this offseason of putting himself in position to attack the ball,” Hill said of Davis. “Not much so playing the receiver, but going and attack the ball, so that’s really helped. I think he’s much calmer. I think he’s ready for the challenge.”

One underrated signing was cornerback Bryce Callahan, who has been with Staley in Chicago and Denver and is one of the better slot cornerbacks in the league. The Chargers also have second-year cornerback Asante Samuel Jr., from whom a lot is expected after a solid rookie season.

All these players were brought in to be led by James. He is the team’s heart and soul, plus the defense’s quarterback. He will now have playmakers around him in each positional group.

“Sebastian and (linebacker) Troy (Reeder), they were just playing in the Super Bowl a year ago,” James said. “With that experience, it’s only going to help us. Guys like Kyle Van Noy, J.C., guys like that that have real Super Bowl experience.”

Staley had a clear plan when he got here and executed the first part of it.

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When Herbert and the offense got their facelift last season, they began to shine almost immediately and became one of the best offenses in the NFL.

Now all eyes will be on Staley’s defense to see if it can live up to the hype after all the moves they made.

“I like the competitive spirit and the competitive stamina that this group has,” Staley said. “I think that this group has what it takes to go into a game week and do what it takes to compete at the highest level in the NFL.”

RAIDERS (0-0) AT CHARGERS (0-0)

When: 1:25 p.m. Sunday

Where: SoFi Stadium

TV/Radio: CBS (Ch. 2); 98.7 FM; 105.5 FM/94.3 FM (Spanish); Sirius 228