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New York Times
13-08-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Taking stock of Chargers' ‘really competitive' cornerback competition
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Chargers are now 18 practices into training camp, and the competition for the starting cornerback spots remains fluid. What is certain: Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter will be leaning heavily into three-safety packages this season, as he did in 2024, with Derwin James Jr., Alohi Gilman and Elijah Molden all on the field together. That includes five defensive back packages with James at nickel. That includes six defensive back packages with James at dime 'backer. Advertisement What is not certain: Who exactly is going to be playing alongside the safeties in various packages, from base to nickel to dime. Minter said late last week that the Chargers are 'not really that close' to settling on defined groupings at corner. 'I think that there's a bunch of guys doing some good things,' Minter added. 'There are some inconsistencies there that we're trying to kind of weed out.' The Chargers returned to practice Tuesday after their preseason win over the New Orleans Saints, and Minter continued to rotate heavily at cornerback, a trend through this training camp. The cornerback battle had seemed like a three-man race through the early stages of camp, with Tarheeb Still, Cam Hart and Donte Jackson earning a majority of the first-team reps. Late last week, that changed, as Benjamin St-Juste started rotating in at outside cornerback with the first team. And St-Juste continued to get reps with the first-team offense Tuesday. 'Ben is on a really good trajectory,' Minter said. 'I love how he plays, love his competitiveness.' A roadblock in evaluating the rotation has been the number of injuries. Still, Jackson, Hart and St-Juste have all missed practice time this camp. Still and St-Juste were not healthy enough to play in the preseason opener in the Hall of Fame Game. St-Juste missed his first practice July 22 and sat out of team drills for more than a week. Hart has missed the last two practices and did not play against the Saints. Even undrafted rookie Nikko Reed, who was ascending early in camp, has missed time with an injury. Reed was making a case for the 53-man. He had started working in occasionally with the first-team defense. But he did not practice last week and did not dress for the Saints game. Reed returned to team drills Tuesday and worked with the second team. Advertisement Deane Leonard missed multiple practices early in camp with an injury. He returned, but now he is out of practice again after suffering another injury in the Saints game. Ja'Sir Taylor is the only veteran cornerback to not miss any practice time this camp. At this stage, Taylor is projected as a depth piece who will have a major role on special teams, most notably as a starting gunner on punt. 'You really hope that maybe a guy or two does something and gets on a roll and it's like, hey, we got to leave this guy where he's at,' Minter said. 'So we'll kind of just try to let that sort out, get everybody different reps in different positions in different groupings right now.' The spots are there for the taking, but no player has stacked enough good days to secure a full-time starting job. Tuesday's practice was another example of some of the 'inconsistencies' Minter referred to last week. St-Juste was in tight coverage on a red-zone go ball to rookie receiver Dalevon Campbell down the right sideline, forcing an incompletion. He was also beaten badly by receiver Ladd McConkey on a slant route. Jackson shut down a red-zone go ball to Brenden Rice down the left sideline. He stuffed a Kimani Vidal run. Vidal tried to bounce to the outside left, and Jackson was in perfect position to protect the edge. Jackson also gave up two second-and-10 conversion receptions, one to Rice on a dig and one to Campbell on a slant. Still was quick to contest a pass to Rice on a slant route early in practice. Rice made the catch, but Still drove him back after a short gain. Later on, Still was late to react to a deep ball to tight end Thomas Yassmin down the left sideline. 'I don't think we're anywhere near a true pecking order in that room yet,' Minter said. James' versatility creates numerous permutations as far as how the Chargers structure their secondary from down to down. If James is at nickel or at safety in the base defense, the Chargers have two open spots at cornerback on the outside. If James is at safety in nickel packages or playing dime 'backer, the Chargers have three open spots, two on the outside and one at nickel. Advertisement Still and Taylor can play both nickel and on the outside. St-Juste, Hart and Jackson have played solely on the outside in camp so far. More time is needed to determine how all these pieces will fit together. Under Jim Harbaugh, the Chargers have not shied away from playing rotations at positions within individual games. They could feature some sort of in-game rotation at corner, especially early in the season. 'It's another position where we have depth,' Minter said. 'Just try to take advantage of it. It's situation-based, our personnel-based, their personnel-based. I think there's a lot of factors in choosing those guys.' • McConkey was back in team drills Tuesday for the first time since July 27. He caught four passes in team drills from quarterback Justin Herbert. McConkey spoke after practice and declined to reveal the nature of his injury. When asked how close he is to 100 percent, 'I feel like I'm there now. It's just about building everything back up and … getting my conditioning back to where it needs to be.' ladd's ready to roll — Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 12, 2025 • McConkey and receiver Keenan Allen were both on the field for multiple reps with the first-team offense. Allen played on the outside on those reps. 'It's really the great thing about our offense, is that we can all move around,' McConkey said. 'Whoever is out there, we can all rotate and be in different positions and scheme it up the way they want.' Rookie KeAndre Lambert-Smith also got reps in the slot Tuesday. • Joe Alt, who has moved to left tackle after Rashawn Slater's season-ending knee injury, had an outstanding practice as a run blocker Tuesday. Alt's athleticism and body control in space were on display on multiple runs. He cleared the way for two explosive runs in one period, one from Omarion Hampton and the other from Vidal. Hampton found space on two more runs behind Alt later in practice, and the rookie also had a red-zone touchdown run from 5 yards out. Advertisement • Trey Lance did not participate in team drills Tuesday. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman said Lance sitting out was not injury-related. Roman added that 'there were some things' the Chargers 'wanted to get done' with Herbert in Tuesday's practice. Factoring in all team drills, Herbert got 43 reps in the practice. At one point, the Chargers ran 50 straight plays of 11-on-11. Herbert was the first quarterback up, followed by Taylor Heinicke and DJ Uiagalelei, in order. Roman said the backup quarterback battle between Lance and Heinicke is 'wide open.' • Chargers who did not practice Tuesday: receiver Derius Davis, Hart, safety RJ Mickens, Leonard, running back Jaret Patterson, cornerback Jordan Oladokun, cornerback Eric Rogers, receiver Jaylen Johnson, offensive lineman Branson Taylor, right guard Mekhi Becton, receiver Dez Fitzpatrick and receiver Jalen Reagor. • Becton has not practiced since July 28. He was working out in the weight room at the start of Tuesday's practice. Roman said Becton will be 'fine' and is 'on schedule' to be ready for Week 1. Roman later added that he is 'not putting anything in concrete' when it comes to Becton's timetable. • The first-team offensive line Tuesday: LT Alt, LG Zion Johnson, C Bradley Bozeman, RG Jamaree Salyer and RT Trey Pipkins III. Andre James also got some first-team reps at center, rotating in with Bozeman, who missed two practices last week. • The Chargers did not feature any starter-on-starter reps in the heavy-workload practice. The starting offense faced the reserve defense. The starting defense faced the reserve offense. Not surprisingly, the Chargers' star defenders had a productive day in the backfield. Edge rusher Khalil Mack had two sacks and two tackles for loss in the run game. Derwin James had two sacks and a tackle for loss in the run game. Linebacker Daiyan Henley also had two run stuffs. • Tight end Oronde Gadsden, receiver Quentin Johnston and tight end Tyler Conklin all caught red-zone touchdowns from Herbert. Johnston also had an explosive reception from Herbert earlier in practice on a deep crossing route. leveling up 📈 — Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 12, 2025 • Linebacker Kana'i Mauga had sacks on back-to-back plays while facing the first-team offense. Minter seemed to be getting a little deeper into his playbook Tuesday. Vidal missed a pass protection pickup on the first sack. Running back Hassan Haskins missed a pickup on the second sack. • Najee Harris, who remains on the non-football illness list, showed progress in his return from an eye injury. Harris was jogging early in practice. Later in practice, he was running with a football in his hands in between cones, which were set up to mimic offensive linemen. (Photo of Tarheeb Still: Ric Tapia / Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
20 Most Important Chargers of 2025: No. 17 S Elijah Molden
The Chargers are gearing up for the 2025 NFL season, which features a mix of new and returning faces within the organization. Several players are crucial to the team's success this season. Every day from now until the start of training camp, we're counting down our 20 Most Important Chargers for the 2025 season. We'll recap their 2024 season, look ahead to 2025, and hit on the biggest question facing them this year. Advertisement Next up at No. 17 is safety Elijah Molden. Background Age: 26 Position: Safety Experience: 5th season 2025 cap hit: $3.66 million 2024 recap After beginning his career in Tennessee, where he struggled to find any kind of consistency due to injuries, Molden was traded to the Chargers last year and flourished. As the third safety alongside Derwin James and Alohi Gilman, he started 12 games and logged 75 tackles, seven passes defended and three interceptions, which were all personal highs, before landing on injured reserve with a broken fibula near the end of the season. 2025 outlook For his efforts, Molden was rewarded with a three-year extension with the Chargers. Having him and Gilman on the field will continue to allow James to play closer to the line of scrimmage, where he's at his best. With how he played this past season, Molden could find his way as the second safety over Gilman in base packages. Now that he will have a full offseason in Los Angeles, he should only further improve as a player and become adept in this system. Advertisement Big question: Could Molden jump Gilman as the second safety? We're counting down our 30 Most Important Chargers of 2025. Check back every day leading up to the start of training camp. 20. OL Bradley Bozeman 19. LB Junior Colson 18. TE Oronde Gadsden II 17. S Elijah Molden 16. TBA 15. TBA 14. TBA 13. TBA 12. TBA 11. TBA 10. TBA 9. TBA 8. TBA 7. TBA 6. TBA 5. TBA 4. TBA 3. TBA 2. TBA 1. TBA This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: 20 Most Important Chargers of 2025: No. 17 S Elijah Molden
