3 risers (and 3 fallers) from the opening night Chargers preseason win vs. Texans

The 2026 preseason is officially here for the Los Angeles Chargers. None of the team's top starters played this week vs. the Texans. HC Jim Harbaugh said he plans to play the starters in the second and third games of the preseason. But this game still served as an opportunity to sort out a number of the roster battles.

Whose stock is rising? And which Chargers players took a step back?

Risers and fallers from the 27-7 Chargers win over the Texans.

Riser: C/G Jake Slaughter

This game for Jake Slaughter was all going to come down to how comfortable he was. It didn't have to be perfect. But his reps at left guard were going to be critical for his chances to start in Week 1.

Slaughter met the moment. He earned a 72.5 PFF pass blocking grade and allowed just one pressure in pass pro. He looked comfortable when it came to picking up stunts. At least in this game, there weren't really any reps in which he was overwhelmed by an opposing DT's strength. Despite never playing guard, this was about as good of a start as you could've asked for.

There are adjustments to be made in the run game and with pad level that will come with time. But for his first time playing both center and guard in a real game, it was a solid performance.

Last weekend at camp was positive momentum for Slaughter and he appears to be building on it.

Faller: QB Trey Lance

I'm still skeptical on how much Trey Lance vs. DJ Uiagalelei is actually viewed as a true competition by the coaching staff. But Harbaugh called the competition between them "close" in his press conference on Tuesday.

This was Lance's chance to shut the door and claim QB2. But with five minutes left in the first half, the NDSU product put together a number of bad plays on tape. With 5:04 left on the clock, he had a pick six opportunity dropped by Houston S Kamari Ramsey on a Brenen Thompson target. On the very next play, a deep shot to KeAndre Lambert-Smith that could've been a walk-in touchdown underthrown.

At :59 seconds left in the half, Lance was intercepted on another attempt to target Thompson. Lance also took a bad sack from Naquan Jones after he had already dropped into coverage.

There were a couple of nice throws here and there to Lambert-Smith. But Lance left the Chargers with more questions than answers at backup QB after an unconvincing first half.

Riser: WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith

KeAndre Lambert-Smith felt like he was firmly on the bubble entering this game. On the Chargers' unofficial depth chart, they've listed Derius Davis as the top returner. At this point, he should be expected to be on the roster. Ryan Ficken has spoken at length about how high the Chargers still are on Davis.

So the margins for Lambert-Smith come down to if the Chargers decide to keep five wide receivers or six. Lambert-Smith would likely need the latter outcome to have a shot. At least in Miami, OC Mike McDaniel keep under six receivers on the initial roster in three out of his four seasons.

So it was up to Lambert-Smith to ultimately prove why he wasn't expendable. And he showed up. Lambert-Smith led the wideouts with four receptions for 58 yards. He basically picked up right where left off from last preseason.

His route running was generally as crisp as usual and he provided Lance with some easy opportunities over the middle of the field.

At least for now, Lambert-Smith made a good case for why the Chargers should keep six receivers.

Faller: FB/TE Scott Matlock

Scott Matlock is fighting to keep his roster spot in some capacity. After being replaced by Alec Ingold as the teams' top FB, the question is what Matlock will do this year. He's worked primarily with the tight ends as a Y. The Chargers even played him at offensive tackle in practice this past week.

In this game, Matlock served as the lead blocker for RB Kimani Vidal for the first few drives of the game. And well...

One time Matlock tripped RB Kimani Vidal as he blocked for him. On other blocking attempts, he just got outmuscled by members of a decent Texans second-string group.

I'm fine with keeping Matlock on the practice squad if the team ultimately wants to. He's tried hard at a variety of positions the team has asked him to play over the years. But through this process of his demotion from starting fullback, I've failed to see what value he's bringing as a potential 53-man roster player.

Riser: LB Marlowe Wax

Most of the teams' linebackers played very well in this game. But the player who stood out the most was also the star of last preseason: Marlowe Wax. Wax had a pressure, one QB hit, a PBU, and three tackles on the night as he flew around on defense.

The last Chargers LB spot likely comes down to Wax or former third-round pick Junior Colson. Combining this game with the drumbeat of momentum coming out of camp, Wax has to be the favorite. Colson played pretty well, but it still doesn't seem like it's going to be enough.

Per Tyler Schoon of the Guilty as Charged Podcast, Wax also had green dot play calling duties when he was on the field.

With how necessary he is on special teams in addition to the great defensive tape he keeps putting up, Wax feels like a roster lock.

Faller: EDGE Kyle Kennard

Kyle Kennard was PFF's lowest graded defensive player on the night with a 35.7. There was one nice chase down pressure that forced a throwaway. But other than that, Kennard looked a little slow off the edge and just didn't have that much bend. That's to an extent what DC Chris O'Leary has commented on regarding the South Carolina product's "effort".

There are flashes here and there, but just no consistent beginning to end of any game I can point to that justifies his spot on the roster as EDGE 4 or 5.

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