We've almost made it, folks. After nearly three full weeks of practice (and endless speculation surrounding the looming left guard competition), the Los Angeles Chargers will play real, live football against an opponent on Thursday night.
They'll face off against the Houston Texans in their first preseason matchup of the year. Although roughly 15 of the starters won't play in the game— likely including Justin Herbert and most of the team's offensive weapons— there's still plenty of intrigue.
This is where under-the-radar risers like Nadame Tucker, Avery Smith, and Rodney Shelley can truly start to shine. It's also where we'll see if potential cut candidates like Junior Colson and Kyle Kennard still have the fire necessary to defend their roster spots.
Ahead of their first preaseason game, the Chargers released their first unofficial depth chart via Chargers.com. Obviously, nothing here is set in stone, and many of the groupings are arranged in a way to deliberately not reflect a winner of certain position battles.
But there are still some interesting things to glean from this sort of announcement. Let's dig in.
Chargers' unofficial depth chart (via Chargers.com)
OFFENSE
Quarterback
Starter:Â Justin Herbert
Backups:Â Trey Lance and DJ Uiagalelei
Running back
Starter:Â Omarion Hampton
Backup: Keaton Mitchell OR Kimani Vidal, Jaret Patterson, Amar Johnson and Gregory Desrosiers
Fullback
Starter:Â Alec Ingold
Backup:Â Scott Matlock
Wide receiver
Starters:Â Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston
Backups:Â Tre' Harris, Brenen Thompson, Derius Davis, KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Dalevon Campbell, JaQuae Jackson, Sincere Brown, Luke Grimm, Devonte Ross and Mante' Morrow
Tight end
Starter: Charlie Kolar OR  Oronde Gadsden OR David Njoku
Backups:Â Scott Matlock, Johnny Pascuzzi, Jerand Bradley and Evan Svoboda
Offensive tackles
Starters:Â Rashawn Slater (LT) and Joe Alt (RT)
Backups:Â Trey Pipkins III (LT/RT), Branson Taylor (LT), Travis Burke (RT), Logan Taylor (LT), Laekin Vakalahi (RT) and Isaiah World (LT)
Interior offensive linemen
Starters:Â Kayode Awosika (LG)Â ORÂ Branson Taylor (LG)Â ORÂ Jake Slaughter (LG), Tyler Biadasz (C) and Cole Strange (RG)
Backups:Â Jake Slaughter (C), Trevor Penning (RG), Josh Kaltenberger (C), Logan Taylor (RG), Alex Harkey (LG/RG) and Jacob Spomer (C)
DEFENSE
Interior defensive linemen
Starters:Â Jamaree Caldwell, Dalvin Tomlinson and Teair Tart
Backups:Â Nick Barrett, Justin Eboigbe, TeRah Edwards, Jahmeer Carter, Terry Webb and Jacobian Guillory
Edge rusher
Starters:Â Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu
Backups:Â Akheem Mesidor, Bud Dupree, Nadame Tucker, Kyle Kennard and Garmon Randolph
Inside linebacker
Starters:Â Daiyan Henley and Denzel Perryman
Backups:Â Troy Dye, Del'Shawn Phillips, Junior Colson, Marlowe Wax, Emany Johnson and Lander Barton
Cornerback
Starters: Tarheeb Still and Donte Jackson OR Cam Hart
Backups:Â Deane Leonard, Nikko Reed, Eric Rogers, Isas Waxter, Avery Smith and Rodney Shelley
Safety
Starters:Â Derwin James Jr. and Elijah Molden
Backups:Â Tony Jefferson, RJ Mickens, Genesis Smith, Kendall Williamson, Myles Purchase, Noah Avinger and Devin Grant
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kicker/kickoffs
Cameron Dicker
Punter/holder
JK Scott
Long snapper
Starter:Â Josh Harris
Backup:Â Peter Bowden
Kick returner
Starter:Â Derius Davis
Backups:Â Keaton Mitchell, Kimani Vidal and KeAndre Lambert-Smith
Punt returner
Starter:Â Derius Davis
Backups:Â Brenen Thompson, KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Ladd McConkey
5 intriguing takeways from the Chargers' first unofficial depth chart of training camp
1. Derius Davis hangs onto both the kick and punt returner roles
Heading into training camp, one of the major questions surrounding the roster was the role of Derius Davis. After an All Pro-caliber campaign in his rookie season, Davis's production has declined over the last two years. It's likely that a series of injuries last season stopped him from reaching those lofty numbers again, and the Chargers finished 29th in yards per punt return and 26th in yards per kick return.
At most other positions, Davis would have time to rebound from those injuries. But he doesn't provide much value to the team outside of special teams, and there was always a chance that Brenen Thompson or Keaton Mitchell could seize one or both of his roles before the start of the season, leaving Davis as a clear cut candidate.
But the sense in camp seems to be that he's holding onto his job, and that's reflected in this first unofficial depth chart.
2. Genesis Smith remains third among the backup safeties
Apart from the competition for the starting left guard job, the battle for the third safety spot is certainly the most intriguing storyline of Chargers training camp. Elijah Molden and Derwin James Jr. are the defined starters at the position, but James plays all over the field in his nickel/dime role more often than not.
That leaves Tony Jefferson, RJ Mickens, and fourth-round selection Genesis Smith a significant share of snaps to compete for. Smith, with his ball-hawking abilities and pure deep-field coverage skills, turned heads in OTAs, and he's made some plays in training camp that could set the stage for him to ultimately win this competition.
For now, though, the edge goes towards Mickens and Jefferson, who both have NFL experience and were integral pieces for the Chargers defense last season after the departure of Alohi Gilman.
3. Josh Kaltenberger is ahead of Jacob Spomer in the race for a possible backup center spot
While the left guard competition itself is taking up most of the attention along the offensive line, it also has implications for how the rest of the roster spots are distributed in that room. If Jake Slaughter doesn't win the job, it's unclear whether the Chargers will choose to carry a true backup center, considering both Slaughter and Strange have experience at the position and can provide flexibility behind Tyler Biadasz.
But to this point in training camp, UDFA Jacob Spomer has taken most of the third-team center reps behind Biadasz and Slaughter, and it seemed as though he was lined up to win that roster spot over Josh Kaltenberger, who was a UDFA last season and remained on the practice squad behind Bradley Bozeman and Andre James. But this depth chart has Kaltenberger ahead of Spomer for the time being, and that will be a looming storyline to watch as training camp continues to unfold.
4. Nick Barrett may have a path to a larger role than most realize
Dalvin Tomlinson was brought in as the starting nose tackle this offseason, and Teair Tart's three-year, $30 million extension cements him as one of the other starting pieces along the interior defensive line. Jamaree Caldwell is likely poised for a major breakout in his second season as he takes on that third starting spot.
But the departures of Otito Ogbonnia and Da'Shawn Hand this offseason leave some rotational snaps to be snatched up by Justin Eboigbe and Nick Barrett. Barrett has the size and the slow-burn power to be a viable backup nose tackle, but he also has the versatility to play in a wider role as a true DT. He sits here on the depth chart ahead of Eboigbe, and a strong rest of training camp could help line him up for significant snaps during his rookie campaign.
5. Nadame Tucker is ahead of Kyle Kennard for what is likely the final OLB spot
Tucker was likely the Chargers' main UDFA to watch coming into camp, and he's impressed with his pure pass-rush speed and power during individual and team drills. But with Tuli Tuipulotu, Khalil Mack, and Akheem Mesidor cemented as the three potential starters, there's likely only one or two spots to be distributed between Kennard, Bud Dupree, and Tucker.
The Los Angeles coaching staff has shown a fondness for Dupree as a veteran presence and a run defender. While intuition might tell you that the Chargers would look to retain Kennard, given the fact that they spent draft capital on him just last offseason, it appears as though Tucker might have a real edge over the second-year defender.
Tucker has a real opportunity during preseason action to put his skill set on full display, and that could quickly earn him a roster spot over Kennard, who struggled to make an impact during his rookie campaign.
Add us as a preferred source on Google