The Los Angeles Chargers, gratefully, haven't had many ostensible fallers during their two and a half weeks of training camp.
We haven't heard much about Kyle Kennard and Junior Colson as they continue to defend their spots on the 53-man roster, and that's slightly concerning. But for the most part, it's been nothing but positive developments coming out of El Segundo.
UDFA pass rusher Nadame Tucker and rookie Akheem Mesidor look as impressive and explosive as many expected them to. Genesis Smith has made some head-turning plays and carried over some of the momentum he established during the offseason program, though it's unclear who has the lead in the ongoing battle for the third safety spot. Even Jake Slaughter is beginning to ramp up his bid for the starting left guard spot.
But as we enter preseason action against the Houston Texans on Aug. 13, it will be the first chance for some of these under-the-radar risers, including UDFA cornerback Avery Smith, to truly make a splash. Smith and fellow UDFA Rodney Shelley put up some of the most impressive performances of the early portions of camp, and both the coaching staff and their teammates raved about their rapid progress into the team's defensive system.
But now that Shelley has missed the past three practices with an undisclosed issue, the matchup against the Texans now represents Smith's chance to truly shake up the depth chart.
Avery Smith is a major breakout candidate as the Chargers face off against the Texans
The core of the Chargers' secondary is already set in stone. Tarheeb Still, Donte Jackson, and Cam Hart will rotate starting opportunities, and it's likely that Eric Rogers will get the first crack at taking Benjamin St-Juste's role as the fourth CB. But Los Angeles hasn't been shy about doling out roster spots to the cornerback room during the Joe Hortiz era, and that leaves room for either Smith or Shelley to squeeze onto the final list with a strong showing over the rest of camp.
Smith primarily played outside during his time at Toledo, where he took over for Quinyon Mitchell when he was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Across his final two college seasons, Smith showed rapid improvement, posting nine PBUs and allowing a passer rating of just 59.9 in his 2025 campaign.
At just 5'10" and 196lbs, he's undersized to play outside corner at the NFL level, but he has the agility and the ball skills to have long-term upside in a slot corner/nickel role. Shelley profiles similarly, and that likely leaves both UDFAs competing in some capacity with current backup nickel Nikko Reed— who made the 53-man roster last season as a UDFA.
Reed only saw a total of 50 defensive snaps as he was partially limited by injury last season. But there's a potential role to be claimed by any of that trio when Derwin James Jr. needs to come off the field.
Per ESPN's Kris Rhim, Shelley has now missed the last three practices with the Chargers— although he's worked off to the side with trainers for most of that span. It remains unclear if he'll appear in Los Angeles' first preseason matchup.
Smith, for his part, has been a full participant in practice. Although the reports on his individual exploits have dried up, this first preseason matchup represents a chance for him to carry that momentum over in front of a national audience. That'll be more than worth keeping an eye on as the Chargers take the field on Thursday night.
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