The Los Angeles Chargers may not have the most orthodox drafting approach, and they certainly don't always get things right.
But it's hard to argue with the process of Joe Hortiz and the front office in the 2026 NFL Draft, in which a series of trades granted them a total of eight selections and served as a major boon to the depth of their roster. Throughout the entirety of 2026, Los Angeles' first two selections of the draft— Akheem Mesidor and Jake Slaughter— will rightfully draw most of the attention.
But one polarizing draft pick, safety Genesis Smith out of Arizona, seems to be carving out a shot at a rookie breakout. He's already turned heads in the Chargers' minicamp, and the upside of his skill-set in the deeper parts of the field is immense.
Of course, he has his issues with tackling and physicality, which is why many found the pick to be sub-par when it was made. But Los Angeles evidently thinks he can clean those up, and it seems as though he's already well on his way to being an impact player for the Chargers in 2026.
Genesis Smith has already started to prove his doubters wrong this offseason
There was ample reason to have trepidation about the Smith pick when it was made. I gave it a C+ instant-reaction grade at the time— a reflection of the concerns around Smith's tackling abilities.
But tackling, generally, is something that can be taught. Feel for the ball and for staunch coverage in the deeper parts of the field, meanwhile, is something that cannot necessarily be learned.
Smith certainly has the latter.
He posted six PBUs and 25 stops during his final season at Arizona, per Pro Football Focus. He has the speed, the athleticism, and the range to cover wide swathes of the field and handle various offensive looks with ease. That's the upside the Chargers are betting on. At his best, Smith will be the sort of ball-hawking safety, even surpassing both RJ Mickens and Tony Jefferson, that allows Derwin James to slide closer to the line of scrimmage more often.
He picked off Trey Lance during the Chargers' minicamp last week, and he's reportedly already turned heads throughout the offseason program.
But Smith also missed 18 tackles in 2025, posting a concerning missed-tackle rate of 19.8% last season. Until that's cleaned up in actual NFL play, it's reasonable to have concerns about his ability to take on significant snaps as a rookie.
Smith, however, has already started to flash his skill-set as a ball-hawking safety, and that should be enough to at least temporarily silence his doubters. His long-term projections will rely on him developing league-average tackling and elite coverage abilities. As long as that seems like an achievable goal, the Smith selection will be a major victory for Los Angeles.
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