As the Los Angeles Chargers enter the second week of OTAs, things are slowly beginning to crystallize in terms of their roster and position battles.
Nadame Tucker will be fighting with Kyle Kennard and Bud Dupree for a role in the edge rusher room. Junior Colson will be fighting with Marlowe Wax, Del'Shawn Phillips, and maybe even Lander Barton for a role as an ILB. There will even be some grappling in the WR room, although the Chargers' main four pass-catchers are all slated to make the roster.
But one position battle underlying all of OTAs and training camp, the fight for who will be taking punt and kick returns, has received very little clarity to this point in the offseason. Special teams coach Ryan Ficken made it clear that there will be a competition, but he also showed confidence in Derius Davis, who has been the team's return man over the last two seasons.
Davis' spot is vulnerable though after an injury-tinged 2025 campaign. To begin the second week o OTAs, Eric Smith of Chargers.com reported that a slew of players, not including Davis, were practicing punt returns.
"When the Chargers worked on punt return drills later in practice, a handful of players — KeAndre Lambert-Smith, [Brenen] Thompson, Tarheeb Still, Luke Grimm and Devonte Ross — were back returning punts." Eric Smith, Chargers.com
It seems as though the door is slowly creeping open for a competition on the special teams unit.
Derius Davis' roster spot may soon be in trouble if another Charger stands out as a special teams contributor
Davis had a hot start to his career as Los Angeles' return man. He was an All-Pro during his rookie campaign in 2023, averaging 16 yards per punt return and displaying a dazzling amount of speed and athleticism on special teams. That level of production then waned in 2024, and fell off a cliff in 2025.
He averaged just seven yards punt return and 25.8 yards per kick return and was limited to just 11 games with an ankle injury.
There's always a chance Davis returns to his previous level of production and fends off those who are threatening his spot on the roster. But the margin for error for special teams contributors in the NFL is razor thin. If Los Angeles feels his roster spot can be better-utilized, and that Davis doesn't have a role in the regular course of the offense, he could quickly be replaced.
Although Still did take punt returns last season in Davis' absence, it's unlikely that he sticks in that spot given his role as one of the Chargers' primary outside cornerbacks. But Brenen Thompson, who posted the fastest 40-yard-dash time at this year's NFL Scouting Combine, is a real threat. So is KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who is slated for a larger role in the offense this season but also has the speed and athleticism to be a viable return man if needed.
Davis also faces pressure as a kick returner. Free-agent signing Keaton Mitchell took 22 returns for the Baltimore Ravens last season for an average of 26.9 yards per return. If his role in the offense is minimized, the Chargers could certainly see it as a worthy gamble to utilize him on special teams as well.
At the end of the day, we won't truly know anything concrete about the position battle until we get closer to training camp. But for now, it appears as though there's certainly room for a real competition at the position.
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