The Los Angeles Chargers experienced a musical chairs scenario in the secondary this offseason following the departures of Asante Samuel Jr. and Kristian Fulton.
It's going to be a different, but younger-looking secondary with Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart expected to take over as full-time starters in 2025. This defense was ranked seventh a season ago against the pass, allowing just 206.9 yards per game.
With the addition of second-year players and Donte Jackson to the team in the offseason, the Chargers' cornerback room is significantly different from the one fans saw a season ago. It raises some questions about how they will perform in the upcoming season.
Chargers must answer questions about Hart and Still before 2025 season
Bleacher Report writer Matt Holder's recent article tackled each NFL team's biggest question after OTAs. For the Chargers, Holder's question was, "Are the young corners ready for bigger roles?"
"Los Angeles didn’t re-sign Week 1 starting cornerbacks Asante Samuel Jr. and Kristian Fulton during free agency, paving the way for second-year pros Cam Hart and Tarheeb Still to have bigger roles on the team.
Granted, Still will line up at nickel while offseason addition Donte Jackson is expected to be on the boundary.
Regardless, both players will head into training camp with more on their plates than they had last year, and the defense needs them to rise to the occasion.
Still was a breakout star on defense after being selected as a fifth-round pick in last year's NFL Draft. In 14 games with 12 starts, he racked up 62 tackles, 10 pass deflections, four interceptions, one pick-six, one quarterback hit, one tackle for loss, and a half sack. He finished seventh in the AP's Defensive Rookie of the Year voting.
Last year, Hart finished with 37 tackles, seven pass deflections, two quarterback hits, one forced fumble, and a half sack in 14 games. The former fifth-round pick hasn’t participated during OTAs so far after recovering from his shoulder injury, for which he underwent surgery this offseason.
While there are questions about if the young guys in Hart and Still will be able to handle bigger roles on the team, there might be more questions about the veterans who joined the team. Jackson looks to be in line to start on the outside, but what kind of production will they get out of Benjamin St-Juste?
St-Juste struggled last year and needed a fresh start after spending the previous four years with the Washington Commanders. He allowed a quarterback rating of 102.2, which was the second highest of his career.
Still and Hart might need some time to adjust to being full-time starters, but Still already did that last year and was close to being Defensive Rookie of the Year. Hart has to recover from his injury, but appears to be on track to return soon before training camp.
It's a new era for the Chargers' secondary, and the pieces are in place to have a strong starting unit for the next three years. Hart and Still showed enough last year to give fans some confidence that they are ready to elevate their games in year two.