Chargers DT Jamaree Caldwell grew into his own during his rookie campaign. After a solid preseason in 2025, Caldwell grew into a solid defensive line rotation role with the the team. As a rookie, Caldwell played 525 snaps. For comparison, the recently extended Teair Tart played just one more snap at 526. Compared to the average day two or day three drafted DT, Caldwell shouldered more of a load as a rookie.
In his last four games of the 2025 season, Caldwell had three pressures, nine tackles, and six stops. The truth is that the Chargers might just be scratching the surface on what the Oregon product can offer as a pass rusher.
ESPN sees a potential breakout season for Chargers second-year tackle Jamaree Caaldwell on the horizon.
ESPN's Ben Solak picked a breakout player candidate for all 32 NFL teams in his recent article. For his Chargers representative, he did end up going with Caldwell going into year two. Specifically, Solak believes in the potential of one key offseason signing that could unlock Caldwell's role within the offensive line:
"The Chargers added Dalvin Tomlinson, a quintessential run-stuffing nose tackle, in free agency. It's easy to infer they'll give Caldwell a few more pass-rush opportunities besides Tomlinson, and he has the requisite quickness and flexibility to be a quick penetration player who creates cleanup opportunities for other rushers." Ben Solak, ESPN
Tart played just over 45.7% of his snaps as a run defender last year. Caldwell's run defense snaps accounted for 48.1% of his reps on defense. Both players could see some more pass rushing opportunities if the Chargers were to keep Tomlinson inside. However, Tomlinson did infer to wanting to line up from more versatile pass rushing positions in one of his media availability periods this offseason.
In college, Caldwell put up 8.5 sacks in his two seasons at Houston before transferring to Oregon. When allowed the opportunity to be more than the traditional nose, he can put up pass rush production in a hurry. If he is freed up to play some more 3 tech snaps next year, it feels like a lock that he'll be able to boost his pass rush production from year to year at the very least.
A lot of the pass rushing attention on the Chargers defense is paid to the EDGE rushers on the outside. And of course that's for good reason with the duo of Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu. But with the attention Tomlinson will draw from opposing offensive lines, it's possible Caldwell and Tart can continue elevating their pass rush production.
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