Of course, most of the attention for the Los Angeles Chargers heading into their final preseason matchup will be on the players on the roster bubble.
Cuts for the 53-man roster will be made this weekend, and pieces like Kyle Kennard, Bud Dupree, and Junior Colson may be facing the chopping block. Those storylines will dominate the final sampling of snaps we'll get before those decisions are ultimately made.
For the most part, the other competitions for starting spots are settled. The injury to Tyler Biadasz has shifted Jake Slaughter over to center, and it seems as though the left guard spot is Kayode Awosika's to lose.
But entering camp, there was a battle brewing between RJ Mickens, Tony Jefferson, and recent draft selection Genesis Smith for the second safety spot alongside Elijah Molden when Derwin James Jr. slides into his nickel/dime role— which he did for all but 128 snaps in 2025.
As we enter the final preseason matchup, this battle still doesn't have a clear-cut winner, and it's likely something that will continue to unfold over the course of the season.
The Chargers still need to determine a hierarchy in their safety room beyond Elijah Molden and Derwin James Jr.
The difficult part about this competition is that each of these three safeties has a real case for the job.
Smith's ball-hawking abilities were well-noted coming into the draft, and he's done nothing but show them off in training camp and the preseason, nearly recording a miraculous interception against the Houston Texans in the Chargers' first preseason game and making a number of flashy play across his practice reps. His tackling also looks improved, and that could be a major factor in helping him win the job over the course of the season.
Jefferson, meanwhile, brings a veteran presence and an intensity to the position that neither Mickens nor Smith can match. His athleticism has declined somewhat with age. But he's resurrected his career with Los Angeles, and his hard-hitting skill set is something that new defensive coordinator Chris O'Leary could easily fall in love with in the deeper parts of the field.
Mickens, for his part, represents somewhat of a middle ground. He took on a major role last year after Alohi Gilman was traded for Odafe Oweh early in the season, and he possesses an all-around skill set—capable of both rangy plays as a free safety and working his way down toward the tackle box when needed— that makes it worth watching his continued development.
Across two preseason games and multiple weeks of training camp, we've gotten reports of each of these players showing flashes. If it serves as any indication whatsoever, Smith played 30 snaps against San Francisco, while Jefferson played 18 and Mickens played 14— likely indicating that Smith is further away from earning a starting role than the other two.
But none of the three pieces have truly established themselves as the bona fide third safety for the Chargers, and that will be a storyline to watch when action kicks off against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1.
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