Well, now that the trade deadline has passed, we can return to the dismal reality that faces the Los Angeles Chargers on a weekly basis.
Through Week 9, this team is still without a win. And as the offense looks as flustered and inconsistent as ever, the defense has also taken a slight step back under Chris O'Leary.
From a broader perspective, there's not much reason to panic there. But the unit got absolutely lit up by C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans, allowing Stroud to complete 21 of his 35 passing attempts for 384 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception. It was, in a vacuum, a highly disappointing performance for a unit that was nearing top-10 status under its new play caller.
Now, they've fallen down to eighth in the league in total passing yards allowed, and the run defense remains as inconsistent as ever, sitting at 17th in the NFL in total yards allowed on the ground.
The defense obviously isn't the biggest concern for this team. But as the front office charts a path back into relevancy in 2027 and beyond, it needs to see development out of its young playmakers on both sides of the ball. And right now, that starts with Genesis Smith.
Genesis Smith has shown flashes—but he's been far too inconsistent to trust with significant reps
The Chargers knew they were taking a risk when they selected Smith out of Arizona in the fourth round of the 2026 NFL Draft. As much upside as he showed as a ball-hawking, deep-range safety in college, there were also major concerns about his physicality and tackling abilities entering the league.
To an extent, he's eased those. Although his inability to push Kayshon Boutte out of bounds on that touchdown against the Texans was a relatively damning moment on tape, he's missed just two tackles all year for the Chargers. With the highlight plays he strung together through the first few weeks, it seemed as though Los Angeles had found its safety of the future to slot in alongside Elijah Molden.
But Smith has also had his fair share of breakdowns in coverage. It was presumably the reason he saw just nine snaps against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8. And when that number skyrocketed up to 40 against Houston, Smith had what was likely the worst game of his short NFL career. He missed one tackle in that outing, and he also allowed three receptions (on seven targets) for 94 yards and two touchdowns.
The most glaring moment came on Houston's first touchdown of the game, where it looked like Smith was a beat late to switch off onto Xavier Hutchinson as his route faded into the end zone, allowing Stroud to complete a 17-yard pass for the score.
Now, Smith doesn't necessarily need to claim a consistent starting role for the Chargers this year. Tony Jefferson is still more than capable of pairing with Molden on a down-to-down basis, and R.J. Mickens has largely been able to replicate what we saw from him last year as a rotational safety.
But as Los Angeles attempts to chart a path forward on the defensive side of the ball, Smith is their long-term option with the highest upside at the position. A certain amount of mistakes are acceptable for a rookie—but a player that looks completely lost in coverage on a routine basis simply isn't ready for major snaps.
This secondary is charting out a new identity under O'Leary, and while it's not far from what Jesse Minter had during his time here, there's still work to be done, especially in terms of total takeaways and deep-field consistency. No matter what, the defense is going to be the silver lining of this season for Los Angeles. Smith becoming a key, consistent piece of that unit by the end of the year would be a major bonus, and he needs to become more comfortable in coverage to get that done.
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