It's hard to find silver linings with the way things have gone for the Los Angeles Chargers so far. We don't need to re-litigate the start of the season here, so I'll just provide a few obvious notes.
The Chargers are 0-3. Their next six games are all against teams that will present extraordinarily tough matchups. As it stands, a playoff berth seems like a far-off goal. Things have, by and large, been immensely disappointing under Mike McDaniel and Chris O'Leary.
And yet the Chargers' rookies continue to impress on a week-to-week basis. Of course, these developments would be a whole lot more inspiring if the team as a whole was performing well and coming way with victories through this early-season slate. But if Joe Hortiz is going to live and die by his draft-and-develop approach, it's at least worth monitoring how Los Angeles' eight selections from this past draft class are doing.
For the most part, they're showing exactly why Los Angeles was willing to take a swing on them. It simply hasn't been enough to help this team right the ship through three weeks.
Checking in with the Chargers' rookie class after another rough early-season loss
Akheem Mesidor, OLB
Mesidor's pure production went down in this matchup—he posted only one pressure compared to his four in Week 2 against the Las Vegas Raiders—but he continues to look like a real addition to this pass rush alongside Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipulotu. He's simply not going to put up numbers every week paired with those two defenders. His role goes beyond that.
Mesidor is meant to fill the role that Odafe Oweh took on last season, using his power and athleticism to open up opportunities for the pass rush as a whole and serve as an additional weapon in Chris O'Leary's arsenal. His one sack (a chase-down from behind on Josh Allen) was impactful, but it's his continued improvement and confidence on the field that's more inspiring at this point in the season.
Verdict: Stock Up
Jake Slaughter, C
It hasn't been an easy start to Slaughter's NFL career. After spending most of training camp taking left guard and second-team center snaps, he was thrust into the starting center spot with the season-ending injury to Tyler Biadasz. He's since needed to play paired with three separate left guards, with Trey Pipkins III and Kayode Awosika splitting reps and Trevor Penning taking on the starting role with both of those players out in Week 3.
It's hard to blame Slaughter, then, for some up-and-down performance through these first three games. But he allowed two pressures on 43 pass-blocking snaps yesterday, and it's hard to see him as the truly viable starting center option Los Angeles was hoping for entering the season.
Verdict: Stock Down
Brenen Thompson, WR
Thompson didn't play in Week 3 as he rehabbed a quadriceps injury, and he's coming off a high-profile drop in the Week 2 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders. But at the very least, we got a glimpse of how McDaniel may look to leverage his speed and downfield catch abilities in the course of the offense this season, and that's an inspiring sign for a rookie that was iced out in Week 1.
The Chargers need to identify their potential deep threats as quickly as possible if they want to get this offense going, and Thompson should get a real chance to prove himself when he inevitably returns to the field.
Verdict: Hold Steady
Travis Burke, OT
Burke is an interesting one here. With Trey Pipkins III on IR, he's now the Chargers' true backup swing tackle, and he showed enough during the preseason that the organization seems relatively confident in his ability to step into the fold if he's needed.
But Los Angeles used him multiple times in jumbo packages in Week 3—he saw nine total snaps even with Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater fully healthy—and that provides McDaniel, theoretically, with another schematic weapon he can use in certain situations. Hopefully we don't get to the point where Burke needs to play a full complement of snaps, but it's clear he's endeared himself to the coaching staff early in his NFL career.
Verdict: Stock Up
Genesis Smith, S
If there was any real riser in the Chargers' Week 3 loss, it was Smith. Los Angeles was willing to take a swing on him in the draft, in spite of his tackling issues, because of his pure ball-hawking skill set and instincts in the deeper parts of the field, and he put those on full display in this matchup. He got his first interception of the day by reading Josh Allen's eyes on an in-breaking route to DJ Moore, and he then ripped the ball out of Moore's hands on a downfield shot just plays later.
With Elijah Molden out, Los Angeles desperately needed their safety room to step up, and Smith seems to be securing himself a major share of snaps even when the Chargers' primary safety returns to the fold.
Verdict: Stock Up
Nick Barrett, DT
Barrett hasn't put up major production to this point in the season, and it's unlikely he'll see a major share of snaps as long as Teair Tart, Justin Eboigbe, and Jamaree Caldwell remain healthy. But he's quietly improved each week so far, and he was able to put up a pressure and two tackles against a relatively staunch Buffalo O-line in Week 3.
He hasn't played any snaps at nose tackle yet this season, and that's something to watch with Dalvin Tomlinson set to miss some time. But he's carving out, at the very least, a consistent role on the defensive interior—and that's a quality outcome for a fifth-round pick.
Verdict: Stock Up
Logan Taylor & Alex Harkey, OT/G
There's not much of an update here, apart from the fact that Taylor was listed as active in Week 3 with both Pipkins and Awosika out. He didn't see a snap, nor will he this season unless things get truly dire.
But when this room is whole again—with both Branson Taylor and Pipkins set to return from the IR at some point—it seems as though Harkey will be the one sent down to the practice squad. At the very least, the Chargers have shown a preference for Logan Taylor's upside at tackle early in the season.
Verdict: Hold Steady
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