Coming out of the bye week, there was some level of optimism that we might see an improved on-field product for the Los Angeles Chargers. After all, Mike McDaniel had watched four hours of film with Justin Herbert during their time off, right?
But things looked almost exactly the same for Los Angeles in Week 8. The team suffered another loss, and it'll head into a Week 9 matchup against the Houston Texans still without a win under its belt. Perhaps the struggles of Houston's defense can open a door for the Chargers to come away with one, but it feels unlikely at this point.
Still, though, it's wise to peruse this campaign for any silver linings we can possibly find. If Joe Hortiz is going to keep his job beyond this season, he's going to need to find a way to overhaul this roster and this scheme. The continued development of the rookie class can, at the very least, make that job slightly easier.
Chargers rookie stock report as team falls to 0-7—and change rapidly comes for the organization
Akheem Mesidor, OLB
Even as Hortiz continues to publicly fend off potential trade suitors ahead of the Nov. 10 deadline, we're now officially approaching the possibility that Khalil Mack won't be a Charger for long. He has a no-trade clause in his contract, and it should be completely up to him whether he's moved or not. That being said, though, he's currently Los Angeles' premier asset ahead of a deadline where it has nothing left to truly play for. If the opportunity presents itself, and Mack is amenable, a deal needs to be made.
But as Mesidor's snap share holds steady, and he continues to produce consistent pressure, the thought of being without Mack in this pass rush becomes slightly less frightening. Mesidor accumulated two more pressures, which resulted in one QB hit and one hurry, against the Rams in Week 8.
He's not ready to operate as an alpha edge rusher—there are still some inconsistencies against the run and working against more agile offensive tackles in the pass rush—but his continued development, even as an older rookie, has been highly promising.
Verdict: Stock Up
Jake Slaughter, C
It's hard to blame Slaughter for the struggles he's seen this season. The Chargers asked him to practice at both center and left guard for much of training camp before Tyler Biadasz went down, suddenly thrusting the rookie into a starting role. At least it was at a position he was comfortable with, but there was an obvious learning curve across the first few weeks of the season for the Florida product. There were some clear misteps against opposing pass rushes, and he wasn't nearly as effective against the run as you would like to have seen.
But the outing against the Rams was quietly Slaughter's best of the season. Poona Ford being out made the matchup slightly easier, but Slaughter allowed zero pressures on 39 pass-blocking snaps, and his effectiveness in the run game at least kept pace with the sub-par performance of the line as a whole.
Starting a rookie center was always going to come with an adjustment period. Perhaps Slaughter is now exiting that as the Chargers' schedule lightens up.
Verdict: Stock Up
Brenen Thompson, WR
This is officially becoming a concerning injury for Thompson. Although he was activated before the bye week from the quadricep injury that had held him out since Week 2, he did not play a single snap, and he was sidelined again this week with both the quadricep and a new hamstring injury.
If he can get healthy at some point this season, Thompson may have a minor role to play in the offense. But for now, it's simply impossible to evaluate his rookie campaign.
Verdict: Hold Steady
Genesis Smith, S
Smith is simply going to have some major inconsistencies until he can become fully accustomed to Chris O'Leary's scheme. He's eased many of the tackling and physicality concerns he came out of the Draft with, but that's simply the reality the Chargers are going to need to face as long as they're giving Smith significant snaps.
His defensive snap count dropped down to just nine in Week 8 against the Rams, though, which may be a sign that O'Leary is leaning fully into Tony Jefferson as the starter alongside Elijah Molden. Smith will get his chance to work back into the rotation, but for now, his stock is down as a rookie contributor.
Verdict: Stock Down
Travis Burke, OT
Travis Burke was perhaps the only bright spot of the Chargers' offensive line in the couple of games they played before the bye. With four rookies along the line, though, that's a relatively low bar to set. He's been excellent against the run, but he was consistently outmatched against quicker pass rushers in those two games as a starter, allowing six pressures and one sack on 84 pass-blocking snaps.
Week 8 was more of the same as Burke held his own against the run but allowed three pressures (and three QB hurries) on the night. This is about as well as you can expect a mid-round rookie offensive tackle to play, so don't fret anything here. But there should be some level of improvement from Burke in the passing game soon, especially if Rashawn Slater's absence extends much further.
Verdict: Hold Steady
Nick Barrett, DT
It's likely that Barrett won't see much more than the 28 total defensive snaps he received in Week 6 against the Chiefs on a game-to-game basis this season, but operating as an effective and consistent member of this defensive tackle rotation is enough to ask. He saw 17 total snaps in Week 8, yielding much of his pass rush opportunities to the combination of Teair Tart, Jamaree Caldwell, and Justin Eboigbe, but he still managed to post two run stops and make his impact against a sizable Rams interior.
Verdict: Hold Steady
Logan Taylor, OG
Taylor got absolutely dominated by Aaron Donald when the Rams decided to exploit that matchup—but what else could you truly expect there?
On the whole, this matchup was a slight improvement from Taylor in terms of his total output. He allowed just one pressure in pass protection, but his run blocking largely remained as inconsistent as ever. It seems like Kayode Awosika will be set to the return next week, which should send Taylor back to bench barring any more injuries.
Verdict: Stock Down
Alex Harkey, OT
Not much to say here, as Harkey didn't play in Week 8 with the return of Joe Alt and the movement of Burke to the right side of the line. Harkey looked rough in his starts at right tackle, and it's hard to see, currently, a path to him carving out even a long-term depth position on this roster.
But that experience was likely important to his development, so perhaps there's some improvement behind the scenes over the remainder of the season.
Verdict: Hold Steady
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