There's not much point in doing a long introduction here. The Los Angeles Chargers are now 0-6. We may very well see a Mike McDaniel firing (or at least a demotion) this week. The team, as a whole, needs to focus on what it can do to reset for next season—and that includes improving the overall offensive performance and resurrecting Justin Herbert, at least in terms of moral, before it's all said and done.
With that being said, the continued development of the rookies is still as important as ever. If this team ultimately decides to move off of some of its veterans before the Nov. 10 trade deadline, these pieces' roles will only become more integral to the continue viability of this squad, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
It was an underwhelming outing for much of the roster on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, but let's check back in on the rookies as the Chargers round into their bye week.
Checking in on the Chargers' rookies ahead of a much needed bye week
Akheem Mesidor, OLB
Mesidor has been one of the Chargers' most promising performers this season, and that's what Los Angeles gambled upon when they selected a near-25 year old in the first round of the NFL Draft. He had just one pressure against Kansas City—which was his lowest number since Week 1—and the Chargers pass rush as a whole seemed relatively ineffective against a surprisingly stout Chiefs offensive line.
This isn't much of a downtick for Mesidor, but he was much less active than we saw him be the past couple of weeks. With a potential trade involving Khalil Mack looming on the other side of the bye, the Chargers need more consistency from Mesidor on a game-to-game basis.
Verdict: Stock Down
Jake Slaughter, C
Again, it certainly hasn't been an easy transition to the NFL for Jake Slaughter. The line has been in constant turmoil around him, and he's now playing next to his fourth left guard in just six games.
But by pure pressure numbers, the Week 6 matchup was Slaughter's best game of the season—he allowed just one to a relatively formidable Chiefs interior. The run game for the whole of the offensive line is a different story, of course, but perhaps we're starting to see Slaughter get more comfortable in his role. It hasn't necessarily been the sort of performance you'd want to see along the interior for a team with $100 million in cap space this past offseason. The Slaughter pick, though, looks like it will pay dividends eventually.
Verdict: Stock Up
Brenen Thompson, WR
Thompson was nominally healthy heading into the Kansas City matchup (or at least wasn't listed on the inactives list), but he did not see a single snap. That means that Thompson still has not seen any action since Week 2.
Theoretically, Thompson has the speed and the catchpoint abilities to be at least a minor threat in a receiving corps that's sorely lacking depth at this point in the season. It's hard to say what the move was here, considering Theo Wease Jr. was running routes throughout the night. Hold steady for now and see if there's any sort of role for Thompson when the Chargers hit the other side of the bye.
Verdict: Hold Steady
Travis Burke, OT
Burke didn't get beat in the glaring fashion he did against the Denver Broncos, with faster pass rushers working their way consistently to his outside and collapsing the pocket from behind, but his performance against the Chiefs wasn't much better on paper. He allowed three pressures—which resulted in two hurries and one QB hit—on the night, and he was slightly less effective in the run game than he was in his first start.
There's clearly plenty of potential here with Burke, and he's done about as well as you can expect him to since stepping into the starting O-line. It's just unfortunate that he's been thrust into this position so early in his career.
Verdict: Hold Steady
Genesis Smith, S
Smith has now had back-to-back poor performances in coverage, and we've now seen his snap share drop sharply from the heights of 65.0% he saw in Week 4. He did rebound from the 40.3% snap share he saw in Week 5 though, and it seems as though he's settling into a role as a solid rotational safety.
He only missed his first tackle of the season in this game as well—an encouraging sign for a player who came into the Draft with physicality and tackling concerns. Don't panic on Smith yet, but it seems like he's simply settling into a middle-of-the-road outcome for his rookie campaign given his long-term potential.
Verdict: Hold Steady
Nick Barrett, DT
The only thing we're truly monitoring with Barrett at this point in the season is his snap share—given his place in the depth chart behind Teair Tart, Jamaree Caldwell, and Justin Eboigbe. In that light, Barrett playing 45.9% of the Chargers' defensive snaps in Week 6 is a semi-major development.
It may simply be a result of any lingering issues for Caldwell, who was dealing with a knee injury for much of last week but was cleared before the matchup, but Barrett has looked solid, especially against the run, in the reps he's been given this season. Consider the enhanced snap share a temporary reward for that performance.
Verdict: Stock Up
Logan Taylor, OG/T
Taylor looked mildly improved playing at left guard between Burke and Slaughter, but it remains clear that this Chargers protection simply won't be good enough until its primary pieces are able to return. Even then, who knows what the result will be.
But Taylor allowed two sacks on particularly poor reps against Kansas City, and he was markedly less effective in the run game than he was in his first start. He simply doesn't have the anchor or the mobility yet to hold things down on a consistent basis.
Verdict: Stock Down
Alex Harkey, OT
Harkey also somehow got worse this week—against a pass rush with significantly less teeth than the Broncos had in Week 5. He allowed four pressures across 49 pass-blocking snaps, and although none resulted in a sack, they all certainly affected the processing of Justin Herbert.
It seems as though Joe Alt will be back after the bye, so Harkey may not be long for this starting offensive line. That's probably for the best.
Verdict: Stock Down
Add us as a preferred source on Google