The Los Angeles Chargers have many of their roster decisions cut out for them as they enter the final week of camp.
Does Bud Dupree or Kyle Kennard go if Nadame Tucker is a roster lock in the OLB room? Who takes over the final one or two spots along the offensive line that have suddenly been opened by the injury to Tyler Biadasz? Have Junior Colson or Derius Davis done enough to defend their places?
But there's somewhat less clarity in the secondary. Of course Donte Jackson, Tarheeb Still, and Cam Hart are all locked in, and it seems like both Eric Rogers and Deane Leonard have done enough to secure their spots. But if the Chargers are going to host six cornerbacks on the 53-man roster, that still leaves an undecided backup nickel role—and the team has just three practices and one preseason matchup to make their decision.
Nikko Reed is the incumbent, but he played only 50 defensive snaps last year behind Derwin James Jr. That leaves an opening for both UDFAs Rodney Shelley and Avery Smith to fight for a roster spot, and they've done so wholeheartedly.
Both players have had their impressive moments in camp. Will it be enough for either to make the roster come Aug. 30?
Rodney Shelley and Avery Smith likely still have a path to the Chargers' roster— but they can't both make it
There was always going to need to be some re-shuffling of the Los Angeles secondary with the departure of Benjamin St-Juste this offseason to the Green Bay Packers. St-Juste took 37% of the team's defensive snaps across the 16 games he appeared in last season, and he was a solid, if not a high-upside, piece behind Still, Jackson, and Hart.
Neither Smith nor Shelley have archetypal frames to serve as outside corners. If either is going to make the roster, it's likely going to be as a gadget slot corner with limited outside versatility.
But both have done plenty to prove worthy of consideration for that role.
Both the coaching staff and their teammates raved about their intensity and confidence in the early days of training camp, with Smith getting much of the love early on.
Smith posted three total tackles and an excellent PBU in the matchup against the Houston Texans, displaying his athleticism in coverage and his consistency as a tackler. He was Toledo's primary outside corner after the departure of Quinyon Mitchell, and he's carried over much of that confidence as a Chargers UDFA. Shelley missed a number of practices prior to that matchup, which opened the door for Smith to make his mark.
But in the Chargers' second preseason matchup, it was Shelley who flashed his skill set. He had two highly impressive PBUs in the deeper portions of the field, wielding his range and his short-area athleticism to prevent a pair of explosive plays for the San Francisco 49ers offense.
Smith wasn't absent—he posted two pressures and three total tackles against San Francisco—but that performance likely helped Shelley make up any ground he had lost in the roster competition.
Both pieces have outproduced the incumbent Reed to this point in camp. Whatever the Chargers' final roster decision is, it will likely come down to who they feel best about playing the outside when needed.
Right now, it feels like the answer might be Shelley. But plenty can change between now and Aug. 30.
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