Chris O'Leary continues to impress as the Los Angeles Chargers' defensive coordinator. For the moment, we can thankfully set the offense to the side and talk about that.
It was a concerning step back against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6 for his unit, as Los Angeles allowed 422 total yards (including 150 yards on the ground) over the course of the matchup. But given the injuries he's had to face along his unit, O'Leary has done an excellent job keeping the secondary intact and exercising a level of flexibility on the blitz and in the run game—including last night against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Chargers had practice squad cornerback Isas Waxter playing significant snaps in the secondary yesterday, and they still managed to limit the Rams to just one truly potent drive in the first half of the game. There's reason to believe, then, that O'Leary can survive a prolonged absence from Derwin James Jr., and there's plenty of reason to believe he'll be sticking around past this season when it's all said and done.
Los Angeles' primary mission for the remainder of this season is to salvage the offense—whatever that ultimately looks like. But if O'Leary is the one whose job is guaranteed past this season, underlying that storyline will be his quest to shape this defense in his image, identifying the cornerstones of his unit moving forward and developing his scheme around them.
Elijah Molden had a rough game last night, but the absence of James gives him an even greater chance to solidify himself as one of those pieces.
Elijah Molden can't replicate Derwin James' impact—but he needs to be the piece that holds this secondary together
There's no player on this defense who can provide the game-to-game value that James does. Even though Jesse Minter, who maximized him as a star safety in this league, is now out of the picture, he's come to represent that same sort of connective tissue under O'Leary—operating alternately as a consistent coverage piece, a formidable extra rusher on the blitz, and a solid, downhill tackler against the run. James is now on the IR with a hamstring injury, and it remains unclear what his true timeline for return is.
Molden isn't that type of player—but it's gone under the radar just how much value the Chargers have gotten since they sent a seventh-round pick to the Tennessee Titans ahead of the start of the 2024 campaign for his services.
He's developed, in that time, into a solid, trustworthy safety, and it was his acquisition, in part, that made Los Angeles more comfortable moving James into that nickel role in the first place. Across his first two season with the organization, he amassed 127 combined tackles, four interceptions, 26 run stops, and eight passes defended. And that was without seeing an entire healthy offseason with the team.
Acquired on the eve of the season in the 2024, Molden didn't have much time to acclimate to Minter's scheme. Prior to the 2025 campaign, he missed much of training camp and even a chunk of the team's first few games with a hamstring injury.
This was Molden's first full offseason with the team, then, and although he missed Weeks 2 and 3 with another hamstring ailment, that's paid dividends so far. His coverage numbers have remained solid, and he's also been used a bit more often as a true run defender with the way injuries have plagued this secondary, having now posted 25 combined tackles and six run stops across just five games.
Last night, admittedly, didn't look great. He missed a pair of tackles on major run plays for the Rams, and he posted an overall grade of just 53.3 for the matchup according to Pro Football Focus's system.
But as O'Leary continues to feel out which pieces he can truly lean upon in the coming seasons, Molden continued ability to help anchor the secondary—especially with some inconsistent play from his partners in Tony Jefferson, Genesis Smith, and RJ Mickens—has to count for something.
If he can ramp up his impact as James' absence stretches on, it will count for even more.
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