The Los Angeles Chargers may not have made the biggest splashes on the open market this offseason. But they certainly haven't been shy with their cap space internally, inking Derwin James to a three-year $75.6 million deal that, again, will make him the highest-paid safety in the NFL.
Although the deal might outlast James' tenure among the league's top defenders, it's certainly worth it in the short-term. Under Jesse Minter, James was shifted more heavily to a nickel/dime role that allows him to play closer to the line of scrimmage and disrupt plays on all three levels of the field. His versatility is what makes that possible, and he's steadily become the key cog of the Los Angeles defense as a result of that skill-set.
But in order for James to consistently move out of his normal safety spot, the Chargers need a consistent and reliable deep-field safety to cover his back. Over the past two seasons that's been Elijah Molden, who is now entering the second season of his three-year, $18.5 million deal.
Daniel Popper had Molden ranked 13th in his list of the most important Chargers heading into 2026, and his reasoning highlights an under-the-radar storyline of Los Angeles' offseason. Molden is entering training camp fully healthy, and it could allow the Chargers to fully unleash James over the course of this campaign.
"Molden is an essential piece in this defense because of how the Chargers like to use Derwin James Jr. O’Leary has said multiple times this offseason that he plans to keep using James as a nickel and dime player, aligning him close to the line of scrimmage. In these areas of the field, James can impact the game as a blitzer and run defender. He loses some of that impact when he is playing as a true safety." Daniel Popper, The Athletic
Elijah Molden's health will be absolutely paramount to the Chargers in 2026
Molden has taken on a major role when he's been healthy throughout his two seasons in Los Angeles, playing 78% of the defensive snaps in 2024 and 75% in 2025.
But the injuries he suffered at the end of the 2024 campaign lingered into 2025, limiting Molden during the offseason. A nagging hamstring injury ultimately kept him out of two of the Chargers' first four games, and he played just 12 games in total on the season.
Molden was still highly productive for Los Angeles in 2025. Across those 12 games, he posted 52 combined tackles and one pass defended, serving as an integral communicator and source of intelligent play within Minter's scheme, which at time can be convoluted and call for high-intelligence players in the secondary.
As long as Molden is functioning in that capacity in the deeper portions of the field, new defensive coordinator Chris O'Leary should feel completely confident allowing James to play closer to the line of scrimmage.
There has been no indication that Molden has been limited in any capacity throughout the Chargers' offseason program.
The team will also have some decisions to make on who will take snaps at the second safety spot next to Molden when James slides to the nickel/dime spot. RJ Mickens, Tony Jefferson, and fourth-round selection Genesis Smith will be competing for those snaps in camp. Between the efforts of the three safeties, Los Angeles should easily be able to cobble together a formidable pairing with Molden.
Molden, therefore, has already set the stage for a massively productive season from James simply by staying at full health this offseason.
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