With training camp getting underway this week, attention will turn to which Chargers players make the best early impression.
A new coaching staff and front office means that there's probably a higher chance of increased roster turnover relative to recent seasons. Some drafted holdovers from the last regime may need to earn more than others. Who needs to "win" training camp?
Chargers who need a good training camp:
RB Isaiah Spiller
The Chargers have turned their running back room upside down this offseason. Isaiah Spiller is the only significant holdover that remains from the 2023 backfield after the departures of both Austin Ekeler and Joshua Kelley. The teams' new leadership brought in two Baltimore stalwarts after signing Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins. A sixth-round draft selection was spent on Troy's Kimani Vidal.
Spiller just hasn't put up enough production in two years to have a spot locked down entering camp. He's averaged 2.5 yards per carry on 55 attempts combined from both seasons. On gamedays, Spiller has also been a healthy scratch due to other running backs being picked for special teams roles.
With an all-out competition taking place in the RB room and a new running game philosophy, the former fourth-rounder out of Texas A&M needs a good showing this summer.
WR Quentin Johnston
It would be shocking to see a former first-round pick WR cut after one less-than-stellar season with the team. As of now, I don't think that fate is on the table for Quentin Johnston. He's safe on the roster this year. However, his training camp performance could have a significant impact in determining his role, usage, volume, and targets in 2024.
Outside of Josh Palmer and Ladd McConkey, it seems as though the other WR roles are currently very prone to whoever impresses the coaching staff most this offseason. The Athletic's Daniel Popper currently has newly signed DJ Chark starting over Johnston in 11 personnel packages along with Palmer and McConkey.
Does that mean that Johnston can't win over the coaching staff with a great training camp performance? No. But with a new regime that isn't as tethered to Johnston as Tom Telesco and Brandon Staley once were, it doesn't seem as though the Bolts' 2023 draft selection is getting much benefit of the doubt.
Johnston's usage was not optimal last season, but he has to now show a new staff that he can contribute as a true outside receiver. The route running and fundamentals simply have to be more consistent.
S JT Woods
JT Woods spent most of last season on the NFI list with an illness that was never disclosed by the team. The former Baylor safety has not played since the Chargers' Week 3 win over Minnesota last season. Woods was eventually activated from the illness list but never became a full participant in practice. He was listed as inactive for the team's final five games.
The Chargers have embraced the nature of competition behind Derwin James and Alohi Gilman. After signing Tony Jefferson out of retirement, it certainly feels like the rest of the safeties on the roster are competing for the last of the four rostered spots. In my 53-man roster prediction, I deferred to the playing experience of AJ Finley last season. But it is truthfully anyone's spot to win.
Woods has to be consistently showing some potential this summer to live up to his higher theoretical athletic ceiling and draft billing.
CB Ja'Sir Taylor
None of the projected three starting Chargers' corner(Asante Samuel Jr., Ja'Sir Taylor, Kristian Fulton) feel as though they're on solid ground entering camp. The shakiest starting spot of the three is probably Taylor's. Taylor had the highest missed tackle percentage of any of these three corners last season.
His defensive snap counts also drastically declined as the season went on. In five of Taylor's final six games of 2023, he registered snap counts amounting to 25% of fewer of the total defensive plays.
EDGE Chris Rumph II
As detailed in my EDGE rusher piece, the signing of Bud Dupree has made things more difficult for Chris Rumph II. His two-year contract structure makes the road to a 53-man roster appearance for Rumph more narrow. And without a previous production track record for Rumph, there's not a strong justification for a fifth EDGE (barring injury).
Rumph is probably in the most roster bubble trouble compared to the rest of the names on the list due to both the Dupree signing and the new coaching staff. EDGE being the strongest and deepest position is good for the team, but not any of its' potential younger roster hopefuls.