Derwin James holds in and other Day 1 Chargers Training Camp takeaways

2022 Chargers Training Camp kicked off on Wednesday with several storylines swirling as the team made its first true push towards the new regular season.

With just over two weeks to go until the Chargers play the Rams in Week 1 of the Preseason, seeing how the depth chart shakes out and which players see the field the most is an important tool. The right tackle battle, amongst several other key positional battles, are the clear focuses of seeing which players rise to the top at this time.

3 main takeaways from day 1 of Chargers training camp:

1. Derwin James holds in

Derwin James reported to Chargers training camp on Tuesday in spite of his contract situation, which signaled that both he and the team are in a good place when it comes to negotiations. On Wednesday, Brandon Staley did confirm that both James and the organization will wait on full practice participation for the star safety until his contract situation is figured out.

James missed 11-on-11 drills during OTAs in June after recovering from shoulder surgery, but it seems like he'll be ready to go whenever the contract extension is signed this offseason.

While there will always be some lingering concerns about the contract and James' status on the field until it is official, no one should be worried that it won't get done relatively quickly. The fact that James did report and is holding in as opposed to holding out is a very positive sign for the negotiations.

The Joey Bosa and Keenan Allen negotiations of 2020 and the Minkah Fitzpatrick contract extension with the Steelers provide a pretty clear outline of what the average annual value and total guarantees of the new contract should be. James will become the highest-paid safety in the league. In the interim, it's up to Tom Telesco and David Mulugheta (James' agent) to work out the finer details.

In short: the deal will get done soon and there's not much to worry about.

2. Kyle Van Noy starts at LB

With former first-round draft pick Kenneth Murray starting out camp on the PUP list, the linebacker situation behind him was up in the air and up for grabs. It's still very early on in camp, but your two starting Chargers linebackers in Murray's absence are Kyle Van Noy and Drue Tranquill:

Van Noy was brought in during free agency as a hybrid LB/EDGE defensive specialist type. Neither he nor Staley have put a title on his position. As of now, the belief should be that he'll play both spots. But with Murray likely absent the duration of training camp, the Chargers might see a more sizeable need for him at middle linebacker.

Van Noy and Tranquill are clearly the most complete linebackers this team has even when accounting Murray. Both are relatively decisive tacklers and are good in coverage, areas Murray struggled in between injuries during the 2022 campaign.

The dynamics and inner workings of the linebacker room will be amongst the more interesting position groups to watch as the regular season approaches. Van Noy and Tranquill seem like a very solid duo on paper, but how much the Chargers have invested in Murray's success could change their fortunes.

3. Joshua Kelley has an early lead on Larry Rountree

Austin Ekeler and Isaiah Spiller eventually figure to be the Chargers' RB1 and RB2 as the team gets deeper into the season. After that, the depth chart behind those two gets a little more interesting. Of course, Spiller will have to "earn" his spot as a rookie, but there's not much prognostication needed there to say that the Chargers have a lot invested in their 2022 fourth-round selection.

On Day 1 of camp, our first look at the order of reps gave us some insight into the RB room:

2021 sixth-round selection Larry Rountree didn't get on the field until later in the process and had a rather poor turnover when he did get a chance at reps. A fumble in a practice without pads and hitting is certainly not what the coaching staff wants to see.

Again, it's worth stressing that the Chargers are very, very early on in the process of determining which running backs will make the roster. But Rountree having a rather poor showing after being a healthy scratch for four of the last six games in 2021 isn't the start that he wanted. Kelley might clinch the RB2-3 with Spiller spot before long if he plays his camp reps the right way.

A world where Rountree has to go against UDFAs Kevin Marks and Leddie Brown to make the roster and/or practice squad is one we're not too far away from.

MUST-READ: Pre-camp 53-roster prediction for the Chargers

The Chargers have invested higher draft capital in both Kelley and Spiller over Rountree. Kelley has also had a more potent offensive package than Rountree at both of their respective peaks, aside from the fumbling concerns.