The Chargers are moving into the part of camp where the real evaluations start. After five practices without pads, the team heads south to the University of San Diego on Tuesday for two days in full gear, and that’s where the line play starts to tell a much clearer story.
That makes this week a big one for the offensive and defensive fronts, but there are a few individual battles worth tracking closely as well. The left guard job, Akheem Mesidor’s rise, the health check for Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, and the run-game clash between Mike McDaniel’s offense and Chris O’Leary’s defense all come into sharper focus once the contact ramps up.
The left guard competition has already been handled like a true open audition. Through five practices, the Chargers have rotated the contenders through first-team work in team drills: Kayode Awosika, Jake Slaughter, Trevor Penning, Trey Pipkins III and Branson Taylor.
Awosika and Slaughter shared the opening reps on day one. Awosika and Penning split work in practice two.
Pipkins handled the first-team snaps in practice three. Taylor got the full run in practice four.
Then Monday brought the rotation back to where it started, with Awosika and Slaughter splitting the first-team reps again.
Now comes the important part: who handles those first padded 11-on-11 snaps, and who can actually hold up in both pass protection and the run game? One-on-one work between the offensive and defensive lines should also be telling.
It’s one of the cleanest ways to see who can survive in protection and who still has work to do. Tuesday is where that battle really begins.
Another player worth watching is rookie edge rusher Akheem Mesidor. He has flashed in team drills, and the absence of Tuli Tuipulotu from those drills through the first five practices has opened the door for plenty of first-team opportunities.
If Tuipulotu remains out Tuesday because contract negotiations are still ongoing, Mesidor should keep getting those chances. He said Monday that he is “very excited” to go against Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, and that matchup will be one of the more interesting pieces of the padded work.
The next question is how his violence translates when the pads are on and the run periods get physical.
Slater and Alt are also at the center of this week’s attention for a different reason: both are coming back from significant season-ending injuries. So far, both have looked healthy.
Alt has been on the field for every first-team 11-on-11 snap and has not missed one. Slater has rotated out at times late in practices, but he is moving incredibly well after the torn patellar tendon he suffered in training camp last season.
Padded practices should give a much better sense of where he really stands in that recovery.
The run game and run defense also move from theory to reality once the pads go on. The Chargers have already shown more lateral action in Mike McDaniel’s offense, with outside zone looks and jet sweep movement showing up through spring and summer.
But without contact, there’s only so much that can be measured. The same goes for Chris O’Leary’s defense.
Tuesday should provide a better read on both sides, even without tackling to the ground, because the blocking and block destruction will be easier to judge.
Monday’s practice had plenty of action beyond the big-picture battles. Rookie cornerback Avery Smith kept building momentum, first breaking up a Justin Herbert throw to Brenen Thompson over the middle in seven-on-seven and later picking off DJ Uiagalelei.
The breakup was the sharper play, with Smith tight on Thompson on an in-breaking route. On the interception, Uiagalelei was looking for Evan Svoboda, but Svoboda collided with a defender in the middle of the route and fell over, leaving Smith in position to grab the ball.
The quarterbacks also kept taking shots downfield. Herbert connected with Quentin Johnston on the opening 11-on-11 play, hitting him wide open down the right sideline on a go route after Johnston got behind Derwin James Jr.
Later, Herbert lofted a deep ball to Brenen Thompson on the right sideline, but Rodney Shelley stayed in tight coverage and knocked it away. Uiagalelei tried another deep shot to Thompson in seven-on-seven, and Shelley again forced the incompletion.
Trey Lance got in on the vertical work too. He found KeAndre Lambert-Smith on a deep ball down the left sideline in 11-on-11, with Deane Leonard in good position before Lambert-Smith adjusted well to the throw and made the catch.
Lance later threw a jump ball to Johnston on the left sideline, but Cam Hart stayed on him the entire way and finished the play with a PBU. Uiagalelei also connected with rookie receiver Devonte Ross on a go ball down the left sideline after Ross adjusted to an underthrown pass.
It was a pretty even day for the receivers and defensive backs in the deep game.
Other defensive plays stood out too. Daiyan Henley broke up a seven-on-seven throw by jumping in front of Omarion Hampton on a flat route.
Rookie edge rusher Nadame Tucker batted down a Uiagalelei pass in 11-on-11, helped along by a low snap from rookie center Jacob Spomer that threw off the timing. And rookie safety Devin Grant closed practice with a diving PBU in the red zone, staying with Svoboda across the field and knocking away a Uiagalelei throw after the offense tried to use play-action boot to move the defense.
Grant didn’t bite and showed good recovery speed.
The red zone also produced touchdowns for the offense. Charlie Kolar and Tre’ Harris caught scores from Herbert, while Jerand Bradley hauled in a touchdown from Uiagalelei. Donte Jackson added a red-zone breakup, knocking away a Lance pass intended for Lambert-Smith over the middle.
Two Chargers were out Monday: tackle Laekin Vakalahi and receiver Mante’ Morrow.
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