Chargers rookies report to training camp this week! It’s time to get excited!
Here are three questions I’ll be looking to get answers to when the entire team gets together and things start rolling next week.
1.) Who will win the starting left guard spot?
Through OTAs and mandatory minicamps, it has been free-agent signing Kayode Awosika who has received the lion’s share of the snaps with the first team at left guard. Behind him, rookie Jake Slaughter has been the left guard for the second team while also seeing snaps at center. Trevor Penning,
a holdover from last year’s group, was not present for much of the offseason and when he was, he was with the third-stringers.
Now what we’ve seen so far does not necessarily mean that that will stay the case once training camp gets rolling. Jake Slaughter was not ever going to stick with the ones the moment he was drafted. He hasn’t played guard since high school and for the sake of a smooth offseason program, it’s likely that Jim Harbaugh and Mike McDaniel let Awosika take the snaps with the ones to let Slaughter take his time getting into the swing of the new position.
The thing is, there’s a real shot that Awosika actually does stick with the ones and ultimately win the starting job in camp. He has experience in a similar offensive system when he was with the 49ers playing for Kyle Shanahan. Slaughter looks like a perfect fit on paper for McDaniel’s offense, but the Chargers can’t have any wasted time for him to get ahead of the curve.
That doesn’t mean Slaughter won’t END the season as the starter, but to coming out of the gates for a campaign expected to carry a ton of hype for the Chargers, the offense most certainly needs to avoid any hiccups as they begin their first season under a new play-caller.
2.) How will the snap split work out in the backfield?
Omarion Hampton is set to the Chargers RB1 in McDaniel’s offense. The hope is that he stays healthy for an entire season en route to what could be one of the most-productive rushing seasons for a Chargers running back since Austin Ekeler had 1,677 yards from scrimmage and 18 total touchdowns during the 2022 season.
It’s a foregone conclusion that Hampton will lead the backfield in snaps, but Kimani Vidal showed he can tote the rock when needed and the team added former Ravens speedster Keaton Mitchell in free agency. Mitchell is a better fit for being a changeup back in McDaniel’s zone run scheme, that’s for sure, but that doesn’t mean that Vidal is just going to be cast aside. He broke his fair share of runs outside the tackles in 2025 so the abilities to perform his new duties has been shown already.
If I know McDaniel well enough, he’s going to be thinking about PLAYERS more than he’s going to think about faceless plays. He will know which plays to get the most out of Hampton, Vidal, and Mitchell. He’ll do everything in his power to set up each of them with the best chance of success in a given situation.
Now, if I was a guessing man, I would actually guess that after Hampton, it will be Mitchell to get the second-most snaps. McDaniel will not shy from trying to break off a home run intermittently while Hampton is grinding down the defense over the course of a drive.
3.) How will Genesis Smith fit into the safety?
Smith was drafted in the fourth round of this year’s draft and while he enters a fairly full safety room, that’s a high enough of a draft placement to lead you to believe he’s expected to see the field as a rookie. His skillset ultimately sets him apart from the top four players ahead of him on the depth chart. He’s a lengthy centerfielder who can and should only play in the deep parts of the field.
The other four — Derwin James, Elijah Molden, Tony Jefferson, and R.J. Mickens — can all move around the defense if needed. But, neither aside from James have the athleticism to be a single-high player for an entire game. That’s why I like Smith to find his way onto the field earlier than expected. But, that’s with the assumption he can clean up his tackling.
Do you all remember JT Woods? All the athleticism he dripped that Brandon Staley raved about when he was selected in the third round? He was beyond a liability as a tackler and that’s why his NFL career was so short-lived. I have a feeling that Joe Hortiz has a better eye for that position than Tom Telesco did.
At the end of the day, I can see a clear picture for Smith with the Chargers. Whether Chris O’Leary sees the same thing remains to be seen, however.
