Safety Rayshawn Jenkins showed his worth on the field and he was rewarded for it. However, it wasn’t by the Chargers. Instead, the Jaguars were the team who remunerated Jenkins.
Many, including myself, expected Los Angeles to re-sign Jenkins, with the expectation that he was going to form a tandem with Derwin James coming back next season.
Now L.A. has a hole at free safety.
On the roster, the Chargers have Nasir Adderley, who is coming off a rough sophomore season. While he showed some flashes in spurts, he was too inconsistent in the single-high role in Gus Bradley’s system.
Maybe head coach Brandon Staley, who’s proven to get the most out of his defensive players, sees this as an opportunity to maximize Adderley’s potential.
Scheme should play a factor, too. With Staley, he prefers two-high safety looks. Therefore, while he will still play the centerfield role, it wouldn’t be as often and the tasks would be less stressful.
Or maybe Staley sees guys in this year’s draft class that can replace Jenkins. A few worth noting are Ar’Darius Washington, Andre Cisco, Tyree Gillespie, Damar Hamlin, Shawn Davis, among others.
The Chargers could elect to dip into the free agency pool to sign one, with guys like Anthony Harris, Malik Hooker, Will Parks and Jaquiski Tartt being a few who I like to fill that role.
The bottom line is like the offensive line, cornerback, edge defender and tight end position, Los Angeles will have to address this spot at some point.