Tag: Chargers training camp

Chargers DT Jerry Tillery ready to take his game to another level

Entering Year 3, Jerry Tillery is eager to be a consistent force in the trenches.

As defensive tackle Jerry Tillery enters his third season, the hope is that he’s able to supply the defense with a dominant presence up front.

Yet to really live up to his first round billing, Tillery has been working hard to master his craft and be a consistent force in the trenches. His teammate, Linval Joseph, believes this is the season where it all comes together.

“He’s taking it to another level,” Joseph said. He’s in the weight room. He’s studying more. He’s got some more questions. And I think he’s hungry. I think he’s ready to take that next step to be an elite rusher.”

At training camp, Tillery’s game has looked a lot more polished.

After an underwhelming rookie season, Tillery made some strides in 2020. His ascend came when he was kicked outside and experimented as a defensive end, showing more flashes as a pass rusher.

While he ran into penalty problems, Tillery saw his tackles (17 to 30), sacks (two to three), quarterback hits (three to 14), pressures (nine to 22) and forced fumbles (zero to two) all uptick from Year 1.

Looking ahead, Tillery is in a prime position to take the leap in a defense that caters to his skillset and play for Brandon Staley, who will put him in favorable matchups and give him more opportunities to disrupt plays.

“I am a really big fan of Jerry Tillery’s game,” Staley said. “I think this guy is a versatile inside player. This guy’s got real size, speed.

Chargers training camp: CB Asante Samuel Jr. starting to stand out

The Chargers second round pick has back-to-back solid outings.

As the Chargers are in the midst of situating the secondary, big contributions have started to be made by rookie Asante Samuel Jr.

Samuel, the team’s second round pick, began training camp working with the second and third team as an outside cornerback, but the past couple of days has seen him with the first team in the slot.

The former Florida State product’s performances have been compiled of multiple passes defensed and an almost interception that would have been taken back to the house.

While the majority of his work has come inside up to this point, the plan is for Samuel to have the versatility to play on the outside and slot, similar to how head coach Brandon Staley used Rams’ Troy Hill last season.

Samuel has the ability to thrive in multiple looks, which Staley loves to deploy. He’s comfortable in various coverage schemes and can make plays on the ball from any alignment.

“He’s going to play outside plenty whether we’re in four DBs or five or six,” Staley said. “But we’re trying to cross-train him inside so that you’re putting your best combination out there. The fact that ‘Sant has that type of skill set just increases our ability to flexible, multiple.”

Sights and sounds from Chargers training camp: Day 5

Some footage from Day 5 of Chargers training camp.

The Chargers continued training camp on Monday at Jack Hammett Sports Complex in Costa Mesa, CA, marking the first time in full-pads.

Training camp can be attended for free if you are able to snag some tickets here while they last, but if you’re unable to attend, you will still be informed of all the action throughout the course of it.

I will have coverage of training camp with updates from practice below, courtesy of media members in attendance along with fan posts.

Chargers’ Mark Webb continues to impress at training camp

The Chargers seventh round pick is performing at a high level.

Normally seventh round picks face an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster, but for Chargers safety Mark Webb he is on track to defy the odds.

In the first week, Webb amassed the team’s first interception of training camp. Since then, it’s been all gas, no breaks for the former Georgia product.

On Monday, Webb continued his dominance by breaking up a few passes and notching another interception that he took back to the house.

Armed with a physical brand of football, coverage skills and high football IQ, Webb has demonstrated that he is capable of making an impact not only on special teams but the backend of the defense early on in his career.

Up to this point, Webb’s position versatility has been put to use as he has been playing at safety, Star and Money so far, primarily with the second and third team defense.

“He’s going to have to be a big factor for us on special teams. On defense we’re hoping to have that versatility be a strength of his so we can put him where we need him,” head coach Brandon Staley said about Webb.

Under Staley’s watch, he helped turned Rams’ 2020 sixth-round pick Jordan Fuller into a solid starter in his rookie season. Don’t be surprised if Webb is next in line to get the same treatment.

Chargers training camp: OT Rashawn Slater draws rave reviews

The Chargers first round draft pick lived up to his billing on the first day of full pads.

Monday marked the first day in full pads for the Chargers at training camp, which is also significant for the battles in the trenches.

With all eyes on both lines, rookie offensive tackle Rashawn Slater drew the majority of the attention and successfully lived up to his billing.

During one-on-ones, Slater went 4-0 against edge defenders Joey Bosa, Kyler Fackrell and Uchenna Nwosu on two occasions.

When Los Angeles went into 11-on-11, Slater lost a couple of reps but he still maintained a high level of play, appearing to be technically sound with his hands to keep rushers at bay and showing a high football IQ to pick up stunts.

Slater’s dominance in pass protection comes by no surprise. In his final year at Northwestern, he allowed zero sacks against elite competition against the likes of Chase Young (Football Team), Zack Baun (Saints), AJ Epenesa (Bills).

Following Monday’s session, head coach Brandon Staley lauded Slater, saying that “he’s a really fun player to coach,” and adding that he’s stayed after each practice to get extra work in with offensive line coach Frank Smith.

Even though one practice isn’t going to gauge how a player is going to pan out in this league, Slater dominating against premiere pass rushers is a good sign for what could be to come.

Chargers’ Alohi Gilman making most of his opportunity at training camp

Chargers safety Alohi Gilman has been proving his worth to the coaching staff.

Chargers safety Alohi Gilman, the sixth-round pick of the 2020 NFL draft, was primarily a special teamer and didn’t receive playing time on defense until the final weeks of the season.

Heading into his sophomore campaign, Gilman is looking to assert himself into a role, and through a week at training camp he has been proving his worth to the coaching staff.

Playing with the first team at safety when the unit goes with six defensive backs (dime package), Gilman has displayed a sense of “calmness,” which is why he has earned that role in the early going.

“He communicates well with those guys,” defensive coordinator Renaldo Hill said about Gilman. “Those guys feel comfortable with him right now.”

Earlier this offseason, head coach Brandon Staley said that the team is “really excited” about Gilman.

Up to this point, he and rookie Mark Webb have been showing that they can be relied on outside of starters Derwin James and Nasir Adderley.

At a group that’s lacking depth, they’re both in prime positions to make the 53-man roster.

Chargers training camp: Uchenna Nwosu vs. Kyler Fackrell an underrated battle

As the Chargers are set to throw on the pads, this will be one of the more monitored position battles.

Heading into Chargers training camp, Uchenna Nwosu was the presumed starting edge defender opposite Joey Bosa. However, the job is not guaranteed for him.

Instead, Nwosu is in the midst of a battle for the spot with Kyler Fackrell, who has been playing with the first-team defense up to this point.

Nwosu has still been rotating in with the 1s, but the coaching staff believes that Fackrell is just as capable to man an expanded role.

Signed this offseason, Fackrell has primarily served as a rotational player in his career, but he has made the most of his opportunities.

Fackrell has 20.5 sacks in five seasons, with his most productive season coming in 2018 when he had 10.5 sacks during his time with the Packers.

Fackrell is long, flexible, savvy with his hands, rangy, and competitive, with the proven skillset as a run defender, pass-rusher and coverage backer.

“I saw a guy in Green Bay who was a sack monster. Then, you turn back and go to New York, and now you have a guy playing in coverage and picking the ball off,” defensive coordinator Renaldo Hill said.

His experience and versatility are coveted by the coaches, and they believe he’s going to be a good piece for the defense.

Nwosu, on the other hand, is in the final year of his contract with his eyes set on breaking out after being misused and given limited snaps in former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley’s system.

Despite his snaps being under 40% in 45 career games, Nwosu has still totaled 10 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, 59 quarterback pressures and 44 hurries, showing the upside to be a solid starter.

As the Bolts are set to practice in pads for the first time starting on Monday, this will be one of the more monitored position battles the rest of the way out.

“We’re gonna let those guys go and fight it out,” Hill said.

Hill added that no matter who comes out with the starting job, both players are expected to still play often during the season because of the many different packages.

Chargers training camp: Derwin James back ‘healthier than ever’

Chargers safety Derwin James is back and hitting the ground running.

After missing the entire 2020 season, Chargers safety Derwin James is back and hitting the ground running.

“I feel healthy, healthier than I have ever felt the past three to four years,” James said. “I’m ready to put the energy behind me and just play football.”

At practices James has been the primary play-caller on the defensive side of the ball, which is the role he will have during the regular season.

As expected, he has been wearing multiple hats, moving all across the defensive formation in Brandon Staley’s diverse defense.

“You’re going to see me everywhere,” James said.

It wasn’t long until James quickly established himself as one of the league’s best safeties. Unfortunately, injuries kept him from demonstrating dominance, playing in just 21 games while missing 27 since 2018.

When the former All-Pro safety is on the field, there’s no denying the team’s chances of success go up. The hope for this season is that James can stay on the field for the full 17-game slate and provide that big spark in 2021.

“This team is a lot different with him on the field,” Staley said about James.

Chargers sign QB K.J. Costello

The Chargers added a fourth quarterback in the midst of training camp.

The Chargers made a roster move on Sunday.

Los Angeles signed quarterback K.J. Costello, the team announced.

During the pre-draft process, the team met with Costello. Soon after, he attended their rookie minicamp in May.

With Justin Herbert, Chase Daniel and Easton Stick on the roster, L.A. likely made the move to offer competition for a practice squad spot (assuming two quarterbacks make the final 53-man roster).

Costello finished a four-year career between Stanford and Mississippi State with a completion percentage of 62.9%, 7,434 passing yards, 55 touchdowns and 29 interceptions.

Chargers training camp: WR Josh Palmer has impressive showing

Chargers wide receiver Josh Palmer looks the part on Day 4 of training camp.

Tyron Johnson earned the spotlight on Friday at Chargers training camp and while he put together another solid outing on Saturday, it was rookie Josh Palmer who drew the majority of the attention with a few eye-popping plays.

The first one was a catch made along the boundary from a pass thrown by quarterback Chase Daniel, as Palmer showed tracking and leaping ability and body control to reel the football and stay in bounds.

The next came during 11-on-11, as Palmer got open on a crossing route and QB Justin Herbert found him wide open down the field and he was able to run loose for a few more yards before being touched.

Aside from Keenan Allen, Palmer and Johnson have been the most impressive out of the receiver group thus far.

Given the fact that offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi goes through a lot of different personnel packages depending on the defense they’re up against, Palmer will have his fair share of opportunities.

With his ability to separate at all levels of the field and reliable hands, Palmer could quickly establish himself as a viable target this upcoming season.