Tag: Chris Harris Jr.

The NFL’s top 12 slot defenders

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar continues our position lists with the NFL’s 12 best slot defenders.

Last season, including the playoffs, NFL defenses faced 18.676 pass targets overall, and 8,069 of those targets were addressed to slot defenders. When you have 43.2% of your total targets going to slot guys, that gives you a decent idea of how important those slot positions are — and, by necessity, how diverse the slot defender has become.

It’s not just about pressing an inside receiver and following him through a route. When you’re dealing with as many 3×1 receiver sets as modern defenses do, you’re going to be playing more complex nickel sets, and more dime than base. Now, you’ll have slot defenders carrying the inside receivers, not just the one who isn’t an X or a Z in an old-school three-receiver set. You might be pressing on one play, switching to a safety look on the next play, and working in conjunction with your teammates against advanced route concepts on the next.

In addition, you have to deal with the fact that slot receivers are no longer just the smaller, slower guys. Davante Adams is the NFL’s best receiver, and he spent a full third of his 2021 snaps in the slot — 204 out of 618. And then, you still have to deal with slot monsters like Cooper Kupp, who lined up inside on 66% of his snaps — 545 out of 826.

To add to the fun, there’s the idea of having to cover one of the NFL’s more athletic tight ends. When you’ve got a 6-foot-6, 250-pound behemoth who can run a 4.5 40-yard dash and can nuke you on any route, that’s quite the challenge. Baltimore’s Mark Andrews, Miami’s Mike Gesicki, and Kansas City’s Travis Kelce led all NFL tight ends in slot snaps last season 1-2-3, and any one of those players can vaporize even the best slot defenders on a fairly regular basis.

If you can deal with all those issues, you still have to help in run defense, deal with slot targets who can block, and occasionally get to the quarterback in blitz concepts.

So, it’s a tough job. It’s even tougher to stay on top of your game as a slot defender. Only four players from last year’s list made this year’s list. That means there’s a whole lot of new top-tier talent to talk about, and here’s our list of the top 12 slot defenders for the 2022 NFL season — one list of 14 that Mark Schofield and myself will publish in the next few weeks leading up to our list of the NFL’s top 101 players.

The NFL’s top 13 safeties

Top-level slot corner Chris Harris Jr. still available in free agency for the Browns

Still a top-level slot defender, Harris could make an impact on the Browns if he were to be brought in:

The Cleveland Browns currently plan to move second-year cornerback Greg Newsome II to the inside in three and four-receiver sets this year. After trading Troy Hill back to the Los Angeles Rams, after a poor season in Cleveland, the Browns options at slot corner are limited.

M.J. Stewart helped in the slot last season as well but moved on to the Houston Texans in free agency this year. Rookie third-round pick Martin (MJ) Emerson could also be a factor in the slot but most see him playing on the outside more.

One top-level slot cornerback is still out on the open market for Cleveland to sign. Chris Harris Jr. played the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers after nine stellar years in Denver. According to Touchdown Wire, Harris was the 12th best slot defender, not just corner, in the NFL last year:

Harris is currently a free agent, and it would be wise for some team to make him an offer to be their veteran slot presence. He proved in 2021 that he’s still got it in the right system.

The Browns have enough cap space and a void that Harris could fill along with his great veteran savvy. With high hopes going into the season, adding Harris could be a big addition this late in the offseason.

The NFL’s top 12 slot defenders

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar continues our NFL position lists with the league’s best slot defenders.

Last season, including the playoffs, NFL defenses faced 18.676 pass targets overall, and 8,069 of those targets were addressed to slot defenders. When you have 43.2% of your total targets going to slot guys, that gives you a decent idea of how important those slot positions are — and, by necessity, how diverse the slot defender has become.

It’s not just about pressing an inside receiver and following him through a route. When you’re dealing with as many 3×1 receiver sets as modern defenses do, you’re going to be playing more complex nickel sets, and more dime than base. Now, you’ll have slot defenders carrying the inside receivers, not just the one who isn’t an X or a Z in an old-school three-receiver set. You might be pressing on one play, switching to a safety look on the next play, and working in conjunction with your teammates against advanced route concepts on the next.

In addition, you have to deal with the fact that slot receivers are no longer just the smaller, slower guys. Davante Adams is the NFL’s besr receiver, and he spent a full third of his 2021 snaps in the slot — 204 out of 618. And then, you still have to deal with slot monsters like Cooper Kupp, who lined up inside on 66% of his snaps — 545 out of 826.

To add to the fun, there’s the idea of having to cover one of the NFL’s more athletic tight ends. When you’ve got a 6-foot-6, 250-pound behemoth who can run a 4.5 40-yard dash and can nuke you on any route, that’s quite the challenge. Baltimore’s Mark Andrews, Miami’s Mike Gesicki, and Kansas City’s Travis Kelce led all NFL tight ends in slot snaps last season 1-2-3, and any one of those players can vaporize even the best slot defenders on a fairly regular basis.

If you can deal with all those issues, you still have to help in run defense, deal with slot targets who can block, and occasionally get to the quarterback in blitz concepts.

So, it’s a tough job. It’s even tougher to stay on top of your game as a slot defender. Only four players from last year’s list made this year’s list. That means there’s a whole lot of new top-tier talent to talk about, and here’s our list of the top 12 slot defenders for the 2022 NFL season — one list of 14 that Mark Schofield and myself will publish in the next few weeks leading up to our list of the NFL’s top 101 players.

The NFL’s top 13 safeties

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Sports Info Solutions, Pro Football Focus, and Football Outsiders unless otherwise indicated).

Tracking where Chargers’ free agents signed, who remains unsigned

Here’s a look at where Chargers free agents have signed through the first wave of free agency and those who remained unsigned.

The Chargers have been active reconstructing their roster with new players and bringing back some of their own from this past season.

All the while, there are still some in-house players that either have signed with another team or remain unsigned.

Here’s a look at those that have signed and remain unsigned through the first wave:

DT Linval Joseph

Status: Unsigned

CB Chris Harris Jr.

Status: Unsigned

WR Mike Williams

Status: Re-signed 3-year deal with the Chargers

TE Jared Cook

Status: Unsigned

G Oday Aboushi

Status: Unsigned

CB Ryan Smith

Status: Unsigned

EDGE Kyler Fackrell

Status: Signed with the Raiders

EDGE Uchenna Nwosu

Status: Signed with the Seahawks

QB Chase Daniel

Status: Re-signed with the Chargers

G Michael Schofield

Status: Unsigned

K Dustin Hopkins

Status: Re-signed with the Chargers

G Senio Kelemete

Status: Unsigned

LS Matt Overton

Status: Unsigned

DT Christian Covington

Status: Re-signed with the Chargers

TE Stephen Anderson

Status: Unsigned

DT Justin Jones

Status: Signed with the Bears

LB Kyzir White

Status: Signed with the Eagles

S Trey Marshall

Status: Unsigned

RB Justin Jackson

Status: Unsigned

GM Tom Telesco assesses Chargers’ defensive struggles

The lack of defensive talent and depth hurt the Chargers down the stretch this past season.

After turning the Rams into the NFL’s best defense in just one season, there were expectations that Brandon Staley would have similar results with the Chargers. However, that ended up not being the case.

Los Angeles ended up having one of the worst defenses in the NFL. The team finished 29th in points allowed (27.0), last on third-down (49.54%), 30th against the run (138.9 YPG), and 26th in the red zone (64.18%).

“It just didn’t come along as quickly enough, on defense, as I thought it would,” Tom Telesco said. “We had a lot of stretches this year that the players that are out there did some pretty good things, but we weren’t consistent enough by any means.”

Last offseason’s primary focus was to bring in pieces to put around Justin Herbert. That paid off as the Chargers possessed a top-5 offense. However, neglecting the defensive side of the ball with the exception of Asante Samuel Jr. and Kyler Fackrell ended up hurting them.

Despite having cornerstone pieces with Derwin James, Joey Bosa and Kyzir White, the starters weren’t consistent and the team was forced to rely on its depth down the stretch due to COVID-19 and injuries, which ended up being exploited in games that should have been gimmes, like against the Texans.

The Chargers enter this offseason with five defensive starters set to hit the free agency market – White, Uchenna Nwosu, Chris Harris Jr., Linval Joseph and Justin Jones.

With Telesco’s philosophy being drafting, developing and signing their own, White, Nwosu and Jones all earned the right to be brought back. Only time will tell if the coaches and front office view it that way.

One thing is certain and that’s Telesco and company must use a good chunk of their salary cap space and draft picks to bring in instant contributors along the defensive line, a starting cornerback, and depth at the second and third levels to turn things around next season.

“Some of it is alignment, assignment, and technique. Some of it is personnel, and some of it is just being in the first year of the defense.”

Chargers 2022 offseason preview: Pending free agents, cap space, team needs, draft picks

After falling short of the playoffs, let’s look at the Chargers’ offseason, including team needs, pending free agents, and salary-cap space.

After finishing the season 9-8 in Brandon Staley’s first season as head coach, the Chargers are set to enter the offseason after seeing their season end with a loss to the Raiders on Sunday night.

Los Angeles is still a couple of months away from the new league frenzy to commence, but it’s not too early to take a look at what to expect then, starting with 20 players who are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents.

  • DT Linval Joseph
  • CB Chris Harris Jr.
  • WR Mike Williams
  • TE Jared Cook
  • G Oday Aboushi
  • CB Ryan Smith
  • EDGE Kyler Fackrell
  • EDGE Uchenna Nwosu
  • QB Chase Daniel
  • G Michael Schofield
  • K Dustin Hopkins
  • G Senio Kelemete
  • LS Matt Overton
  • DT Christian Covington
  • TE Stephen Anderson
  • DT Justin Jones
  • LB Kyzir White
  • S Trey Marshall
  • RB Justin Jackson

Cap space

The Chargers are projected to have $72.5 million in salary-cap space, marking the second-most in the NFL, according to Spotrac.

Team needs

Defensive tackle: The Chargers finished with the third-worst run defense in the league, and a lot of it has to do with the lack of talent upfront to consistently hold its own at the point of attack. Furthermore, Linval Joseph, Justin Jones, and Christian Covington are all slated to be free agents.

Edge defender: Joey Bosa had another great season, but the depth behind him is thin at the moment. Uchenna Nwosu put together a resume that should garner consideration of being re-signed, playing his best football towards the end of the year. Like Nwosu, Kyler Fackrell is also a free agent.

Linebacker: Outside of Kyzir White, who proved to be the team’s best linebacker, the production at the position was inconsistent. Kenneth Murray was arguably the most disappointing player on the roster. Drue Tranquill missed four games due to an ankle injury. The jury is still out for Nick Niemann and Amen Ogbongbemiga.

Cornerback: Asante Samuel Jr. proved to be the Chargers’ best cornerback in just his first season, but he had two concussions. Michael Davis played well, but nothing to warrant the money he was paid last offseason. Chris Harris Jr. will be a free agent after this season. Tevaughn Campbell didn’t do anything to be relied upon as a starter.

Right tackle: Bryan Bulaga is still under contract, but his future is up in the air after dealing with injuries during his time with L.A. Storm Norton’s poor play against the Raiders exemplified that he isn’t reliable enough to be counted on as a long-term starter. Trey Pipkins played well in his two starts and should be given a shot to compete for the job in the summer, but the team still needs a surefire starter to protect Justin Herbert.

Right guard: In the five games as the starter, Oday Aboushi was a difference-maker upfront. Unfortunately, his one-year stint was cut short after suffering a torn ACL. Aboushi is a strong candidate to be brought back. But if the Chargers move on from him, they will need someone to compete for the job, possibly with Brenden Jaimes.

Wide receiver: The Chargers are set for the foreseeable future with their No. 1 wideout in Keenan Allen. However, behind him, the room draws some questions. Will Mike Williams be re-signed, franchise-tagged, or let go of altogether? Is Josh Palmer ready to take the leap as the No. 2 guy if Williams walks? Regardless, one thing is certain: Los Angeles needs a speed/yards-after-the-catch weapon.

Running back: Austin Ekeler thrived in his first season under Joe Lombardi, reaching 20 total touchdowns, which tied for the most this season. However, he will need a running mate moving forward to help with his longevity, and that guy doesn’t appear to be on the roster. Coming into his own late in the season, Justin Jackson will be a free agent. Joshua Kelley and Larry Rountree had their opportunities but left a lot to be desired.

Draft picks

The Chargers possess the No. 17 overall selection in the 2022 NFL draft, and they are projected to have 11 total picks, with eight coming on Day 3 (four compensatory).

From the football field to fatherhood with Chargers CB Chris Harris Jr.

Chargers CB Chris Harris Jr. talks about his life in the NFL while serving as a father to four daughters.

Four-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl Champion, Chris Harris Jr., is more than just a cornerback for the Chargers: he’s the ultimate girl dad to four adorable daughters.

Harris was featured on Whistle’s latest episode of ‘Double Duty’ where he shares what it’s like to be a full-time father while playing in the NFL.

Harris’ wife, Leah, also speaks on how she’s seen him develop into a girl dad and what life is like at home with their family.

You can watch the episode in the video below.

Nasir Adderley, Chris Harris Jr. among Chargers players removed from COVID-19 list

The Chargers will be at near full strength when they take on the Broncos.

The Chargers will be at near full strength when they take on the Broncos, as a large group of players came off the league’s Reserve/COVID-19 list on Saturday.

The players who are no longer on the list:

S Nasir Adderley

S Alohi Gilman

DB Chris Harris Jr.

CB Davontae Harris

K Dustin Hopkins

OT Storm Norton

LS Matt Overton

OT Trey Pipkins

There are two active-roster players still on the COVID-19 and, as a result, will miss Sunday’s game: LB Kenneth Murray and TE Jared Cook.

To fill out the 53-man roster, the Chargers elevated LB Cole Christiansen and TE Hunter Kampmoyer from the practice squad.

Derwin James’ return a big boost for Chargers

The Chargers’ recent defensive struggles can be contributed to the absence of Derwin James.

After a disappointing loss to the Texans, the Chargers need to bounce back against the Broncos this Sunday.

Derwin James, who was cleared to play, is a pivotal player who should boost the Bolts’ chances to come out on top and stay alive in the playoff race.

James has been dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out of Week 14 against the Giants, limited him in the Week 15 matchup against the Chiefs early, and miss last weekend’s contest against Houston. 

Earlier this week, defensive coordinator Renaldo Hill spoke on the importance of James’ presence. 

“It’s definitely hard to replace when Derwin’s not out there,” Hill said. “He’s obviously the vocal leader, as well as the alpha guy in the huddle. His presence was definitely missed last week. When that happens, you’re so used to going through the whole season and having him there, it’s kind of like, ‘Who’s the next guy to step up and take that on?’ 

It’s hard to replace a guy like that. That’s what he brings. He brings that presence. He’s that vocal leader. I think he has a good sense of when things aren’t going right and when he does need to pick those guys up. It definitely expresses itself when he’s in there and it is definitely felt when he’s not in there.”

Los Angeles has struggled to find competency on the defensive side of the ball in prior weeks, and one of the primary factors is that they didn’t have the do-it-all defender, making plays in coverage, against the run, and as a pass rusher.

Along with James, the Chargers will have Chris Harris Jr., Michael Davis, Nasir Adderley, and Alohi Gilman available, as they were removed from the COVID-19 list.

In 13 games, James, who was named to the Pro Bowl, has 103 tackles, five tackles for loss, five passes defended, two sacks, and a pair of interceptions.

List of Chargers’ 2022 unrestricted free agents

A look at the Los Angeles Chargers’ pending 2022 unrestricted free agents.

Oh, how the time has flown by.

The Chargers have three games remaining in the regular season.

Sitting at 8-6, there’s a good chance Los Angeles will be in the playoffs. But even then, the offseason is bound to creep up before you know it.

With that, there are a handful of internal players who are set to become unrestricted free agents, and general manager Tom Telesco and company will have to start thinking about who is worthy of returning with L.A.

With that, here’s an updated look at the 20 players scheduled to become unrestricted free agents at the beginning of the 2022 league year.