COSTA MESA, Calif. — The Los Angeles Chargers opened their third and final week of organized team activities Tuesday. They will have four OTA practices this week. Next week, they will hold their three-day mandatory minicamp from Tuesday to Thursday. The team will then break for six weeks before reconvening for training camp in late July.
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Here are my observations from Tuesday’s practice:
1. Five players were absent: running backs Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins, tight ends Will Dissly and Hayden Hurst and edge rusher Bud Dupree. There have been three OTAs open to the media this offseason, one in each of the past three weeks. Edwards is the only player to not make an appearance. Dissly, Dobbins and Dupree have been absent for two open OTAs.
2. Rookie linebacker Junior Colson was back in individual drills, but he did not participate in team drills. Colson walked off the field with trainers during the first open OTA on May 20. He did not participate in practice during last week’s open OTA. Edge rusher Chris Rumph II and tight end Donald Parham Jr. worked to the side with trainers during, as they have for all three open OTAs. Wide receiver Quentin Johnston did not participate in team drills. He said after practice this was part of a planned “lighter day.” Rookie receiver Brenden Rice also did not participate in team drills.
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3. In each of the first two open OTAs, the Chargers rotated the right side of their first-team offensive line. That was not the case Tuesday. First-round pick Joe Alt took all of the reps at right tackle. Trey Pipkins III took all of the reps at right guard. Jamaree Salyer worked exclusively with the second team at right tackle and right guard.
The Chargers used two variations of their second-team offensive line. The first: right tackle Alex Leatherwood, right guard Salyer, center Brenden Jaimes, left guard Karsen Barnhart, left tackle Foster Sarell. The second: right tackle Leatherwood, right guard Barnhart, center Jaimes, left guard Jordan McFadden and left tackle Sarell. McFadden also received looks as a jumbo tight end and as a fullback.
4. The Chargers’ team drills were situational-focused. The first 11-on-11 period featured third downs. The second was red zone. The third was an end-of-game situation at a walkthrough tempo. In the fourth, the offense was backed up at its 1-yard line, and this was a live period, with head coach Jim Harbaugh ruling ball carriers down. The final period was a two-minute drill. The first-team offense faced the first-team defense for the last three period. For the first two periods, the first-team offense faced the second-team defense, and the second-team offense faced the first-team defense.
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Some highlights:
• Quarterback Justin Herbert should have converted all three of his third-down attempts in the first period. Receiver D.J. Chark dropped a ball on a crossing route to prevent a perfect series. On the first third down, receiver Joshua Palmer won on a slant for an easy completion. Palmer, who has been rehabbing a knee injury that kept him out of six games last season, said he got his most reps of the offseason in Tuesday’s practice. Herbert also connected with rookie receiver Ladd McConkey over the middle for a third-down conversion in the period.
going up on a tuesday pic.twitter.com/i1tsEaoiDJ
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) June 4, 2024
• Herbert threw three touchdowns in his five red zone reps. The best throw of the bunch came on the opening play of the period. Rookie tight end Zach Heins, an undrafted free agent out of South Dakota State, ran a skinny post from 15 yards out. Rookie linebacker Shane Lee was in tight coverage, but Herbert fit a missile into a tight window. Herbert also found running back Isaiah Spiller in the flat for a 7-yard touchdown. Herbert finished the period with a touchdown to tight end Stone Smartt, who was wide open on a corner route after a breakdown in coverage.
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• Daiyan Henley and Denzel Perryman were starting with the first-team defense at inside linebacker. Henley had a good play in coverage against Easton Stick and the second-team offense. Rookie running back Kamari Vidal ran a wheel route up the right sideline. Henley stuck with him and forced the incompletion.
• Later in that series, Tuli Tuipulotu got home for a sack on a rush to the inside. He was rushing alongside fellow edge rushers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack.
��� The first-team offense lost its first crack at the first-team defense. The offense was backed up at its 1-yard line and went three-and-out. After two runs, Herbert and the offense faced a third-and-10. No one was open after Herbert took the snap. Pressure came from safety Derwin James Jr. on a blitz. The play was whistled dead as Herbert took off to scramble. James was playing close to the line of scrimmage frequently in the practice, both as a slot defender and as a box safety.
• The offense won the second series of first team on first team. After two unsuccessful plays, Herbert converted a third-and-long to McConkey, who beat slot corner Ja’Sir Taylor on an out route. James made a good play to sniff out a bubble screen on the next snap. Herbert then found McConkey for another conversion. This time, McConkey beat Taylor on a slant. The series ended with Herbert finding Palmer on a dig. This was one of Herbert’s best throws of the practice. He was very accurate all day.
no looook pic.twitter.com/9qk5bRaoV3
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) June 4, 2024
• Herbert finished practice with a successful two-minute drill. The offense took over at the plus-40-yard line with 40 seconds left and no timeouts. The unit needed a field goal. Herbert completed back-to-back throws to Spiller and Smartt before spiking the ball to stop the clock with 11.4 seconds left. On third down, the defense jumped offsides. Herbert had a free play and tried a dangerous throw to McConkey down the seam. The timing was off, and the ball sailed past McConkey. Taylor made an incredible one-handed snag along the back of the end zone for the interception. But it was nullified by the penalty. On the next play, kicker Cameron Dicker drilled a 31-yard field goal as time expired.
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• Stick and third-string quarterback Max Duggan also led successful two-minute drills. Stick hit Simi Fehoko for a 28-yard touchdown down the left sideline. Fehoko beat cornerback Cam Hart, who had been rotating in with the first-team defense earlier in practice. Duggan completed two passes before Dicker hit a 37-yard field goal.
5. Bosa delivered a speech to the team at the end of practice. Palmer explained that these player speeches have been a daily occurrence during OTAs. Harbaugh calls on one player to speak in front of the team after each practice. Tuesday was Bosa’s day. Palmer said it is “on the spot” so players do not know if they are going to be picked that day.
On Bosa’s speech, Palmer said: “He was just telling guys how long he’s been here and how he’s happy to be here.”
(Top photo of Joe Alt: Kirby Lee / USA Today)
