With the preseason winding down, Los Angeles Chargers rookie safety Derwin James is getting closer and closer to earning a starting job.
According to Greg Beacham of the Associated Press, Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said Monday that James could indeed get the starting nod next to Jahleel Addae for L.A.'s opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“You can see his confidence growing in the system,” Bradley said. “If he makes a mistake, now he knows. He’ll come over and go, ‘That was on me.’ I couldn’t say that a couple of weeks ago.”
Though it’s regularly the case that Top 20 picks in the NFL Draft become instantaneous starters for their newest professional football teams, it’s never a given.
Quarterbacks routinely don’t start right away. Players such as Vernon Gholston and Dion Jordan never started as rookies (or hardly at all) for the teams that drafted them in the Top 10.
The Chargers have given James every chance to quickly up to speed. He’s played more snaps than any other defender on the team’s roster through three preseason games. James started the Chargers’ third preseason game against New Orleans after Desmond King and Jaylen Watkins started the first two weeks.
For James to be nearing the starting lineup as a rookie for a team that ranked third in total defense last season is a strong indication of his growth so far.
“I feel like the more reps I get, the more knowledge will come,” James said. “Gus does a great job of saying, ‘When you’re uncomfortable, that’s when you get the most growth.’ Right now I’m kind of uncomfortable, and I feel like I’m getting better each day.”
