The most intense Chargers training camp battle to keep an eye on

The Los Angeles Chargers, according to head coach Jim Harbaugh, boast the best safety duo in the NFL with Derwin James Jr. and Alohi Gilman. After them: The most question marks and opportunities for jobs to be won and lost of any position group on the team.

JT Woods is on the verge of being another Tom Telesco third-round bust. AJ Finley, who made the team as an undrafted free agent (UDFA) in 2023, is exclusively a special teams player. The Chargers signed veteran Tony Jefferson after a minicamp tryout, but his range of outcomes are wide for a previously retired player who was working as a scouting intern last year. Jefferson brings experience the room desperately needed, but he has not played a full season since the year the Chargers were 12-4 and making a playoff push under Anthony Lynn.

The Chargers did not add a safety in the 2024 NFL Draft, but do have two UDFAs in Florida State’s Akeem Dent and Clemson’s Jalyn Phillips who could win a job this summer. Dent is the athletic, rangy center fielder type that Woods was projected to be. Phillips, on the other hand, is a multi-use box safety who can cover in the slot or rush the passer.

Both are, at minimum, safeties who would excel on special teams. Can either beat out Woods, Finley, or Jefferson?

The other side of this, of course, is job retention. Can Woods and Finley hold onto roster spots as they did last year? Woods has the highest investment from the Chargers and still the highest ceiling, but he has played little to no defensive football and was passed up several times on special teams. Finley is likely more safe given special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken picked him as one of his coverage guys. Whether Dent or Phillips beat out Finley is likely more up to Ficken than the defensive coaches or general manager Joe Hortiz.

According to Chargers Wire’s Alex Katson, the Chargers were considering drafting Dent to avoid a bidding war once 31 other teams could negotiate with him as a UDFA. Dent was also selected by the Michigan Panthers in the seventh round of the UFL draft. Neither the rumor nor the selection guarantees Dent makes the roster, but it does suggest he could be prioritized.

The Chargers have two safety spots up for grabs with five players looking to claim them. This training camp battle is going to be the most intense summer-long fight to end up on the initial 53-man roster.