What do you think of the Chargers rookie class?
Each week we dive into each team’s rookie class and compare how they stack up against each other. (Grades for each player are the overall offensive or defensive grade handed out by PFF.com)
Dallas Cowboys
Tyler Booker (OG)
First Round
Booker’s Week 15 tape against Minnesota looked as though he was a stabilizing force. In pass protection, the simplest stat tells the story: Dallas surrendered two sacks, but none were credited to Booker. As a run blocker, Booker had a tougher assignment but held up. Dallas still ran it 30 times for 138 yards, so there were lanes to be had, but a lot of those yards came through persistence rather than consistent movement at the point of attack.
On the win-rate board, Booker shows up as a legit run-game piece. He’s sitting at a 75% Run Block Win Rate, good enough to land in the top-10 among interior linemen on their leaderboard. Now the Chargers matchup is where the temperature rises, because this is a defense that hunts quarterbacks even when it doesn’t look pretty doing it. Los Angeles is at a 38% team Pass Rush Win Rate, and the production is real, the Chargers have piled up 40 sacks, sixth-most in the league. The Chargers defense is also running a 36.2% pressure rate generated, so the heat is steady.
Grade: 71.5
Donovan Ezeiraku (DE)
Second Round
Ezeiruaku comes into the Chargers game looking like one of the better young edge defenders in the league, even if the box score doesn’t scream star yet. Through Week 15 he’s sitting on 36 total tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble, and nine tackles for loss. PFF has his grade at 76.9 overall grade (22nd among all edges) with a solid pass-rush grade pretty 69.3 (4th among rookie edge defenders). Since Week 5, when Ezeiruaku really started to find his feet, he’s posted a 14.7% pass-rush win rate, best among rookie edges in that time.
Now for Dallas as a unit. The Cowboys front is sixth in run-stop win rate (32%) and 12th in pass-rush win rate (39%). So even though the sack total is modest, the underlying win-rate data say Ezeiruaku is winning a lot of one-on-ones, affecting the pocket and holding up well on early downs.
The matchup with the Chargers is a classic above average pass rush versus a very shaky protection game. Offensively, L.A. is productive, they’re averaging 357.8 yards per game (11th) and 22.5 points per game (19th). Justin Herbert has thrown for 3,191 yards and 23 touchdowns (5th-most), with 12 interceptions (3rd-most), while also adding 419 rushing yards. But he’s been hit a ton. Officially Herbert has been sacked 49 times, most in the NFL, and that’s six more than the guy at second-most.
On the ground, the main backs are Kimani Vidal with 147 carries, 620 yards, three TDs, and Omarion Hampton back from injury with 94 carries for 431 yards and two TDs. So Ezeiruaku has to respect the run game and Herbert’s scrambling, not just pin his ears back. The real opening for Ezeiruaku is in the trenches where the win-rate rankings have the Chargers all the way down at 32nd in pass-block win rate (54%) and 31st in run-block win rate (69%), meaning this Chragers line loses a lot of reps up front even though the offense still moves the ball.
Jamaree Salyer, who’s moved from guard to left tackle, is their steadiest lineman in pass protection, but his pass-block grade is only at 67.7, giving up four sacks this year and 19 pressures. Trevor Penning has had his struggles this year, but Zion Johnson now holds the left guard position and has given up three sacks this season. Mekhi Becton leads the team in total pressures allowed and hasn’t had a clean game all year. All of that sets up nicely for Ezeiruaku where he can use his spike in pass-rush win rate and strong run-stop ability against a Herbert-led offense that can score but is last in the league in the very protection metrics he’s built to exploit.
Grade: 76.9
Shavon Revel Jr. (CB)
Revel comes into the Chargers game still very much learning on the job. On paper his cornerback stats are light as he’s sitting on 20 total tackles, with zero interceptions and just one pass defensed so far, but let’s be fair, he’s only played five games this season. PFF has him graded at 35.7 overall with not enough snaps to qualify among full-time corners, which basically says the tape is mixed and the sample is still small.
Against the Chargers, he’s walking into a very real challenge in coverage. Justin Herbert is throwing at a high rate and is still one of the league’s more aggressive downfield passers even behind a battered line. His main targets are Ladd McConkey (61 catches, 715 yards, five TDs), Keenan Allen (68 for 680 and four TDs), and Quentin Johnston who has a team-high of seven TDs. This gives the Chargers a mix of receivers with Allen as the route-running technician, a shifty separator in McConkey, and a vertical/YAC threat with Johnston.
With the constant unrelenting pressure Herbert is under, routes can break down into scramble drills, which is tough for any corner, but the ball also has to come out on time, giving a long press corner like Revel chances to disrupt timing if his technique is clean. So the asks for Revel are clear, tackle in space when Herbert checks down, stay disciplined versus double moves from savvy vets like Allen and speed guys like McConkey, and avoid the penalties and missed tackles that have dinged his early game tape.
Grade: 35.7
Shemar James (LB)
Fifth Round
James played the entire game last week against Minnesota on special teams. Expect much the same this week unless for injury.
Trikweze Bridges (CB)
Seventh Round
Bridges will look to continue his role on special teams, his only way onto the defense right now is through injury.
Grade: 60.9 (ST Grade)
Alijah Clark (DB)
UDFA
Clark will also look to continue his contribution to the team by helping out on special teams.
Grade: 72.4 (ST Grade)
L.A. Chargers
Omarion Hampton (RB)
First Round
Hampton has been exactly what Jim Harbaugh offenses love in a downhill, tackle-breaking grinder who keeps the offense on schedule. He’s unfortunately missed time and large portion of the season with injury so has just 94 carries for 431 yards (4.6 YPC) and two rushing touchdowns. He’s graded as an above-average runner with a 80.7 rushing grade, which is the highest among all active rookie running backs, so the skills are there.
His strengths are in his elite contact balance first, but he adds to it a decisive one-cut, and finishing runs always falling forward. The downside is that he’s still learning the finer points of route nuance and he can be more of a guy who wins by volume and toughness than as a home-run hitter.
This matchup lines up as a stress test for both sides. Dallas has been sturdy with a 32% team run stop win rate (6th), but they’ve also been giving up real production on the ground, allowing 1,682 rushing yards on the ground and 19 rushing touchdowns, the second-most. If Hampton’s vision and leg drive hold up against that front, he’s the kind of back who can turn Dallas’ occasional gap leaks into long, demoralizing drives, and make the Cowboys pay most in the red zone, where their run defense has already been cracked too often this season.
Grade: 79.4
Tre Harris (WR)
Second Round
Harris has been the Chargers’ hit-the-nitro rookie wideout. At 6’3”, 209 pound with enough size and stride to win on the boundary, he’s an interesting threat, even if his role has been more rotational than starring so far. Through the season he’s at 23 catches for 234 yards and one TD, and when injuries pushed him up the pecking order he popped. With Johnson out last week he posted his best day with three grabs for a season-high 49 yards, including a huge 37-yard sideline catch while the pocket was collapsing.
The strengths are obvious. He gives Herbert a bigger catch window on outside throws, he tracks the ball well down the sideline, and he’s been a useful X option when the offense needs someone to win a rep without needing a perfect play call. The weakness is that he’s still building consistency and volume. PFF even lists him as not yet qualifying for a season grade due to snap thresholds, which matches the flashes, not a full-time résumé.
The Cowboys are exactly the kind of defense that can turn those flashes into a bigger box score. Dallas is getting hit with a 68.15% opponent completion rate, 8.1 opponent yards per pass, 254.8 opponent pass yards per game, which is dead last. Dallas is also allowing an NFL-worst of 109.1 opponent passer rating, meaning receivers have been finding space and quarterbacks have been living comfortably. If the Chargers keep giving Harris real routes or Johnson remains out, he brings a simple, valuable threat to this matchup with vertical shots, comebacks, and trust throws that punish a secondary that’s been bleeding efficient completions all season.
Grade: 65.8
Jamaree Caldwell (DT)
Third Round
Caldwell has been a low-drama, lunch-pail rookie in the Chargers’ interior rotation. He’s up to 23 tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble, and the grading paints him as more run game problem than third-down terror. PFF has him at a 59.7 overall with a 60.3 run-defense grade (64th among interior defensive linemen). This matters against Dallas because the Cowboys are leaning on volume and efficiency on the ground and their line has held up well, so Caldwell’s best value this week is being the guy who makes those easy inside runs feel crowded and force cutbacks into traffic.
Grade: 59.7
Oronde Gadsden (TE)
Fifth Round
Gadsden has quickly turned into Herbert’s safety button, and the numbers show why. He’s up to 43 catches for 602 yards and two TDs, functioning as the Chargers’ TE1. He’s not just a chain-mover either, he’s one of the few tight ends this season with back-to-back big receiving games, and his recent spike week versus Kansas City earned a 90.7 PFF grade after he led the Chargers with 61 receiving yards, and had a monster day against Indianapolis going for a 164 yards.
That skill set lines up neatly with Dallas’ soft spot. The Cowboys have already allowed 81 catches for 777 yards and four TDs to tight ends which ranks in the bottom half. And that’s exactly the kind of seam-and-crossing-lane leakage Gadsden lives in. So if Dallas leans coverage toward the outside weapons, Gadsden’s blend of size, stride, and vertical juice can punish the middle and keep Herbert in rhythm.
Grade: 67.3
KeAndre Lambert-Smith (WR)
Fifth Round
Lambert-Smith is still trying to find a role in the Chargers’ receiver rotation, but last week when he hauled in a 16-yard touchdown against Kansas City. On the season, he’s at two catches for 17 yards and one score, which tells you his opportunities have been limited. If the Chargers give Lambert-Smith more routes, he brings vertical stress and the kind of speed that forces safeties to widen. Either he pops a chunk play himself, or he helps clear space for Herbert to carve up the soft spots Dallas has been leaving open all season.
Grade: 43.3
Category: General Sports
