POLL: Is Derwin James any better than a mediocre safety?

[Boltjolt]

Gilman gets burned a number of times in games, and makes a number of mistakes.
But since expectations are low for the guy, no one pounds their chest when they happen.

No team particularly cares to know where Alohi Gilman is on the field before snaps.

Not yet. Wait till we resign him, then it will matter lol. He won't get near what Derwin got but still, he won't be on a 6th round contraft either.

Second bolded is a good point.

[Boltjolt]

He makes plays. He’s always around the ball. He forces fumbles. He intercepts passes. He’s the only ball-hawking defender on the team. I hope they can afford to keep him.

He has 1 int which was two days ago lol. I mean he has been decent but let's not get carried away.

He was also out there in that 63 point defensive effort.

[ChargerBooster]

In a league of good athletes he is an exceptional one; eats and breathes football.

Loves to lay the lumber and make big hits; but too many are boneheaded plays. Now back in the day (don’t ask), these plays would’ve had me jumping out of my seat in the stadium and excitedly cheering. Now I curse when the official(s) throw the flag(s). In pass pro, how often is he the missed assignment, the one out of position ?

I get it: great athlete, great intangibles, big star in college, but to me his play in recent seasons, without even touching on injuries is not impressive to me. His reputation is perhaps more than his overall on-field play and production.

I say trade him, while the trading is good.

Note from ChargerBooster: Merry Merry and Happy Holidays. All I want for Christmas is a winning Chargers team. And DON’T count me as one who gets all excited about being a wild card. No ! I mean a dominant winning team. I know anything can happen; a bounce of the football, an unheralded player making an unbelievable all-time play, sure we’ve been there. But I don’t want to count on, or hope for flukes. No, be a dominant team. It’s hard enough even then.

[21&500]

Gilman gets burned a number of times in games, and makes a number of mistakes.
But since expectations are low for the guy, no one pounds their chest when they happen.

No team particularly cares to know where Alohi Gilman is on the field before snaps.

Well if you share some of the excuses DJ gets, that should offset some of these times he gets burned, and how many times exactly because I don3 see it often.
When I do notice home getting "burned" hes usually trying to cover someone else left wide open.
next season he'll sign with a great defense and out produce DJ proportionate to his athleticism. If he had DJs athleticism, he would be a true elite S leaguewide.

[Velo]

He has 1 int which was two days ago lol. I mean he has been decent but let's not get carried away.

He was also out there in that 63 point defensive effort.

Derwin's solo INT this season was a gift from Gilman, who tipped a pass into Derwin's hands, who should've batted the ball to the turf, because holding onto it cost the Chargers field position.

[Bolt4Knob]

He hasn't but Derwin has also missed 1.75 seasons.

Gilman has played in 55 games, Derwin 64.

Gilman also isn't doing the same things Derwin is. They use him strictly as a SS as Gus did w/ Derwin.

Derwin will look better in a different defense and if he doesn't, they will trade him after 2025. He is 1 season removed from a AP2 season.

What did Staley add to his already full plate? Maybe he has a nagging injury we don't know about?

Did you complain when Derwin signed his new contract at the time? I don't think anybody did that I recall.
Seemed all were good he was staying.

Under Gus Bradley, Derwin was a top player on the defense and roster
In three years under Staley he has regressed
The Chargers can trade him and lose 1.5m of cap space plus what kind of value are you getting for him. Probably not much

As posted above - see what he does this year - if he flops, can release him next year with a much smaller cap hit.
I just think this guy got Staley'd more than any other player on the roster other than Herbert. He took a very good player and overloaded him trying to be a mad scientist. When really, just make it simple, one position, let him excel at that.

[NOrvMeNow]

Well if you share some of the excuses DJ gets, that should offset some of these times he gets burned, and how many times exactly because I don3 see it often.
When I do notice home getting "burned" hes usually trying to cover someone else left wide open.
next season he'll sign with a great defense and out produce DJ proportionate to his athleticism. If he had DJs athleticism, he would be a true elite S leaguewide.

But he doesn't, so he isn't.

No one here is giving Derwin James a free ride, he's had a horrible season;
and despite the All Pro accolades, my sense is that last season left much to be desired.
Having said that, the tackling issues with the team last year were horrendous. Any time
a player happened to make a good, crisp tackle last year, it always turned out to be Derwin.

He was drafted as an alpha dog locker room guy coming out of college, who was an elite tackler.
I remember him bringing down Lamarr Jackson in the open field one game.
He was an elite tackler.

Derwin has regressed badly under the complicated Staley schemes, he is no longer a sure tackler
and he's no longer that alpha dog.

Gilman has done the opposite: he's thrived in the complexity because it covers up his athletic limitations.


Staley is gone .... he was horrible.

The new coordinator will simplify the overall scheme, depend more on athleticism and playing downhill, and James will bounce back.
Don't know how Gilman will respond to the new scheme, but that will not be the Charger coaching staffs major concern.

[dmac_bolt]

One season, as a rookie. He was good and showed promise, but he wasn’t a phenom. He didn’t play in his 2nd season and missed most of his third season due to injury as well. That covers the Bradley era.

I agree he’s having a very mixed year. he has had some great plays but many / more bad plays this year, he has looked constantly confused and frustrated then the last handful of games he’s played like he’s defeated, resigned, just sick of how stupidly Staley runs the defense and assigned him to play. I think the Staley effect took over his soul.

I don’t know why you say he only had a good rookie year. He was as good of better last year. He had a decent 2021 also. More tackles, more sacks, more INT … selected to the pro bowl. It’s fine to point out his contract looks over valued, but it is what it is. There is no easy exit from that contract. He’s still relatively young and I’d try a better DC in a better scheme design that lets him play a normal football position again and see how he responds.

[Velo]

Under Gus Bradley, Derwin was a top player on the defense and roster
In three years under Staley he has regressed

There is this perception that Derwin was a phenom for Gus Bradley. Derwin had a promising rookie season in 2018, with 3 INTs, 13 PD, 3.5 sacks, 4 TFL & 6 QB hits. For that, he was 2nd in DROY voting and was an AP1 and voted to the Pro Bowl.

But in the subsequent two seasons under Bradley, Derwin missed 27 of 32 games. In the 5 games he did play in, he had 0 INTs, 0 sacks, 1 PD, 3 TFL & 0 QB hits.

After returning from two injury plagued seasons in the new Staley regime, he had a decent season in 2021, but it didn't rival his rookie season. But he was still voted to the Pro Bowl, based on hype, not actual production. Since signing his contract in 2022 making him the highest paid safety in the league, he has been mediocre or worse.

[Bolt4Knob]

There is this perception that Derwin was a phenom for Gus Bradley. Derwin had a promising rookie season in 2018, with 3 INTs, 13 PD, 3.5 sacks, 4 TFL & 6 QB hits. For that, he was 2nd in DROY voting and was an AP1 and voted to the Pro Bowl.

But in the subsequent two seasons under Bradley, Derwin missed 27 of 32 games. In the 5 games he did play in, he had 0 INTs, 0 sacks, 1 PD, 3 TFL & 0 QB hits.

After returning from two injury plagued seasons in the new Staley regime, he had a decent season in 2021, but it didn't rival his rookie season. But he was still voted to the Pro Bowl, based on hype, not actual production. Since signing his contract in 2022 making him the highest paid safety in the league, he has been mediocre or worse.

I watched the games. I think his rookie season, he had that interception against the Rams in the Coliseum where the momentum forced him out at the 1 yard line. And he ddidn't disappoint. You are just looking at stats going back to make your point - I watched the games and thought, this guy is arguably the best player on the team.

Now, he is not that player anymore. And the chargers can trade him and if somebodyu wants to give up a Day 2 pick for him , thjat might be worthwhile. But for a 7th rounder AND losing cap space, keep him and see if a real coaching staff can work with him. As the bad coaching just isn't limited to the HC - except for Ficken.

[gzubeck]

There is this perception that Derwin was a phenom for Gus Bradley. Derwin had a promising rookie season in 2018, with 3 INTs, 13 PD, 3.5 sacks, 4 TFL & 6 QB hits. For that, he was 2nd in DROY voting and was an AP1 and voted to the Pro Bowl.

But in the subsequent two seasons under Bradley, Derwin missed 27 of 32 games. In the 5 games he did play in, he had 0 INTs, 0 sacks, 1 PD, 3 TFL & 0 QB hits.

After returning from two injury plagued seasons in the new Staley regime, he had a decent season in 2021, but it didn't rival his rookie season. But he was still voted to the Pro Bowl, based on hype, not actual production. Since signing his contract in 2022 making him the highest paid safety in the league, he has been mediocre or worse.

He's paid for so at least we don't have to worry about it. If under another head coach he plays even 10 percent better I'm not complaining. In hindsight he's not worth it but it's a sunk investment so let's roll with it.

[Boltjolt]

Derwin's solo INT this season was a gift from Gilman, who tipped a pass into Derwin's hands, who should've batted the ball to the turf, because holding onto it cost the Chargers field position.

Ok
Bro it was the 4th quarter, we were up 30-7 and it cost us 6 yards from the 30 to the 24 after the runback.

You are splitting hairs for the sake of your argument. At that point every DB will intercept that. The win was in the bag. And it was tipped right in his lap, not like it traveled in the air. They were both right on the WR.