At this point in the year, it’s not much of a surprise that Alohi Gilman is the undisputed starter at free safety for the Los Angeles Chargers. There had been speculation for a few months that a veteran would be brought in for competition, or even to be the starter – specifically, John Johnson, who used to play under Brandon Staley. As time went on, this became less and less likely, and going into training camp with no change all but sealed Gilman’s place. Johnson returning to the Los Angeles Rams ended that talk for good, but it was ultimately just the final step in a saga that has seen Gilman rise from late-round pick to having the coach hedge all bets on him at free safety in a potential make-or-break year.
Los Angeles Chargers Going All In With Alohi Gilman at Free Safety
Gilman’s First Two Years
Alohi Gilman was drafted in 2020 in the sixth round. This was while Anthony Lynn was still the coach, and at the time, it seemed like he would just be a depth piece at strong safety. This wasn’t helped by the fact that despite a bevy of injuries, including Derwin James missing the entire season, he scarcely got any playing time – they opted to bring back Jahleel Addae, of all people, rather than give Gilman a chance. That did not bode well.
Things changed a bit when Brandon Staley arrived on the scene in 2021. Gilman was allowed a more rotational role, especially whenever Staley deployed three safeties on the field. In this capacity, Gilman caught his first career interception in Week 3 – against Patrick Mahomes, of all people. He didn’t show as much flashy play the rest of the year, but he did establish himself as a decent rotational piece. This was still presumed to be his ceiling at the time, though – Derwin James had strong safety firmly locked down, and Staley appeared to be all-in on Nasir Adderley at free safety.
Additional Opportunities
Adderley remained the starter at the beginning of the 2022 season. Eventually, however, Adderley ended up in Staley’s doghouse – to the point where he got effectively benched late in the season and Gilman got the nod at free safety. The switch appeared to be fully formalized during the Wildcard game when Gilman started and Adderley only had two defensive snaps.
Gilman wasn’t spectacular by any means, but he did his job and was efficient. He ultimately finished the 2022 season with one interception, three passes defensed, two fumble recoveries, and was in on 58 tackles.
Alohi Gilman Going Into 2023
His play during the final stretch of the season was apparently enough for Staley to commit to him as the starter at free safety going forward. Given that he’d had a relatively small sample size as a starter, it came as a surprise to some when the Chargers didn’t sign anybody else in free agency – or draft one in April. John Johnson seemed the natural choice because he’d worked with Staley before, but that never came about – thus further showing how committed Staley is to Gilman.
Time will tell if this pays off, but so far it looks promising. He’s had a quite good training camp, and showing us that he’s quite capable of making plays despite being a little undersized at 5’10. He has not just the faith of his coach, but his teammates as well. We will see if he can to continue to make plays once the regular season hits, but he has shown steady improvement every year so far. Now, in the final year of his rookie deal, he will need to take his biggest leap yet.
Alohi Gilman with the INT
(wait for the celebration at the end⚡️😂)#ChargersCamp pic.twitter.com/KidQjVF2H0
— Chargers Country (@ChargersCountry) August 7, 2023
Main Photo: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
