Derwin James Jr. has had a very up-and-down career during his time with the Los Angeles Chargers. He has been victim of injury, poor coaching, and suspensions. Yet, he is still battling and proving to the NFL he is the same guy that he was many years ago.
An All-Pro safety who can erase receivers in the passing game and annihilate opposing ball carriers in the run game.
Derwin James Career Path
The Hot Start for the Florida Kid
Drafted 17th overall back in 2018, Derwin James was seen as a complete steal for the Chargers and a crucial piece for their defense for years to come. That has been completely true in all forms, for better or for worse.
James’ 2018 season was a complete success, being First-Team All-Pro as a rookie. He was second in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, being snubbed behind Shaquille Darius Leonard who is now out of the league.
It’s really easy to see why Derwin James was a first-team All-Pro selection as a rookie. pic.twitter.com/Nl2LFhXfDH
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) May 25, 2019
The Injuries That Threatened Derwin James’ Career
Moving into 2019, the sky was the limit for the safety out of Florida State University. He was already an all-pro as a rookie, but it felt like he had just scratched the surface of what he could truly do. Unfortunately, he suffered a stress fracture in the fifth metatarsal of his right foot in the offseason and only played in five games at the end of the season.
James did not look fully like himself when back from injury, but that was expected. He still played at a pro-bowl level in that small sample size.
Moving into 2020, Chargers fans were excited to have a healthy James coming into the era of Justin Herbert. With a new quarterback and a young James coming back, this team had superstar firepower that could carry them into the playoffs. Especially in a weird COVID season.
Once again, tragedy struck the former first-round pick, as he suffered a meniscus tear in his right knee. This sidelined him for the entire season. He to this point has suffered two major injuries and has not played a full season since his rookie year.
Going into year four, he was paired with a coach who many thought could bring back the James that Chargers fans knew and loved.
The Brandon Staley Era: Over-Reliance
If you are a defensive-minded head coach and you have a versatile chess piece like James, of course, your first thought is to use that chess piece as much as possible.
With the hiring of the young defensive guru, Brandon Staley as the Chargers’ next head coach in 2021 it seemed that a scheme could match the ceiling that James has.
welcome, coach!
we’ve agreed to terms with Brandon Staley to become our next head coach » https://t.co/x4UtQEGazY pic.twitter.com/UFvI54GCQc
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) January 18, 2021
The 2021 Season
In 2021, Staley and DJ seemed to be working out some kinks in the scheme, allowing Chargers fans to have pause on the defensive performances of the entire roster, including the former All-Pro. These kinks lay in the poor run defense, ranking the third worst in the entire NFL.
A lot of the blame to Staley, but an underlying issue was the regression of James. The former Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate played at a fine level, but going from All-Pro status to a fringe pro-bowl selection was an extremely weird situation, especially in a scheme that’s supposed to utilize him uniquely and effectively.
Derwin James is putting together another great all-around season 😤
⚡️ 78.8 PFF Grade (8th among Safeties)
⚡️ 86.2 Pass Rush Grade (2nd)
⚡️ 76.9 Coverage Grade (11th)
⚡️ 74.9 Run Defense Grade (15th) pic.twitter.com/7y2phP02Ub— PFF LA Chargers (@PFF_Chargers) December 9, 2021
The idea of James being used so much in all parts of the field sounded good on paper, but it was not as effective as hoped. Going into 2022, fans hoped James just needed a year in the scheme to reach back to where he was. Even if he was still playing at a high level, the impact is nowhere where it was his rookie season.
The 2022 Season
Going into 2022 the Chargers as a team found the most success they had since 2018, the year when James broke out to the scene as a rookie. This was in no part due to the defense as they still had a bottom-five run defense, but the lack of continuity was the eventual straw that broke the camels back in 2022.
In a wildcard matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars the Chargers allowed a 27-point comeback in the second half. A complete collapse and failure all around, but the inability to stop the Jaguars and regain momentum is a major reason for said collapse.
“I’ve been playing football 21 years, and I ain’t ever felt like this.” -Derwin James after the Chargers 27-0 collapse vs. Jaguars
(via @SportsCentralLA)pic.twitter.com/euyudJLbTW
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 15, 2023
James at this point had a career-low overall PFF defensive grade yet, and he seemed to be going downhill, rather than being the player he once was. However, his name was enough to get him voted as a Second Team All-Pro Safety, which was in no thanks to the scheme around him.
The 2023 Season
James to this point was being used in so many different roles, while calling the defense. Being stretched so thin during this Staley era has been apparent but it all came to a crash in the 2023 season. The final year of Staley.
The Chargers went 5-12, with an atrocious defense. Staley was fired before the season ended and James found himself with no accolades for his play.
Brandon Staley is a broken man.
It’s over and he knows it. I know it. You know it. Everyone knows it.
Need to put him out of his misery for the good of the team
https://t.co/8sL7hKEVM8 https://t.co/59ohf77rCa
— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) November 19, 2023
His 60.1 overall defensive PFF grade showed on tape. It looked like the end could be near for James, possibly becoming one of the greatest “what if” stories in NFL history.
Diving deeper into his tape, it starts to make sense why James regressed under Staley. You can tell James is late to assignments, so busy focusing on everyone else in the defense, and what he needs to do in the play. Staley was asking so much out of him, and never let him do what he was good at. Play loose and be the playmaker he was.
He had his worst season yet, and the outlook of his future was bleak compared to what it was just a few seasons ago. The former first-round safety was signed to a major contract at this point, and fans began to worry if said signing was a poor decision.
He’s Back!
With the hiring of Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter, not many had eyes on James as a bounce-back candidate as there were plenty of other more pressing needs to focus on.
The health of Justin Herbert, the loss of Mike Williams and Keenan Allen, and the entire defense as a whole were more at the forefront of the media’s minds. James went into the background.
This season he has reminded the media who he truly is and how great of a player he can be. Especially when everything doesn’t lie on his shoulders. Other than a controversial suspension earlier this season, James has been near-perfect.
Derwin James in 2024 (Through Week 14):
- Top 10 in PFF grades for Pass Rush and Run Defense for Safeties
- 77 Tackles
- 4 Sacks (First Among All Safeties)
- Lowest Missed Tackle Rate in his Career (7.3%)
- 22 Stops (14th Across All Safeties)
- 1 Interception
Derwin James can do it all!
🟦 91.5 grade since week 9 (#1 Safety in NFL) pic.twitter.com/ji8ARUJZSq— All-22 (@All22_PFF) December 9, 2024
This season the former All-Pro Safety is on pace to collect more accolades as his impact has been larger than ever. Even with the secondary around him being a revolving door, James is having a career renaissance.
Main Photo: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
