Chargers News: Competitive CB Room May Leave UDFA on Outside Looking In

Los Angeles has some big decisions to make this summer.

Dec 11, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; A general view of the end zone with the Los Angeles Chargers logo at the words \"End Racism\" before the game against the Miami Dolphins at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Chargers, like any sensible NFL squad, have been using this year's Organized Training Activities (OTAs) to do some key talent appraisal early into their offseason.

L.A. has made a point to build out the competition at cornerback this year thus far, to the point where a talented undrafted free agent may feel the roster crunch before he truly gets a chance to prove his mettle, as Travis Wakeman of The Sporting News details.

"The Chargers made cornerback a focal point this offseason, signing Kristian Fulton and drafting both Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart," Wakeman writes. "The team looks set at the position, but Thomas Harper is one of the more intriguing undrafted players on the roster."

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Notre Dame product logged 39 total tackles (25 solo, 14 assists), two sacks, and one forced fumble during his final season with the Fighting Irish, 2023.

Fulton, fresh off a four-year run with the Tennessee Titans, inked a one-year, $3.1 million deal with the Bolts, while Still, a two-time All-Big Ten honoree at Maryland, was the No. 137 selection in this year's draft and Hart went to L.A. with the No. 140 pick. It doesn't seem like any of those players are going anywhere.

Whichever cornerback Los Angeles prioritizes, defense needs to be a focus for a Los Angeles squad that looked absolutely abysmal on that side of the field in 2023 under Brandon Staley's final, one-and-done defensive coordinator, Derrick Ansley. The club finished with a 5-12 record overall, with some lackluster defensive rankings all across the board: L.A. finished 24th in points allowed and 28th in yards permitted, per Pro Football Reference.

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