To cap off the preseason, the Chargers lost to the Saints, 27-10.
To recap Friday’s matchup, here are my takeaways:
Joshua Kelley earned the second running back spot
Entering the preseason finale, Kelley was the front runner to be Austin Ekeler’s running mate. But the fourth-year player cemented his case Friday night. Decisive and explosive as a runner, Kelley finished with 40 yards on six carries, including a rush with an eye-popping hurdle over a defender. For a player who was being disregarded, Kelley proved any doubters wrong this summer, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do during regular season action.
Rest of the running back room underwhelms
After the ankle injury to Isaiah Spiller, which could cause him to miss the season opener against the Raiders, the Chargers will likely roll with four running backs. However, none of the other backs outside Kelley did anything to help themselves. Larry Rountree had six carries for 12 yards. Leddie Brown had three rushes for seven yards. Kevin Marks had just one carry that went for negative yards.
Chase Daniel reclaims backup spot
Easton Stick had his best performance in the preseason opener, appearing calm in the pocket and quick to get the ball out. However, his performance on Friday night was not reflective of that. Stick’s ball placement was all over the place, finishing 9-of-17 for 74 yards. Meanwhile, Daniel, who played the first half, had an excellent outing. He made some solid throws to each level of the field, including a nice deep pass to Jalen Guyton. Daniel finished 10-of-11 for 113 yards. While it may be more reasonable to keep two quarterbacks to save a roster spot elsewhere, Tom Telesco confirmed on the national broadcast last weekend against the Cowboys that the team will keep all three quarterbacks.
Michael Bandy makes final case
The Chargers keeping six wide receivers is slim to none, which is unfortunate for Bandy, who continued to do what he’s done all summer by running silky smooth routes to get open and hauling in everything thrown his direction. Bandy finished with three catches for 30 yards on five targets. If Bandy clears waivers, I expect Los Angeles to sign him to the practice squad. But the chances of that happening are slim with the tape he’s put out.
Carlo Kemp carries momentum
Whether or not the Chargers will carry four edge defenders, not including Kyle Van Noy, remains to be seen. But if they do, Kemp has made his case to earn that spot over Jamal Davis, who also had a solid summer. Kemp finished with four tackles, a quarterback hit, and an almost tackle-for-loss. Kemp and Davis both showed to be stout against the run, but Kemp offers a little bit more value as a pass rusher.
Breiden Fehoko is deserving of a roster spot
Since the beginning of the summer, Fehoko has done nothing but prove that he belongs on the 53-man roster. Flashing his run defense skills on a snap-to-snap basis, Fehoko has also developed as a pass rusher with a faster get-off and quicker hands to defeat blockers. On Friday night, Fehoko finished with a tackle for loss, a quarterback pressure, and continued to do the dirty work by eating up blocks and resetting the line of scrimmage.
