ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler released the fourth edition of his annual positional rankings early Thursday morning, based on votes from anonymous NFL executives, coaches, and scouts to determine the standings. This set of rankings featured the NFL’s top 10 safeties, with some of the league’s young stars headlining the list, including Kyle Hamilton (1), Brian Branch (2), and Xavier McKinney (3).
The safety position seems to be a young man’s game these days, with the top two players on the list still on their rookie contracts, but Chargers star Derwin James (28) still managed to crack the top 10.
James has experienced an up-and-down career, with his lone first-team All-Pro selection coming in his first year in the league. 2024 was his best season since then, according to Pro Football Reference’s Approximate Value Metric (AV), where he earned an 11.
That stellar play earned him a spot in the rankings, placing him sixth.
Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. (3) sacks Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15).
Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. (3) sacks Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15).
Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
James burst onto the scene as one of the best safeties in the game during his rookie year in 2018. However, an ACL tear early in the following season kept him off the field until 2021, when he earned his first Pro Bowl selection since his rookie season three years prior. He has continued to improve since returning from injury, and new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter’s scheme helped James have the best season of his career last season.
James saw improvement in nearly every facet of his game in 2024, but one area that was really unleashed was his ability as a pass rusher. He recorded six sacks this past season, ranking first in the league among safeties, and 15 pressures, the second most in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.
These weren’t just sacks where James got to the quarterback faster than they could get the ball out, either. Here’s a play from December of last season where James times the snap perfectly, easily gets past Chiefs left tackle D.J. Humphries, then blows through the running back to sack Patrick Mahomes.
James still has burst coming from traditional safety alignments as well. Here’s a play from the Chargers’ Week 3 matchup against the Steelers, flying downhill from nearly 20 yards off the line of scrimmage to blow up a screen.
While coverage may be James' weakest part of his game, that speaks more to his exceptional ability defending the run and rushing the passer. To that point, PFF gave James a coverage grade of 75.5 in 2024, good for the 17th-best grade among safeties in the league.
James will be 29 years old at the start of the 2025 season, and there’s a chance 2024 was his peak, given his injury history. If he still has the gas in the tank for a few more seasons at this level of play, however, expect the Chargers' defense to continue being regarded as one of the best in the league.