Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James has been ranked as a top-10 safety in PFF’s latest position rankings. James officially ranks seventh. Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Antoine Winfield Jr. ranks first, Baltimore Ravens’ Kyle Hamilton ranks second, Atlanta Falcons’ Jessie Bates III comes in at third, Pittsburgh Steelers’ Minkah Fitzpatrick is fourth, Ravens’ Marcus Williams is fifth, and Miami Dolphins’ Jevon Holland is sixth.
James comes in seventh after playing in 16 games in 2023 for the first time since his rookie season. In 2023, he recorded one interception, seven pass deflections, two fumble recoveries, two sacks, 125 total tackles, and five tackles for loss. In coverage, quarterbacks completed 68.8% of their passes against James for 468 yards, two touchdowns, and a 93.7 rating.
While not bad by any means, these numbers were a bit down from James’ top years in 2018, 2021, and 2022 when he was a three-time Pro Bowler and either a first-team All-Pro or second-team All-Pro. At his best in 2021, James allowed quarterbacks to complete just 56.7% of their passes against him for 327 yards, one touchdown, and a 63.7 rating.
Due to this, James dropped in the safety rankings from last year, when PFF considered him the No. 1 safety during the summer before the 2023 season. Don’t be surprised though if James has a resurgence in 2024 and rises up the rankings again.
While there is plenty of competition and good safety play in the NFL right now with players like Winfield and Hamilton, James should be in a much better position to succeed in the Jim Harbaugh regime and with Jess Minter as his defensive coordinator. Minter was a phenomenal DC at Michigan and excelled at putting his players in position to succeed. With a player of James’ skillset, Minter should have no trouble utilizing him to maximize his performance.
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