There’s really no other way to look at the 2023 season for the Chargers as anything other than a massive disappointment headlined by horrendous defensive play that was nowhere near the lofty expectations given to former head coach Brandon Staley entering year three. Outside of Khalil Mack’s career year, every other performance went essentially by the wayside. It was almost as if there was no other superstar-caliber player on the defensive side, but that obviously wasn’t the case.

It’s just that, unless you had a season like Mack’s, nothing else would have stood out past the team’s abysmal ranks amongst the league. For example, Derwin James put together a solid stat line that included 125 total tackles (a new career high), a pair of sacks, seven pass breakups (his most since his rookie season), two fumble recoveries, and an interception. It did not earn him any postseason honors, but it still warranted him enough respect in league circles to make it once again into the NFL’s Top 100, which is voted on by his peers.

This year, James saw an understandable drop in the rankings from No. 53 in 2023 to No. 83 this year.

Here’s what NFL.com’s Krissy Hetherington has to say about James’ ranking:

“Before Jim Harbaugh entered the picture this offseason, it was looking rather grim in Los Angeles. The Chargers allowed 47 touchdowns to their 36 touchdowns scored this season and were close to the top in the league in both average yards per game and points per game allowed. James led the team with 86 solo tackles, 125 combined tackles, two sacks and an interception, but his 60.1 PFF grade was good for 71st at the position in 2023.”

Some of the notable players to rank behind James this year are Cardinals safety Budda Baker (No. 89), Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (No. 92), Buccaneers right tackle Tristan Wirfs (No. 85), and Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (No. 86).

James has always been one of the most impactful safeties in the NFL since he was drafted in 2018. The defensive performance has been a bit of a roller coaster in recent years, on top of his own health and availability taking hits early on, but no one can truthfully say he still isn’t one of the best at his position. Oddly enough, as Hetherington pointed out in the article, James had an uncharacteristically-low Pro Football Focus grade for the 2023 season. It was the lowest mark of his career by over 17.0 points and was dragged down quite a bit by a career-low 57.0 coverage grade. When you look at his career arc, James’ overall season grade has actually gone down every single season. His rookie campaign, the one in which he earned a Second-Team All-Pro nod, was graded out at 88.3. He’s since earned an 82.3 (2019), 78.1 (2021), and a 77.3 (2022). At the same time, his coverage grades have also gone down a same pattern, falling each and every year.

Now I can’t say for certain that his role and how he’s been used has truly been the cause of this, but it’s not that crazy to point out that his worst three seasons have coincided with Staley’s putrid defenses. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how things shake out in year one under Jesse Minter and if James all of a sudden sees a massive boost in his season grade, well then maybe we’ve got out answer.