Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart were among the revelations on defense for the Chargers in 2024.
The duo both began the season as reserves but eventually ascended into key roles for Jesse Minter’s group.
As the 2025 season approaches, it’s not hard to imagine both players becoming even better in Year 2.
ESPN’s Ben Solak identified the 20 most important rising sophomores on defense heading into the season, and included the pair of fifth-round Chargers cornerbacks on his list.
Still impressed the ESPN analyst with what he was able to do once he stepped on the field as he led the Bolts in interceptions (four) and passes defensed (10) last season.
And he showed much more than you would expect from a rookie.
By Week 6, the Chargers needed players at outside corner, so they threw Still into the fire.
He shredded. Still just gets it. A zone-cover corner through and through, Still is extremely comfortable playing with his eyes in the backfield and relating to routes as they develop around him — very instinctive. When forced to get connected to receivers, he has the explosiveness to stay in phase, and he plays the ball wonderfully through the catch point. Plenty of his pass breakups last season came when he never found the ball, but he knew how to play the receiver’s hands. When he did see the football, he reliably caught it, turning four PBUs into interceptions, tied for second most among all rookies.
The ESPN analyst is high on what Still can offer the Chargers defense and will have his eye on what kind of second act the young cornerback can produce in 2025.
Still seems like one of those smart defenders that coaches just can’t wait to get on the field, and I’m curious to see how L.A. does it this season. My guess is he’ll start on the outside when the team is in the nickel (the Chargers prefer to play three safeties in their nickel sets), and then move to the slot when they want to get a third corner on the field. Flip-flopping can be an enormous ask for veteran players, let alone a second-year fifth-round pick. If Still can keep up the ball production in the slot, where his quick reactions might be even more potent, he’ll unlock a new level of versatility in the Chargers’ already excellent pass defense.
