Where Chargers' Derwin James landed in PFF's top 101 players of 2025

Chargers safety Derwin James ranked No. 52 on PFF's top 101 players of 2025 list.

Here's what PFF had to say about the 29-year-old star:

James was the eighth-highest-graded safety in the NFL this past season, playing a significant box role. He earned PFF grades above 70.0 in both coverage and run defense, and his eight combined sacks and quarterback hits were tied for the lead at the position.

James earned his second All-Pro honors at slot cornerback last season. He finished the regular season with 94 total tackles with seven passes defended, 2.0 sacks and six tackles for loss.

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Jame thrived in Jesse Minter's defensive system, which should remain somewhat the same with Chris O'Leary as the new Chargers defensive coordinator.

In the past two seasons, the Chargers ranked sixth in defensive EPA per play (-0.069) and were tied for sixth in success rate (42.1 percent).

Moreover, the Bolts were third in total points allowed (641) over the last two years, which averages out to just 18.9 points per game.

O'Leary revealed the foundation is set for the unit, but the team will look to improve and add where necessary.

"The two things we're going to focus on, No. 1 we're going to elevate what we do well. The foundation of our defense, we're going to elevate that," O'Leary said. "We're going to do what we do better.

"The second thing we're going to do is we're going to evolve the defense. We're going to add things, we're going to tailor things to the players, the personnel that we have going into the season," O'Leary added. "We're really focused on taking what we built and the foundation that's laid and taking it to another level."

This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: Where Chargers' Derwin James landed in PFF's top 101 players of 2025