The Los Angeles Chargers have been looking for a big-play wide receiver rookie wide for the last few seasons and they may have found him in rookie 5th round draft pick KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who continues to impress in training camp. Lambert-Smith, known on the team as KLS, had another productive practice last Saturday, August 2, catching two deep passes from quarterback Justin Herbert for touchdowns.
Lambert-Smith has been impressive in getting separation from defensive backs. On his first deep touchdown reception, Lambert-Smith beat corner Deane Leonard on a go route despite being held by Leonard. The second deep ball reception was a beautiful long pass from Herbert for 53 yards that hit Lambert-Smith in stride down the middle of the field.
Lambert-Smith had a good performance in last Thursday Night’s Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio, catching two passes for 43 yards and a touchdown in the Chargers 34-7 win over the Detroit Lions. The game was decided by turnovers, with the Lions committing five turnovers to none for the Chargers.
Charger quarterback Trey Lance played the first three quarters, completing 13 of 20 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Kimani Vidal rushed for 41 yards and two touchdowns, while both Hassan Haskins and Nyheim Miller-Hines each had 34 yards rushing. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman shared his thoughts on the Chargers performance after Saturday’s practice.
“Trey did a really good job,” Roman said. “Winning football. I really can’t point to anything that was detrimental to the team, and he did a lot of really good things that were good for the team. It was a good start for him. He really put us in a position to be successful, which is the quarterback’s job.”
“KeAndre had a big day,” Roman said. “He took the practice field to the game. I thought Kimani did really well out there. All the running backs, I thought they ran really hard. I thought some of the young lineman did a nice job.”
Rookie undrafted quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who played his high school football at St. Johns Bosco in Belflower, drove the Chargers 72 yards for a score in the fourth quarter, completing 2 of 3 passes for 25 yards. Roman was happy with his performance and is very happy with his four quarterbacks on the roster, starting with Herbert.
The Chargers backfield is loaded and Roman said of his running backs, “Right now we are really happy with who we have.” With first round draft pick Omarion Hampton and free agent acquisition Najee Harris, who has rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons in the NFL, there is a lot to be happy about with the backfield. The competition between Vidal, Haskins, Miller-Hines, and Jarrett Patterson will make it difficult for head coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff when it comes down to reducing the roster to 53 players.
Hines is the only player in NFL history to have a game with two kickoff-return touchdowns and a game with two punt-return touchdowns in his career. He can help 2023 All-Pro Derrius Davis with the return duties, especially if Davis gets more involved in the passing game. Hines is 28 but does not look like he has lost a step. In college at North Carolina State, Hines ran a best of 10.34 seconds in the 100 meters.
Saturday’s practice was the 12th practice of training camp and was followed up by the 13th training camp practice on Sunday. Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter met with the press after Sunday’s practice and talked about the Hall of Fame Game.
“Great to be out there, great to see the guys compete,” Minter said. “We talked really just about trying to play the way that we play. Thought the guys played really hard, I thought we tackled well. I thought we were pretty physical overall. Obviously, I thought they did a good job of attacking the ball. Great to see a lot of young players make plays in their first real opportunity.”
Sixth round draft pick R.J. Mickens, a defensive back out of Clemson, was mentioned by Minter for a great open field tackle he made in the game. Veteran defensive back Tony Jefferson said of Mickens, “R.J. is a baller. Versatile guy: can play in the box, deep, very good tackling ability, he showed up on tape being physical, and he is smart. He has the bloodlines. His father was in the league. You can plug him in anywhere like a chess piece.”
Both Minter and Jefferson praised undrafted rookie cornerback Nikko Reed, who played the past two seasons at Oregon. Reed, who has had a terrific training camp to this point, intercepted a pass and returned it sixty yards to the Detroit six-yard line, setting up a short touchdown run for Vidal. Minter’s defense came up with three interceptions in the game, while the special teams recovered two fumbles.
The 2025 version of the Chargers looks deeper than the 2024 version of the Chargers and has a year of experience in Roman’s offense and Minter’s defense. It will be interesting to see if they can build on their impressive performance against the Lions this Sunday, August 10, when they take on the New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The game will kickoff at 1:00 pm and will be televised on the NFL Network.