Chargers Training Camp is on the horizon.

The Bolts will hold more than a dozen open practices at The Bolt and will also practice twice at the University of San Diego in early August.

What are the top storylines and position battles to watch later this month?

Chargers.com will take a look at each position group leading up to training camp. Up next? The linebackers.

Who's on the roster?

Daiyan Henley, Denzel Perryman, Troy Dye, Del'Shawn Phillips, Junior Colson, Marlowe Wax, Emany Johnson, Lander Barton

Camp Outlook

The Chargers linebacker room is almost running it completely back from a season ago.

And it's a position that has shined with its depth over the past few seasons.

"Another position group where, there's eight, all are really good," Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said. "That's another position group where everybody out there is a real NFL player."

Seven of the eight linebackers on the roster heading into camp were on the roster heading into last year's training camp.

Led by Daiyan Henley, they have been able to provide quite the production no matter who is out there, and aim to continue that trend under new Chargers linebackers coach Sean Spence.

Henley remains the mainstay of the unit, with 33 starts for the Bolts over the last two years. He led the team in total tackles with 103 and added 3.5 sacks, two picks and five pass breakups last season.

But his role as a leader continues to be one of the biggest factors as to why he'll once again wear the green dot in the middle of the defense.

"That's the first thing I noticed, he's a leader," Spence said. "I tell him we're going to need him to be a leader for us to be a good defense.

"We're going to need him to play with the confidence and the swagger that he's always played with, we need him to bring the energy every day and every play, down in and down out," Spence said. "I know he's up for it."

Behind Henley is a bevy of experience.

Denzel Perryman, Troy Dye and Del’Shawn Phillips all return to the room after a year where each saw significant defensive action at various points in the season.

"I'm a blessed man, I'm not going to lie," Spence said about the veterans. "There's a lot of veterans in that room, guys that played a lot of football, played a lot of meaningful football.

"It makes the coaching easier, it makes the transition a lot smoother," he added.

They are backed up by a pair of younger players in Junior Colson and Marlowe Wax, the latter of which played in all 17 games in a reserve role, with Emany Johnson and undrafted free agent Lander Barton rounding out the group.

Player to Watch: Daiyan Henley

Henley pushed a difficult 2025 season on and off the field, whether it was a serious illness he played through in September and or the tragic loss of his brother in early November.

Heading into the new year, he's looking to take a leap onto another level.

"I plan to make a jump every year," Henley said. "If I wasn't sick at all, if I didn't have those weeks of being ill it would be having those seasons and wanting to be better.

"It's always about growing and reevaluating what you did before and making sure that doesn't remain the same," Henley added. "You always want to continue to progress and get better."

Henley has steadily taken a step in each of his two seasons as a starter and has his sights set on doing just that once again.

It could only spell great things for a Chargers defense that is now under Defensive Coordinator Chris O'Leary.

"For me to make a bigger jump, which is to get back up in the tackle margins, get more turnovers," Henley said. "I did have more turnovers but I want to have more than that. I want to make a statement to be a guy that makes those plays in a time of need.

He later added: "Not only that, but more is never enough because if you have that success, you're going to have that feeling and want more success."

Key Question: Does a young player battle for playing time in the room?

A crowded veteran room naturally means competition for defensive snaps.

But could Junior Colson and Marlowe Wax break through to gain some of them?

Colson is entering his third season in the NFL in what's been an up and down start to his career.

After battling injuries as a rookie, Colson missed the 2025 regular season last year after suffering another injury.

Now, he goes into this new training camp motivated to show what he's capable of.

"I think he has the potential to be a linebacker in this league," Spence said. "He's big, he's fast, he can run, he can get off blocks, he's smart, he's passionate about the game, he's passionate about learning and getting better.

"The biggest thing with Junior is just staying healthy," Spence added. "I think that's probably his biggest thing, but he's a player who can play in this league, for sure."

With Wax on the other hand, his presence on special teams was key in 2025 and showed a bit of what he could do on defense in the Week 18 against Denver playing with the reserves.

The Chargers boast a lot of depth and competition at many positions, and linebackers fall right into it.

Training camp will go a long way for Colson and Wax to show what they could do and if they could garner some of those snaps during the regular season as well.