Welcome back to the Chargers Mailbag!

We'll run a Mailbag each month during the offseason. Send in submissions for the Mailbag on Twitter @EricLSmith or by email at eric.smith@chargers.nfl.com.

Off we go...

What's the biggest little thing that's gonna take Justin Herbert to the next level? (Lindsey via Twitter)

A fun question to start us off, especially as the pairing of Justin Herbert and Mike McDaniel has dominated the offseason chatter at The Bolt and among fans.

To me, McDaniel had the perfect line a few weeks ago when asked why he's tinkered with the quarterback's footwork in the shotgun in recent months.

"I'm trying to find the margins," McDaniel said.

Put another way, McDaniel knows that Herbert is an elite quarterback. Only a few other players on the planet can match Herbert's skillset, so the new Chargers Offensive Coordinator is looking for small ways to enhance his game ahead of their first season together.

A quick refresher on the whole footwork thing: when in the shotgun, Herbert now has his left foot forward instead of his right, which is switch from what he's done in previous seasons.

The reason for the change? Herbert, who is right handed, obviously puts his left foot forward when throwing the ball. By having his left foot already in front in the shotgun, Herbert can now save a half second or so and simply get the snap and make a quick throw instead of sitting back in the pocket.

Envision Ladd McConkey taking a 5-yard route and turning it into eight yards on first down. Second and 2? Pick up the first down and keep moving. The Bolts offense will be all about efficiency and simplicity under McDaniel.

Look, we all know how much of a strain the 2025 season was for Herbert.

He was sacked 54 times in 2025, the second-highest total in the league, and also faced a league-high 263 pressures. Herbert also endured countless hits behind numerous different offensive line combinations and played the final month of the season with a fractured left hand.

Reducing the wear and tear on his body from the get-go — something that already started with a scaled back throwing program this offseason — should keep Herbert fresher for the upcoming season, with the hopes that he is healthier for postseason football.

The month of July is a quiet time around the NFL but it's also full of optimism, too.

When looking at the Bolts offense, they now have an elite trio at key spots with Jim Harbaugh, McDaniel and Herbert. The offensive line should benefit from the return of Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, and is vastly deeper than a season ago.

Add in a bevy of skill position players such as McConkey, Quentin Johnston and Omarion Hampton, and the Bolts appear primed to be one of league's top offenses under McDaniel in 2026.

Tweaking Herbert's footwork certainly qualifies as a "big little thing" in my opinion. And it will be fascinating to see just how good Herbert can be with the change.

Any concern Rashawn Slater won't reach his high level of play pre injury? I've heard that athletes are never the same after the type of injury he had. (Yari via Twitter)

Zero concern from me.

Rashawn Slater has been bitten by the unlucky injury bug at times in his career. But when he's been on the field, he's also been among the league's absolute best players at his position.

There's a reason the Chargers paid him as handsomely as they did last summer when the team and Slater agreed on a massive multi-year contract extension. Simply put, Slater is elite.

Now, a torn patellar tendon certainly isn't as simple to return from as a sprained ankle or something like that.

But Slater has always been a different cat. Remember that he was a Second-Team All-Pro selection as a rookie and has been a two-time Pro Bowler in his career.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 315 pounds, Slater might not have the ideal size or build that other offensive tackles do. Yet he consistently wins by using a combination of technique, skill and power.

Personally, I would put Slater among the two or three best players on the entire Chargers roster. The Bolts dearly missed him last season and his return almost seems a little underrated if you ask me.

Slater has proved the doubters wrong in college and throughout his NFL career. I expect him to do it once again this season.

How is the relationship developing between Daiyan Henley and Chris O'Leary? Any growing pains in the way plays are called and the over defensive scheme concepts? (Mike via Twitter)

So far, so good.

Of course, it helps that Henley and O'Leary aren't complete strangers as they were around each other in 2024 when O'Leary was the Chargers safeties coach.

And it helps that O'Leary's system is going to be closely tied into what Jesse Minter what doing, even if there are some variances along the way.

"It has that Coach O'Leary feel to it, but he's making it an easy transition for us," Henley said. "He's making it to where we have a bit of the past, a bit of the new, but he's making it to where it doesn't have the same identity.

"This is his defense, we're going to play it the way he sees it fit and he's making it easy to learn," Henley said. "The best way he's doing that is by showing us how it operates within what we were already doing. We're learning from our past selves, but we're evolving."

Henley wears the green dot as the signal caller on the Chargers defense and has earned that right in recent seasons with both his high level of play and increased leadership on the field and in the locker room.

Spring practices were all about laying the foundation and setting the standard of what O'Leary wants his defense to look and feel like this season.

Training camp, however, will be a different animal as the unit will look to ramp up the intensity and perfect the little details ahead of the 2026 season.

Henley, who will be smack dab in the middle of the defense, will be critical to that part of the equation. But all signs so far point to a strong and healthy rapport between the two.

Besides left guard, what's another position you're expecting a real camp competition at? (David via Twitter)

This one was easy.

Safety!

Yeah, left guard is the obvious answer because it might be the only spot on offense where things aren't fully settled.

But on defense, safety is a position that many people have pointed to that will foster the most competition in camp and the preseason.

The group is led by Derwin James, Jr., but we can almost remove him because he spends so much time as a slot cornerback, a position where he's earned back-to-back, Second-Team All-Pro honors.

If we do that, then imagine we have two starting spots at safety, one of which can likely be penciled in with Elijah Molden.

That leaves one spot between a trio of Tony Jefferson, RJ Mickens and Genesis Smith, each of whom bring a different skillset to the field.

Jefferson is a veteran leader and a heavy hitter who has aged like fine wine in his career. Mickens flashed as a rookie and should be even better in Year 2 while Smith was the star standout this spring as he drew praise from teammates and coaches alike with his range and productivity in the secondary.

And we haven't even mentioned Kendall Williamson, a key special teams player who stayed with the Chargers this offseason as an exclusive rights free agent.

That's six safeties right there, and maybe all six make the roster. Or maybe the Bolts only keep four or five at that spot.

The battle for playing time and defensive roles will be fierce later this summer, and O"Leary recently said that everyone will get a chance to shine.

I'll be keeping a close eye on the safety rotation once the first camp practice begins on July 29.

Who's the starting tight end going to be? (Sean via Twitter)

All of them? None of them?

I could see a world where the Chargers essentially have three starting tight ends on the roster in Oronde Gadsden, Charlie Kolar and David Njoku. Because each one is likely going to play a pivotal role on offense under McDaniel.

Gadsden is a field stretcher who was among the league's best success stories as a rookie last year. Kolar is one of the NFL's best blocking tight ends who probably has some untapped potential as a pass catcher. And Njoku is a veteran who can do a little bit of everything.

Perhaps one game plan under McDaniel features Gadsden and Njoku teaming up to stress out opposing defenses in the passing game. Or maybe we see Kolar and Njoku on the field together in a run-heavy scheme one Sunday.

And you can guarantee that McDaniel will find a way to get all three of them on the field at the same time in '13 personnel,' which features one running back and three tight ends.

The rise of '13 personnel' was a hot topic across the league in 2025 but the Bolts didn't have the bodies to dabble in that scheme as much as other teams.

Thanks to some strong offseason moves from Chargers GM Joe Hortiz and his staff, the Bolts now boast a deep tight end room that could rival any other team if they can reach their full potential.

All of this is a long-winded way of saying that the Chargers aren't going to have a player dominate the room like Hall of Famer Antonio Gates used to do.

Maybe one player emerges throughout the season and takes on a larger role, but I fully expect McDaniel to employ all three players in various ways to keep defenses on their toes this season.

Thanks to everyone for the great Mailbag submissions. I hope you and your family and friends have a safe and happy July 4th holiday. Chargers Training Camp looms in only a few short weeks.