Chargers Training Camp is rapidly approaching.

The team will host 17 open practices as they welcome fans back to The Bolt in El Segundo. (Note: two of the practices will be held at University of San Diego.)

The Bolts are looking to build on an 11-win season and playoff berth in Year 2 of Head Coach Jim Harbaugh, as the competitiveness has gone up another level throughout the offseason.

Chargers.com will take a look at each position group and battles leading up to training camp. Next up, the defensive backs.

Who's on the roster?

Cornerbacks: Tarheeb Still, Cam Hart, Donte Jackson, Benjamin St-Juste, Ja'Sir Taylor, Deane Leonard, Trikweze Bridges, Nikko Reed, Myles Purchase, Jordan Oladokun, Eric Rogers

Safeties: Derwin James, Jr., Elijah Molden, Alohi Gilman, Tony Jefferson, RJ Mickens, Kendall Williamson, Emany Johnson, Jaylen Jones

Camp Outlook

It only took one season for Derwin James, Jr., to reclaim his title as one of the best in the game.

The Chargers safety earned Second-Team All-Pro honors after a massive season in Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter's scheme that allowed him to move around and thrive.

Another year of familiarity with the position and the coaches is something James is looking forward to as he continues to be a driving force in the secondary.

"It's not my first time going through it with these coaches, so it's not like an experimental thing," James said. "I feel like this year, Year 2, honing in on it has been a lot of fun for me. Be free, play fast."

Chargers safeties coach Adam Fuller added: "He hasn't even reached his ceiling, there's so much there for him. And the greatest thing is he wants it more than anybody. Those are the people that inspire you to be better, just to find ways."

James' success in the slot was helped thanks in large part to the safety group behind him, which returns most of the contributors from a year ago such as Molden and Gilman.

Molden, who returned to the Chargers ahead of free agency, had a career season, while Gilman provided a steady hand on the backend.

The familiarity with each other and the system is something they feel is a big difference heading into another year.

"It feels good, it's a little more comfortable for everyone, just the consistency," Gilman said about the safety group. "Obviously last year, we were learning the system, Elijah was added after camp. Feeling it out, learning the system, gaining relationships with the coaches.

"Having that consistency that puts everybody in the positions that allows everyone to be at their best," Gilman added.

The team also brought back the veteran Jefferson, who stepped up in a big way in his return to football last season, and drafted Mickens in the sixth round to add a rookie to the group.

Williamson, Johnson and Jones (undrafted free agent) round out the depth of the position.

Meanwhile at cornerback, it's shaping up to be a position with a lot of competition in camp.

Still headlines the group after leading the team in interceptions as a rookie and holding down a starting role for most of the season.

He's displayed those ball skills so far in the offseason program and continues to settle into the NFL, as he and Hart will have a chance to carve out a role heading into Year 2.

"It's extremely competitive right now," Chargers defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale said. "Tarheeb and [Hart], those guys were rookies last year, now they're the cream of the crop, they're trying to get better.

"The older guys that we brought in are competing with them and then some of the guys that's been around, that's improving the last two years, are giving them competition as well," Clinkscale added.

The veteran additions included Jackson and St-Juste, both of whom have a lot of experience in the NFL and offer something different for the group.

"It was almost like one of those two for ones, where we lost a guy, felt like we could use some depth there, a mixture of size and speed," Minter said.

He later added: "At corner nowadays, sometimes you're kind of trying to create a little bit of like a basketball team where you can match up differently on different people."

They join a room that has other players, like Taylor and Leonard, who have also seen their fair share of NFL action and will be in the mix as well.

The Chargers used a draft pick on Bridges in the seventh round, while Reed, Purchase, Oladokun and Rogers were added following the draft as free agents.

Player to Watch: Tarheeb Still

Still made the most of his opportunities when they came and took over a starting spot as a rookie.

He finished in the top 10 of passer rating against and run defense grade among rookie cornerbacks with at least 300 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. He was also top five in defense (73.7) and coverage (73.3) in the same category.

And now he has a chance to further solidify himself in the 2025 version of the Chargers defense.

The young cornerback has gotten praise this offseason for his work in the building, whether it is alongside veterans like Khalil Mack or growth in the film room.

He feels even more confident about where he's at now having a full offseason in the NFL.

"I would say having my eyes in the right spot, knowing what I'm looking at, knowing my keys because that could take me where I need to be. I'm really just having my eyes in the right spot, making sure I'm over communicating with the linebackers, other corners, safeties."

Not only that but as Still continues to grow as a player on the field, he's also developing into one of the leaders of the defense as well.

"And the thing I'm seeing him do? I'm seeing him lead," Clinkscale said. "It's in the front, he runs and tries to win every sprint, he's in the front of every drill.

"He's talking to the young guys because he was just there this time last year," Clinkscale added.

Another big year from Still could mean great things for the young Chargers defense that is looking to build on last year's successes.

Key Question: Who lines up in the secondary when Week 1 kicks off?

As last season showed, the odds are there will be many who will have to step up as the year goes along in the secondary.

But that doesn't mean the battle for playing time won't be fierce when the pads come on during training camp to see who starts in Week 1.

Minter expects a lot of key playing time to be settled once the practices get going in live action.

"I think that's great competition there going into training camp," Minter said. "I told the guys this, I look at OTAs and minicamp as not really competition, it's more you're chasing execution, chasing learning the system, chasing standards of how you practice. The real competition ramps up when you can press, you can play the ball, you can be competitive.

"I expect all that stuff of who's playing where, and when, to shake out in camp," Minter said. "I'm certainly excited about all the variable types of pieces that we have now."

James will surely line up somewhere, whether it be in the slot or elsewhere, which leaves the other cornerback and safety spots as an area to watch.

Nonetheless, it's a good problem to have — the more depth, the better.

"The more guys you have that can cover people, in my opinion, the better," Minter said. "Look forward to having all those guys and letting it shake out."