The Chargers are 0-3, and the early-season stock report is already splitting in two directions.
On one side is Justin Eboigbe, who has turned a handful of snaps into a legitimate reason to keep watching. On the other are the Chargers’ offensive questions, where Quentin Johnston’s fifth-year option, Trevor Penning’s sudden starting role, and the state of the line are all drawing the kind of scrutiny that usually comes with a team trying to patch holes, not build around young talent.
Eboigbe’s latest flash came in the Week 3 loss to Buffalo, when he forced a fumble on the Bills’ first play. That play fit the broader picture around him: he has six pressures and two QB hits so far this season, and his snap share has climbed to 60%. For a Chargers defense that has had to absorb a 0-3 start, that kind of steady increase matters because it is happening in real game time, not just in projection.
The defensive interior has been one of the few places where the Chargers can point to something resembling stability. Even in a season that has been hard to find silver linings in, the interior has been described as staunch. Eboigbe has been part of that, and the week-to-week growth has been noticeable enough that he is being framed as a possible rising defensive star rather than just another rotational lineman.
That matters more because the rest of the roster picture is so uneven.
The Chargers still need Dalvin Tomlinson back at nose tackle before the defensive line can feel whole again. Without him in Week 3, Buffalo ran for 154 yards on 24 carries, with James Cook repeatedly able to test the front. The numbers are blunt, and they underline how much Tomlinson’s absence changes the shape of the defense.
There was at least one other defensive note worth tracking from the loss: if there was any real riser beyond Eboigbe, it was Smith, who continued to carve out a meaningful role. Tart has also been productive while playing 51% of the team’s defensive snaps. Those are the kinds of developments that can keep a defense from collapsing while the rest of the roster sorts itself out.
But the Chargers’ offensive side is where the concern keeps stacking up.
Trevor Penning was thrust into the starting role in Week 3 with both Trey Pipkins III and Kayode Awosika out, and the setup was already precarious. Penning is currently the protection solution on the left side, and if either Awosika or Pipkins were healthy, he would have essentially no path to snaps on this line. Awosika was spotted in a walking boot on crutches after Week 2, which only sharpened the urgency around the position.
His Week 3 performance against Buffalo did not help. It was not inspiring, and the broader line picture was only slightly better: no other Chargers lineman outside of Rashawn Slater allowed more than one pressure in the matchup. That detail keeps the focus on Penning without pretending the entire unit was clean. It also helps explain why the Chargers have shown a preference for Logan Taylor’s upside at tackle early in the season.
Quentin Johnston sits in a different kind of spotlight, but the concern is just as real. Through three games, he has six receptions for 64 yards on 16 targets, with four drops and a 47.8 contested catch rate. His yards per route run is down to 0.78, the lowest of his career. For a player whose fifth-year option is set at $18 million and fully guaranteed for the upcoming season, that is not a small early-season wobble. It is the kind of start that forces the team to think about what it is paying for and what it is actually getting.
That is the tension running through the Chargers’ young-player evaluation right now. Eboigbe is giving them something concrete on defense. Johnston is giving them reasons to hesitate. Penning is being asked to hold together a spot he would not otherwise be occupying. Tomlinson’s absence is still shaping the front. And with the Chargers sitting at 0-3, the next stretch is less about abstract development and more about which of these bets is actually working.