Chargers DC Chris O'Leary Loves What He Sees From Rookie Safety Genesis Smith

The Los Angeles Chargers appear to be in a great spot heading into the second week of the preseason after defeating the Houston Texans last Thursday. In that game, several players seemed to perform quite well, which should hopefully continue heading into this Thursday's game, where the Chargers will be at home against the San Francisco 49ers. Speaking of players performing well, Chris O'Leary seems to be pretty excited about rookie safety Genesis Smith and his play thus far. During Sunday's media availability, O'Leary had some great things to say about Smith, which seems to indicate that he is loving what he is seeing from the rookie thus far. "Awesome. His ceiling is so high. Like, I think he's progressing really well right now. You saw him make some tackles. You know, he had an opportunity at an interception if he tapped his feet in the end zone. But you can see the flashes when he's out there," O'Leary said. "What I love is he's at a position week one of preseason and now in practice where he's playing football. He's not out there thinking, which, you know, can get rookies a lot of times. So, I think he's in a good spot, and he's going to keep getting better," O'Leary added. As a rookie, Smith definitely has plenty of time to develop, and with that he seems to be someone the coaches are high on as O'Leary talked about Smith's ceiling and the fact that Smith will continue to get better over time. O'Leary also touched on the fact that Smith looked pretty solid in the reps he got against the Texans and mentioned that Smith had an opportunity for an interception, but even so, it was a good performance from the rookie as he tallied two tackles and one pass breakup. Another thing that O'Leary mentioned was the fact that Smith looks like he is playing football and not thinking and that is very important for rookies as many of them can overthink things. As a result of Smith being able to play freely because he has adapted well to the NFL style thus far, he gives himself more opportunities than most rookies to understand the playbook and make big plays, like he almost did last Thursday on his near interception. With Smith's first NFL game now under his belt, he should only get better and put himself in a great position heading into the regular to earn reps whether that is on defense or special teams. On that note, Smith does have some work to do if he wants to become a rotational player in the secondary for Los Angeles. The main reason Smith has some work to do is primarily due to him being listed as the third-string safety on the Chargers' first unofficial depth chart for 2026.  On the depth chart as the third-string safety, Smith is behind two solid veteran safeties in the form of Derwin James Jr. and Tony Jefferson, which is not a bad place to be at all. As Smith continues to progress, he could learn a lot from both James and Jefferson in how to process and play as an NFL safety, but also how to prepare and put himself in the best position possible to succeed. Heading into 2026, Smith has an incredible opportunity to learn from James and Jefferson, and if he does so effectively, he could give himself a chance to earn significant reps on special teams and potentially become a key piece in the Chargers' secondary throughout 2026 or the early part of 2027.