Chargers think best is yet to come from Derwin James in Year 2 of Jim Harbaugh

Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James is one of the best in the NFL at what he does, yet that won’t stop him and the people around him from expecting even more in 2025.

New Chargers safeties coach Adam Fuller embodied this mindset in a recent interview while chatting about his plan for the safety room and how he plans to deploy James and others in coordinator Jesse Minter’s scheme.

And Fuller made it clear he thinks the best is still to come from James.

"He hasn't even reached his ceiling, there's so much there for him," Fuller told Omar Navarro of Chargers.com. "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."

A year ago, James experienced a resurgence of sorts in Minter’s scheme, especially when being able to play closer to the line of scrimmage and in the slot.

It’s a development not lost on Fuller and the staff: "Sometimes it's not a technique, but it's perspective and using his experiences and the defensive staff's experience and Coach Harbaugh's to try to help and keep elevating him. You could tell he's excited for it. You can tell they did a great job with him last year, but there's still a lot more out there for him."

Injuries eventually played a role in James moving around while depth names like Tony Jefferson were called into action.

But this desire to maximize James’ talents where he’s best fitted remained a theme of the offseason, especially when the Chargers got Elijah Molden an extension.

For some, it might seem strange to think that a 28-year-old James can still be even better. But the fact he’s going into Year 2 in a new system that maximizes his strengths while the overall depth chart improves gives the uncanny idea a good chance of happening on the field.

Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James — Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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