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It's hard being on the roster bubble in any training camp, particularly in the NFL. Practices are hard, bodies take a toll, and jobs are on the line. For that every rep is precious. They must be executed with proper precision. If not, a player's chances of making the 53-man roster decrease by the day. It can be a nerve-wracking experience. Players all across the NFL are going through this exact experience in order to secure a roster spot and bolster their livelihood. The Los Angeles Chargers are one of those teams.
Three players, in particular, need to ball out in preseason action in order to sharpie a spot for themselves on the Chargers' 53-man roster.
John Hightower
John Hightower has bounced around the NFL. He was a fifth-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Boise State but caught only 10 balls that season and wasn't retained afterward. He hasn't played in an NFL game since then and has bounced around the league. That could be changing. Per Daniel Popper of The Athletic, Hightower is showing out in camp for the Chargers. He writes that Hightower has caught 27 passes in camp, eight of which have gone for touchdowns. Those marks rank second and first on the team (Keenan Allen is the only one with more camp receptions).
With numbers like that, it would be assumed that Hightower is a lock to make the roster. Not quite. Unfortunately for him, the Chargers are pretty stacked at receiver. Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are still Pro Bowl-caliber receivers. They just used two draft picks on TCU wide receivers in Quenton Johnston and Derius Davis, the latter of whom should be a special teams contributor. Josh Palmer is still around and is a fine tertiary option. That's already five receivers not including Hightower nor Jalen Guyton, a deep threat who is rehabbing a torn ACL on the physically unable to perform list (PUP).
Popper also writes that Hightower's chances to make the Chargers' roster depend on whether or not Guyton can recover in time for the regular season. Maybe so. But if John Hightower can carry his camp momentum into preseason games, Guyton's status might not matter for Hightower's chances of making the 53.
Dustin Hopkins and Cameron Dicker
NFL teams simply don't carry two kickers on their roster. After years of cycling through kickers, the Chargers finally stumbled upon two good ones. Dustin Hopkins is a good place to start. Ever since arriving in Los Angeles after getting cut by the Washington Commanders, Hopkins has been money. In 16 games, he's made 27 of 30 field goal attempts (90%) and 42 of 44 extra point attempts (95.45%). The saying goes that kickers aren't fully appreciated until you need one, and Hopkins has definitely done his job for the Chargers.
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That is, when he's been able to do his job. Hopkins played in just five games last season after kicking through a hamstring injury. His injury paved the way for the Chargers to sign Cameron Dicker.
DICKER THE KICKER FOR RED RIVER IMMORTALITY. pic.twitter.com/TxSd92mPpX
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 6, 2018
Dicker the Kicker was awesome in 2022. Between the 10 games he played for the Chargers and the other he played for the Eagles, Dicker went 21-22 on field goal attempts (95.45%) and made all 24 of his extra points.
Both have played well for the Chargers, but only one can make the 53. Who will that be? Well, the leader in the clubhouse looks to be Dicker. Not only has Dicker excelled in camp but Hopkins is injured again. What the actual injury is has yet to be revealed, but Hopkins is injured and hasn't kicked in a while in camp. Dicker's path to making the 53 looks clear. But solid performances in preseason games should cement his spot as the Chargers' starting kicker.
Moving Forward
Training camp is all about competition. Whether that competition is at wide receiver or kicker, it's still the same. John Hightower has an uphill climb to making the 53-man roster. It's a coin flip who earns the starting kicker job between Cameron Dicker and Dustin Hopkins. Both are solid options and could latch on somewhere else if they don't make it with the Chargers (Hopkins has to get healthy first in order for that to happen). But a big preseason and those guys should make the Chargers' 53-man roster at the end of the month.
