Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh hasn’t been shy about singing the praises of quarterback Justin Herbert since being hired in 2024 and Herbert isn’t the only member of the team who elicits those kinds of reactions.
Safety Derwin James is also in that category. James had seven tackles in Monday night’s win over the Raiders and he deflected a pass that was picked off by teammate Donte Jackson in the fourth quarter. After the game, Harbaugh said that James was “flying around” all night and went on to call him “the best safety I’ve ever seen in the history of the National Football League.”
Harbaugh was then asked what James does to be on top of that list. Harbaugh said “there’s nothing he’s not great at” while rattling off some of the things that jump out to him about James.
“It’s like being around greatness every day, whether it’s the practice environment, the training environment, the meeting environment, the way he is on the sideline and most of the way he is and during the game. He’s incredible. It’s just enthusiasm unknown to mankind. When he tackles, he gets him down. He can cover, he can play any position in the in the secondary. I guess what jumps out the most is he can play nickel, he can play dime backer, he could play corner, he could play in the deep half, he can play in the deep middle, he can blitz. You have to compare him to Willie Mays at that point. He’s a five-tool, six-tool secondary player. It’s incredible what he can do. . . . It’s like Superman when he puts on the armor, when he puts on that suit and wears that number three. He’s donning the cape. He’s a Superman out there.”
Others could make good arguments for different players as the best safety in league history, but trying to convince Harbaugh of their argument would likely be a fruitless task. James is the quarterback of the defense for the Chargers and continuing to do everything Harbaugh wants from him in that role will mean more odes to his ability in the future.
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Safety Derwin James is also in that category. James had seven tackles in Monday night’s win over the Raiders and he deflected a pass that was picked off by teammate Donte Jackson in the fourth quarter. After the game, Harbaugh said that James was “flying around” all night and went on to call him “the best safety I’ve ever seen in the history of the National Football League.”
Harbaugh was then asked what James does to be on top of that list. Harbaugh said “there’s nothing he’s not great at” while rattling off some of the things that jump out to him about James.
“It’s like being around greatness every day, whether it’s the practice environment, the training environment, the meeting environment, the way he is on the sideline and most of the way he is and during the game. He’s incredible. It’s just enthusiasm unknown to mankind. When he tackles, he gets him down. He can cover, he can play any position in the in the secondary. I guess what jumps out the most is he can play nickel, he can play dime backer, he could play corner, he could play in the deep half, he can play in the deep middle, he can blitz. You have to compare him to Willie Mays at that point. He’s a five-tool, six-tool secondary player. It’s incredible what he can do. . . . It’s like Superman when he puts on the armor, when he puts on that suit and wears that number three. He’s donning the cape. He’s a Superman out there.”
Others could make good arguments for different players as the best safety in league history, but trying to convince Harbaugh of their argument would likely be a fruitless task. James is the quarterback of the defense for the Chargers and continuing to do everything Harbaugh wants from him in that role will mean more odes to his ability in the future.
Jim Harbaugh: Derwin James is the best safety I've ever seen
Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh hasn't been shy about singing the praises of quarterback Justin Herbert since being hired in 2024 and Herbert isn't the only member of the team who elicits those kinds of reactions.
www.nbcsports.com
