NFL.com’s Tom Blair recently spotlighted one underappreciated player from each NFL team heading into the 2025 season, and for the Los Angeles Chargers, the nod went to safety Elijah Molden — a former cornerback whose career trajectory changed dramatically after a trade and a position switch.
“After a fitfully productive, injury-marred start to his career in Tennessee,” Blair wrote, “Molden was traded to the Chargers last year and flourished under coordinator Jesse Minter, starting 12 games and logging three picks, seven passes defensed and 75 tackles, all personal highs, before landing on injured reserve with a broken fibula.”
Elijah Molden Named Los Angeles Chargers’ Most Underappreciated Player by NFL.com
The former third-round pick out of Washington didn’t just find his footing in Los Angeles — he thrived. His move from cornerback to safety proved to be a career-defining shift. “The former cornerback’s switch to safety paid off,” Blair noted. “He ranked sixth in the NFL at the position in EPA when targeted (-12.3), per NGS, and fit in well with Derwin James and Alohi Gilman.”
Molden’s instincts and versatility helped solidify a revamped Chargers secondary that allowed James to return to his most effective role in the slot. Despite missing the final stretch of the season with injury, Molden’s 2024 campaign was impactful enough to earn a three-year, $18.75 million contract extension.
“There is something satisfying when a change of scenery really clicks for a player,” Blair added, “with a new coaching approach or better surrounding circumstances unlocking an underlying talent or ability to contribute, and that certainly seems to be what happened with Molden.”
With a new deal in place and a clean bill of health expected for training camp, Molden is poised to shed the “underappreciated” label altogether — and emerge as one of the most complete safeties in the AFC.
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