COSTA MESA, Calif. — The Los Angeles Chargers held their 10th practice of training camp Tuesday at Jack R. Hammett Sports Complex. They were not in pads after an off day Monday.

Here are my notes, takeaways and observations.

A surprise emergence at wide receiver

The most surprising performer in Chargers camp has been receiver John Hightower — and it has not really been close.

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Hightower entered this spring and summer as a relative afterthought in a loaded Chargers receiver room that includes Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Joshua Palmer and rookie first-round pick Quentin Johnston. The Chargers also drafted a speed receiver in the fourth round in Derius Davis, and they have Jalen Guyton working his way back from a torn ACL he suffered early last season.

This was going to be an extremely tough position to crack for any of the young and undrafted receivers trying to earn a 53-man spot. But through 10 practices, Hightower has faced down those long odds and made an unavoidable case for making the active roster — about as strong a case as he could make under the circumstances.

Hightower has caught 27 passes in team drills in training camp. Only Allen has caught more among Chargers wide receivers with 46.

Perhaps more impressively, eight of Hightower’s receptions have gone for touchdowns, by far the most of any Chargers receiver in camp. Allen is second with three touchdowns.

GO DEEPER

Chargers training camp: Defense gains the edge over short-handed offense

Hightower added his eighth touchdown reception in Tuesday’s practice. The second-team offense, led by backup quarterback Easton Stick, had stalled out early in its two-minute drive. It was an end-of-game situation. The offense started at the minus-47-yard line, trailing by three points with 42 seconds remaining. Stick threw incomplete on the first three snaps of the drive, facing significant pressure on both second and third down. On fourth down, the unit needed a miracle with 26 seconds left.

Stick dropped back, and Hightower came free down the middle of the field on a post route. He sprinted past safety JT Woods, who was caught flat-footed from his center-field position. Stick delivered a beautiful deep ball, and Hightower hauled it in for a go-ahead touchdown.

This was Hightower’s fourth touchdown of at least 50 yards in camp. As coach Brandon Staley said earlier in camp, Hightower has “real speed,” and that has been on display on some of these deep shots. Hightower ran a 4.43 40-yard dash at the combine when he was coming out of Boise State in 2020.

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But Hightower’s game is much more than that. He has shown tremendous body control and hand-eye coordination when operating with minimal room along the sideline, like on a toe-tap touchdown he caught in the front corner of the end zone on Day 4. He has also shown shiftiness and refinement in his short-area route running. Hightower has been a real weapon on slant routes, particularly on some of the two-minute drives while working with the second team.

After Tuesday’s practice, Allen complimented Hightower’s “change of direction.” Hightower, a fifth-round pick for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020, signed to the Chargers practice squad in September. He then signed a futures contract with the team after the season.

“He’s making a lot of plays,” Allen said. “John is a guy that came in last year and from the first moment, I told coach, ‘This guy’s got some juice.’ That’s what he’s been doing, he’s showing us what he’s capable of and making plays every day.”

Hightower’s path to the 53-man will hinge largely on Guyton’s timetable.

Allen, Williams, Palmer and Johnston are, of course, locks. Davis will almost certainly make the roster as the Chargers’ primary returner for kicks and punts. Davis, though, still has quite a bit of developing to do — particularly physically — before he is ready to make an impact as a receiver. His role will be predominantly as a returner for his rookie season. And because of that, I can see the Chargers keeping six receivers so they have the requisite depth considering where Davis is at as a receiver.

Initially, that sixth receiver figured to be Guyton. But he remains on the PUP list, and I have not gotten any indication of when the team expects him to be activated. Hightower would be a logical replacement for Guyton on the 53-man.

Hightower gives them the deep-field speed threat that Guyton provides. Hightower’s production in camp has proved he can affect that game in other areas, as well. And he has also been working into the punt and kick return rotations, so he can provide some special teams flexibility, a necessary component for any bottom-of-the-roster player.

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News and notes

• The Chargers seem to be past the worst of the illness that has worked its way through the roster over the past week or so. Left tackle Rashawn Slater, edge rusher Joey Bosa and tight end Gerald Everett returned to practice Tuesday. They had all been dealing with the illness, according to the team. All three players worked back into team drills.

• Cornerback J.C. Jackson returned to practice after missing two straight days over the weekend. He was limited to individual drills but was moving well during the period while tracking passes. This was a positive step for Jackson, who is returning from a ruptured patellar tendon he suffered last season.

• Johnston missed Tuesday’s practice. The receiver is dealing with that same illness, according to the team. Johnston also missed Sunday’s padded scrimmage.

• Other Chargers who returned to practice Tuesday: offensive lineman Zack Bailey, defensive back Kemon Hall, linebacker Blake Lynch and running back Tyler Hoosman.

• Other Chargers who missed practice Tuesday: defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day, edge rusher Ty Shelby, linebacker Nathan East, tight end Michael Ezeike, offensive lineman Nic Melsop, receiver Darrius Shepherd and kicker Dustin Hopkins.

• Safety Michael Jacquet had the play of the day for the defense, picking off Justin Herbert in the red zone during a move-the-ball period. The Chargers’ first-team offense faced the second-team defense in this period. Herbert had moved the offense down the field with completions to Allen, Everett and Williams. Isaiah Spiller had also ripped off four successful runs. Facing a first down from the plus-16-yard line, Herbert fired a pass to his right. Jacquet jumped into the passing lane and made a leaping catch. Jacquet joined the Chargers in August of last year before spending most of the season on the practice squad. He played mostly outside cornerback in 2022 but has transitioned to safety for his second season with the team.

• Herbert and the first-team offense responded with a successful two-minute drive to close practice. Herbert connected with Allen on three straight completions, and Cameron Dicker drilled a tying 48-yard field goal. Allen caught nine passes in the practice, with most of them coming against Ja’Sir Taylor in the slot.

the evolution of justin's huddle speech

— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) August 8, 2023

• With Hopkins out, Dicker took all the field goal reps again. During the field goal period, he attempted kicks from 36 yards, 39, 43, 48 and 53. His only miss was from 43 yards. Hopkins has not kicked in team drills since Day 2.

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• Taylor and Asante Samuel Jr. continued their cross-training at outside cornerback and in the slot. Samuel played in the slot during seven-on-seven and for one 11-on-11 period. Taylor was outside for these periods. Taylor took the rest of the reps in the slot. Samuel was outside for these periods. It is going to be rather difficult to get a fair read on this competition until Jackson is participating more regularly in team drills.

• Spiller and running back Joshua Kelley have been splitting reps pretty evenly behind Austin Ekeler. This competition will heat up Saturday when the Chargers open their preseason against the Rams at SoFi Stadium. Proper evaluations of running backs occur when there is live tackling.

(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today)

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