Derwin James, Jr. has punctuated a stellar season with an All-Pro accolade.
James, who is listed as a safety on the Bolts roster, earned Second-Team All-Pro honors at slot cornerback, The Associated Press announced Friday morning.
James' versatility was a key reason why the Chargers defense finished the regular season with the fewest points allowed (17.7 per game), marking the first time the Bolts had the league's No. 1 scoring defense in the Super Bowl Era.
"Just consistently a great player in any situation you put him in, any position you put him," Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said earlier this season. "His flexibility, he is off the charts. And then he grades out right around that A, A+ category every single game.
"Plus, what he brings in terms of leadership to the team. It's at the elite level," Harbaugh continued.
Harbaugh later added in early December: "He's like Willie Mays. A five-tool plus player that can do it all."
James, a Pro Bowler in 2024, played 986 defensive snaps this season but mostly manned the slot cornerback role as he lurked near the line of scrimmage.
According to Pro Football Focus, James played 361 snaps at slot cornerback and another 281 snaps in the box. He was also credited with playing 97 snaps along the defensive line.
In the simplest terms, James' ability to play anywhere close to the line of scrimmage caused headaches for opposing offenses and allowed the 28-year-old to constantly wreak havoc on game day.
Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter said earlier this season that James' versatility allowed the Bolts defense to get to any and every play within their scheme.
"To me, he's like the head of the snake," Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter said. "He drives everything with his mindset, his approach.
"He's willing to line up anywhere we ask and attack it with a crazy amount of focus and detail and competitiveness and spirit," Minter added.
Chargers safeties coach Chris O'Leary added: "Elite. That's just the word that comes to mind. Elite person, elite competitor, elite football player… He's the best I've been around."
James' do-it-all approach was on full display in 2024 as he regained the mantle as one of the NFL's more dominant defensive players.
In pass coverage, he shut down tight ends on a weekly basis. It was James who had the game-sealing interception to finish off a win in Atlanta.
Opponents also quickly learned not to run to whichever side of the field James was lined up on.
And James brought the heat as a pass rusher, too, finishing with a career-best 5.5 sacks in Minter's scheme. That included a 2.0-sack day in New England when James helped the Chargers clinch a playoff spot.
Through it all, James — the most-recent AFC Defensive Player of the Month — rediscovered his love for football and said in December that this was the most fun season he'd ever been apart of.
"Even right now, I can't wait to come to work tomorrow," James told Chargers.com. "I'm having that much fun and it's exciting."
Overall, James finished the regular season with 93 total tackles (60 solo) to go along with 5.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, seven passes defensed, an interception, a fumble recovery and six quarterback hits.
This is the fourth AP All-Pro selection of James' career.
He was a First-Team selection at safety as a rookie in 2018 and also earned Second-Team All-Pro honors that same season at defensive back. The Associated Press recently added slot cornerback as a position instead of defensive back.
James was a Second-Team All-Pro at safety in 2022.
