Jesse Minter offered some foreshadowing back on August 14.
The Chargers Defensive Coordinator was asked about cross training defensive backs to play multiple spots in the secondary ... and gave a great answer in the process.
"No. 1, it's for their own individual value for the roster and trying to put themselves in the best position to be that," Minter said. "And then for us, you have to be really careful sometimes of, 'Who is the next best football player?' If your fourth guy goes down, I want the next-best player in the game. OK, he's a safety? A corner? A nickel? I want the next-best player in there.
"I think we try to approach it that way when teaching the guys positions. It doesn't always perfectly line up like that. A corner can't always go in there and play safety, and vice versa," Minter added. "But I do think the versatility allows you to try and keep your best players out there and try to have that next-best guy available. And then for those guys, create value for yourself."
Enter Elijah Molden, a defensive back whom the Bolts traded for on Wednesday while sending a 2026 seventh-round pick to the Titans.
Molden was a standout cornerback in high school and was the state of Oregon's No. 2 overall prospect before he signed with Washington. He thrived there, too, as the Titans made him the No. 100 overall pick in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Molden began his NFL career as a cornerback as he played 451 of 706 total defensive snaps in the slot, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).
But after missing nearly all of the 2022 season with an injury, Molden made the transition to safety in 2023.
PFF tracked that Molden lined up at safety (274 snaps) more often than at slot cornerback (198 snaps). And he also spent 222 snaps in the box, too.
Put another way, Molden is still just 25 years old and offers the versatility that Minter raved about above in training camp.
Now, Molden can be a depth piece at safety behind Derwin James, Jr. and Alohi Gilman. Or he could fill in at cornerback in a pinch of the Bolts need him there.
Add in the fact that Molden has played 100-plus snaps on special teams, and it appears the Chargers added another chess piece who can help out in a variety of ways.
