Chargers Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman, wide receiver Joshua Palmer and tight end Hayden Hurst took the podium at The Bolt on Day 6 of Chargers Training Camp.
Below are three takeaways from their media availability on Tuesday:
Tomlinson kicks off Bolts practice
Before the Bolts kicked off Day 6 of training camp, they got to hear from a special visitor.
Pro Football Hall of Famer and Chargers legend LaDainian Tomlinson spent the day touring The Bolt in El Segundo and made his way to the practice field just before the session began.
Tomlinson walked onto the field talking with Head Coach Jim Harbaugh as he gathered up the team.
After a brief message and introduction of the Chargers Hall of Famer, Harbaugh set the stage for Tomlinson to address the team for a couple of minutes.
Wide receiver Joshua Palmer spoke about Tomlinson's message to the team.
"About how much he misses the game, how much he appreciated the game," Palmer said. "How we should attack each practice, each game eventually when the rosters are made knowing that Coach Harbaugh is going to pick the best roster to help us win those games. And to not take any day for granted."
Players and coaches alike listened to what the Pro Football Hall of Famer had to say.
Chargers Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman said he even got goosebumps listening to the legendary running back talk as his playing days inspired some of the things he does today.
"That was awesome. What an unbelievable player," Roman said. "LT, what he did when he was here, had an impact on how I taught certain things in the run game especially. Just how he persevered.
"I had the ol' goosebumps going when he was talking," Roman added. "It was unbelievable."
Having a player the caliber of Tomlinson talk to the team is something everybody appreciated in a big way.
"What an unbelievable person and legacy he left with the Chargers organization," Roman said. "It was an honor to have his address us."
Tomlinson set or tied a total of 28 team records during his time as a Charger, including marks for career rushing yards (12,490), rushing touchdowns in a season (28) and total touchdowns (153).
TEs finding their way in the run
In just two days of padded practices, the Bolts identity of being a physical team is taking shape according to tight end Hayden Hurst.
"I think today, a lot of the guys got a taste of what it was going to be like," tight end Hayden Hurst said.
Tuesday's practice was a physical one, as it consisted of 9-on-7 drills that included all run plays and other 11-on-11 team drills.
Hurst believes the pads coming on over the last couple of days has helped the tight end unit have a better understanding of where they stand in the blocking portion of the offense.
"I think jerseys and stuff look good, post pictures and all that stuff," Hurst said. "But pads come on, it's real football to figure out where you're at and what you need to work on."
Hurst later added: "When you go 9-on-7 run periods, run emphasis like that, the run game starts to come to life and real football happen. Collisions are different, you're not just fitting guys up. You start to see what the run game is going to kind of be like."
The tight end room is one of the most important on offense — and Roman believes each of them bring their own unique skill that will help the unit.
The key is finding what will work best once the season comes along.
"The things with tight ends, every tight end is different," Roman said. "How much we're going to use them doing this, this or that?
"They're kind of the chess pieces you can move around inside the defense," Roman added. "It's going to be interesting, we're really putting a lot on their plate."
Palmer turning heads at WR
Joshua Palmer came up clutch Tuesday afternoon when he connected with Justin Herbert for a 2-minute drill touchdown.
The result didn't surprise Roman.
"What a pleasant surprise in the sense that, he was working through something this spring and he's coming out and he looks good," Roman said of Palmer. "Really working hard, real diligent.
"Josh is a very, very meticulous guy, very detailed oriented and it shows in his play because he takes [wide receivers coach] Sanjay Lal and [they] talk about technique," Roman added. "You can see it immediately transfer in practice."
Palmer noted Tuesday that after an offseason of turnover in the wide receiver room, he's simply looking to help the whole room get better rather than focusing on himself.
"I feel like I'm 'a guy' in the room. I don't really like singling myself out as 'the guy,'" Palmer said. "I'm just a guy who has a lot of wisdom that I got from who I would look at as 'the guys' [in Keenan Allen and Mike Williams].
"Anything that was passed on to me, I'll pass down that I know. I'll continue to learn more and hopefully guys are as hungry as I am and ask questions," Palmer added. "The more I teach, the more I learn myself. That's pretty much how I see it."
That includes learning yet another new offense, something that has been a theme throughout Palmer's career even dating back to college.
"At Tennessee I had different OCs and different head coaches, so I was used to adjusting and completely scrapping a playbook and learning a new one," Palmer said. "This is no different. For the new guys that are here, this is the only offense they know.
"For the older guys, DJ [Chark] has been on a few teams so it's not like he's new to learning new plays," Palmer added. "At the end of the day though, a curl route is going to be a curl route. It's just like when does [Roman] want us to run it, certain leverages, splits, stuff like that."
Palmer had 38 catches for 581 yards and two scores over 10 games in 2023.
