Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter, wide receiver Ladd McConkey and safety JT Woods took the podium at The Bolt on Day 21 of Chargers Training Camp.

Below are three takeaways from their media availability on Wednesday:

McConkey navigating Year 1

Rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey has picked up right where he left off.

After missing some time earlier in training camp, the receiver's return has seen him flash the same he had since he arrived with the Bolts.

"I'm good now," McConkey said Wednesday after practice. "Back out there, 100 percent."

Even with some time missed, the rookie receiver made sure to be as involved as possible to not miss a step on and off the field heading into Year 1.

It made for a seamless transition once he did return, and it's been full steam ahead since.

"They do a good job of making sure we stay mentally locked in," McConkey said. "Going over the scripts, watching the film after practice, going out there and just getting mental reps, trying to stay on top of that.

"Obviously when you come back out there, there might be like getting back into it physical-wise," McConkey added. "But mentally wise you should be locked in even more I think when you're not out there."

The Chargers second-round pick suited up for the first time last Saturday in the team's second preseason game against the Rams at SoFi Stadium, playing 17 snaps.

McConkey caught his lone target, a five-yard catch on third-and-4 that kept the chains moving for the Bolts in the red zone.

Being a rookie in the NFL comes with its learning experiences and for McConkey, that has been in the form of zeroing in even more on a lot of the details at every moment.

"Just really being honed in always, whether you're in the meeting, play, walk-through," McConkey said. "I feel like I did a good job of that coming in but taking it up a notch because the windows are that much smaller, everybody is that much faster, all of that.

"Just locking in and being precise on everything so it can translate into the games," McConkey added.

It's something the rookie wide receiver took from both experience and watching those around him.

He credited watching how his fellow receivers and wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal have approached the position.

"I think the receiver group as a whole," McConkey said. "Coach Sanjay, all of the players. As much as the coaches are in the room, as group you've got to hold each other accountable. I think we've started that and we've been doing well."

Now with the time counting down to the regular season opener, McConkey hopes to continue the growth in his connection with his quarterback Justin Herbert.

"I think where we're at is good," McConkey said. "Obviously we want to continue building that as we go into Week 1, but just getting on the same page, that's the biggest thing.

"Especially when we watch film as a whole, it's like, 'Hey, what do you want us to do on that, do you want us to break in, break out, sit, what do you see," McConkey continued. "I feel like being on the same page.

McConkey added: "At the end of the day, I just want to be at the right spot on the right time because he's going to find us."

Woods in the slot

JT Woods has found himself playing a different position as of late.

The third-year safety has spent some time playing as a cornerback, a move that was first made last week in practice.

He took on the task during the most recent preseason game as well, playing 21 of 28 defensive snaps against the Rams last Saturday at either outside or slot cornerback.

Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter spoke about Woods' move Wednesday and what went into trying it out.

"I think he's got length, size, speed, coverage ability," Minter said. "I think when you do stuff like that, it's for multiple reasons, to increase his value, see if maybe it's a good fit for him. I also think it'll make him better in a safety role as well, his coverage ability.

"I'm just excited about the way he's developed as a man coverage guy and I think there's a multitude of ways we could try to use that down the road to help us," Minter added.

Woods has played just two regular season snaps at outside cornerback during the regular season but has played a bit in the slot during previous preseasons.

The 2022 Chargers third-round pick said he feels good about the recent move and that shares the confidence he feels from those around the organization.

Woods feels comfortable in the role as it's one of those moves that requires more reps to adjust to the change.

"I would say it's one of those things that's easy in theory, very hard in execution," Woods said Wednesday. "From an Xs and Os standpoint, I pretty much know everything just from the safety standpoint the way that I've approached safety, that I've learned from the older guys that is you kind of want to know everybody else's position around you.

"Schematically, I know everything, it's just more about getting physical reps because the technique is completely different," Woods added. "It's a whole different world out there."

Woods said he has spent time with different cornerbacks on the team like Asante Samuel, Jr., Kristian Fulton and Ja'Sir Taylor, asking them any questions he may come up with.

As expected, there's a lot of big changes that have come with the move, particularly starting with being a lot closer to the play.

"The aggression. You're a lot closer to the ball, so things happen a little quicker and it allows me to play a lot more instinctual, which I think is something that is a really big strong suit for me." Woods said. "It kind of goes back to knowing the whole defense, knowing where my help is inside and out."

Woods later added: "Really just technicality-wise, just being closer to everything makes it that much more important for your first step to be the right step."

Woods has flashed in a short amount of time at the position, notching multiple pass breakups earlier in the week during practice.

Even if he ends up going back to safety, Woods' versatility has a chance to shine for the Bolts defense.

"I do think the versatility is huge for him, it does raise his value," Minter said. "I'm proud of him because he's embraced it and I think he sees himself having a skillset to be able to do all those different things, which has been cool to see and he's done fairly well.

"He's had some success in practice and look forward to seeing him continue to be able to do both as a big piece of our defense," Minter added.

Woods said: "Wherever the team needs me to be and wherever I can add the most value to the team, that's where I'm going to go."

DL room coming together

Both Minter and Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh spoke highly about the defensive line group heading into the summer.

That excitement has manifested itself to this point of training camp, as well.

Minter spoke about the unit up to this point, adding that even though it might fly under the radar around the league, they're going to be able to get what they want out of them.

"I think it's an underrated group," Minter said. "Maybe by whoever, whatever judges that, but I think we're going to get good play out of that room.

"I think they're really bought in to how we're playing, they're really bought in to [defensive line] coach [Mike] Elston and the teaching style and what we're trying to get out of that position," Minter added.

The group, including veterans like Morgan Fox, Poona Ford, Otito Ogbonnia and more, have played throughout the first two preseason games. Even newly signed Teair Tart joined the team late last week and was able to tally a tackle for loss in his debut.

As a whole, the defensive line has notched seven defensive stops as a unit so far according to Pro Football Focus.

Minter continues to be impressed with what the unit can provide for the defense.

"Poona Ford's had a really good camp, Morgan Fox. Tito has made a huge jump, I'm really excited about him and his ability to help us," Minter said. "Picking up Teair was a really good pickup, he's flashed in the short amount of time that he's been here. I'm excited about that room.

Minter added: "I think playing within our defense, playing how we want to play, playing around the players that we have, I think we could get what we need out of the guys we have there."