Derwin James Jr.

Lore & Background

James attended Auburndale High School in Auburndale, Florida before transferring to his hometown Haines City High School in Haines City, Florida. He was rated by Rivals.com as a five-star recruit and was ranked as the best safety and fifth best player overall in his class. James committed to Florida State University to play college football as a freshman, being offered a scholarship after his freshman year in high school. He entered his true freshman season at Florida State in 2015 as a backup, but eventually became a starter.

As a freshman in 2015, James played in 12 games with 91 tackles, 4.5 sacks, four passes defended, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. Before his sophomore season, James was ranked as the third-best second year player, behind only Josh Rosen and Calvin Ridley, by Lance Zierlein. On September 13, 2016, it was revealed that James would undergo knee surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear and cartilage damage. Recovery time required 5 to 7 weeks.

His sophomore year was short-lived, as James only played two games with 11 tackles and an interception. He was granted a redshirt for his following year, and as a redshirted sophomore in 2017, he played in 12 games, finishing with 84 tackles, two interceptions, 11 passes defended, and a sack. On December 7, 2017, James decided to forgo his remaining two years of eligibility and enter the 2018 NFL draft.

Reader's Guide

The Los Angeles Chargers selected James in the first round (17th overall) of the 2018 NFL draft. James was the second safety drafted in 2018, behind Alabama safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (11th overall, Miami Dolphins). On June 1, 2018, the Chargers signed James to a fully guaranteed four–year, $12.38 million contract that includes an initial signing bonus of $7.09 million. James entered training camp slated as the starting strong safety, but suffered a hamstring injury that limited his progress.

Head coach Anthony Lynn named James the starting strong safety to begin the regular season, alongside free safety Jahleel Addae. On September 9, 2018, James made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Los Angeles Chargers' home-opener against the Kansas City Chiefs and recorded three combined tackles (two solo), broke up two passes, and made his first career sack on quarterback Patrick Mahomes during a 38–28 loss. On September 23, 2018, James recorded nine combined tackles (seven solo), deflected a pass, and had his first career interception on a pass thrown by Jared Goff to tight end Gerald Everett in the end zone during the second quarter of a 35–23 loss at the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3.

In Week 9, James collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (nine solo) during a 25–17 victory at the Seattle Seahawks. On December 2, 2018, James had three combined tackles (two solo), a season-high three pass deflections, and intercepted a pass thrown by Ben Roethlisberger to tight end Vance McDonald during a 33–30 victory at the Pittsburgh Steelers. On December 18, 2018, it was announced James was named to the 2019 Pro Bowl, marking his first Pro Bowl of his career.

He earned first team All-Pro honors. He started all 16 games as a rookie in 2018 and produced a total of 105 combined tackles (75 solo), 3.5 sacks, 13 pass deflections, and three interceptions. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. James was ranked 31st by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2019.

Pro Football Focus gave James an overall grade of 87.8 in 2018. In 2019, James was placed on injured reserve to begin the season, returned in Week 13, and finished with 34 combined tackles (23 solo) and one pass deflection in five games and five starts. In 2020, he was placed on season-ending injured reserve after surgery to repair a torn meniscus.