Working with backups

Spiller has primarily worked with the second- and third-team offenses at training camp, but Daniel Popper of The Athletic notes that the rookie's "physicality is starting to pop" now that the Chargers have started padded practices.

The rookie fourth-round pick will need more than brute strength and determination to earn a role, but those traits certainly help when competing for part-time work behind a smaller, versatile back like Chargers starter Austin Ekeler. While previous draft picks Joshua Kelley (2020 fourth-round choice) and Larry Rountree (2021 sixth-round choice) failed to take advantage of similar opportunities the past two years, Spiller still has time to make an impression this summer. If he fails to do so, the Chargers could go with Rountree or Kelley off the bench or else could use an unpredictable rotation the way they did for much of last season.