What will the Chargers’ defensive line rotation look like in 2024?

“I’m impressed with all of them. I just say those two because they’re the oldest in the room, leadership-wise. Scott Matlock, Chris Hinton, Jerrod Clark, all those guys are developing and doing a great job. I’m very impressed with all of them. CJ Okoye is doing a great job. (Otito Ogbonnia) is phenomenal. I think we have a very strong room and the draft pick with Justin (Eboigbe) — he’s a worker. He was very well-trained at Alabama. He does a lot of the same things that we do here in this system. It’s been an easy transition for him. It’s a very good room.” – Elston on the position group.

Harbaugh praised the entire interior defensive line, but he singled out Matlock in particular.

“He’s all about his job, his work, the team,” Harbaugh said of Matlock. “A lot of what he does, like a lot of leaders, is not what they say, it’s what they do. What you do speaks so loudly that you don’t even hear what you’re saying.”

The 2023 sixth-round pick saw some action early in the season before really seeing action ramp up in the final games of the year.

And now in his sophomore year, Matlock is someone who has stood out not only in the defensive line room, but across the entire team.

With snaps to distribute in the defensive line room, the second-year player has a chance to carve his way into a solid role.

“Everything he does, everything he does, from the huddle to the practice environment, to the workouts. He’s there every day. I mean, the power of There Every Day — TED — is so powerful,” Harbaugh said. “There’s no question that you get better at football by being there every day. Nobody has to wonder if Scott Matlock or somebody who’s there every day is going to be there.

“You just look in the seat and there they are, ready to go, sitting on a spring, ready to train,” Harbaugh added. “Sometimes already taped up, dressed and ready to roll. Not only do I see it, but everyone sees it.”