Next up is UDFA safety Noah Avinger!
Let’s jump in!
The Basics
Height: 5’11
Weight: 188 pounds
College: Utah State/San Diego State/New Mexico
Experience: Rookie
Avinger was a three-star prospect who earned All-State honors twice at Servite High School in Cerritos, California. His first stop in his collegiate journey was to stay near home and play for San Diego State University. In two active seasons (he redshirted in 2023), Avinger totaled eight starts in 25 games played. He posted 51 tackles, two tackles for loss, five pass breakups, one interception, and a forced fumble from 2021-2022.
After sitting out the majority of the 2023 season, Avinger transferred to New Mexico where he earned Honorable Mention All-Mountain West honors after starting 12 games. That year he recorded 91 total tackles (career high), 2.5 tackles for loss, one interception, five pass breakups, and a fumble recovery he returned for a touchdown.
For his final year of eligibility, Avinger transferred once again to Utah State. He started all 12 games for the Utes en route to earning First-Team All-Mountain West honors after racking up 84 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack, 10 pass breakups, and three interceptions.
Avinger went undrafted in 2026 before signing as an undrafted free agent with the Chargers.
The Good
Avinger showed great production as a senior in his lone year with Utah State. He led the team in pass breakups (10) and picked up three passes. While he does not possess ideal long speed, he exhibits some very natural ball skills and nuance for the position that helps make up for some physical shortcomings.
At the Utah State pro day, Avinger jumped 42 inches in the vertical and 11’4” in the broad. Both of those numbers would have been some of the best marks at this year’s combine.
The Bad
Despite playing mainly cornerback in college, Avinger is making the transition to safety in the pros due to his lack of long speed and agilities. At his pro day, his explosion numbers were great and 17 reps on the bench press is fairly impressive for his size, as well, but his profile tells us he’s built to be a box safety, not a back-end ranger that the Bolts need depth at.
2026 Outlook
Avinger has his work cut out for him to make the team’s final roster as he’s walking into a stacked safety room. He’s currently at the bottom of the depth chart out of seven safeties and he’s joining the team the same year they drafted Genesis Smith in the fifth round. The Chargers are not likely to keep more than four or five safeties on the active roster which means one or two will be kept on the practice squad. Kendall Williamson has also shown to be a reliable special-teamer which means he’d have the upper hand on the PS spot.
Right now, I think it’s safe to say Avinger will end up having to scratch and claw to remain with the Bolts past this summer in any capacity.
