Chargers Training Camp Report: Elijah Molden’s Interception Highlights Day 13 Defensive Focus

The Los Angeles Chargers returned to the practice field for Day 13 of their 2026 training camp on Saturday, running about 90 minutes of work in full pads. According to the team’s official training camp report, the emphasis leaned heavily toward defensive execution, and it showed in the most consequential moment of the session.

In the late portion of practice, the Chargers completed a 2-minute drill, a setting designed to mimic urgency and decision-making in game situations. The team’s report credited cornerback Elijah Molden with an interception during that segment, a play that served as the centerpiece of the day’s defensive finish.

Molden’s interception capped a broader defensive showing that the Chargers described as the unit “winning the day.” While training camp practices are rarely interpreted like formal game results, the way a defense performs through situational reps often provides an early look at how well communication, technique, and coverage responsibilities are lining up.

Beyond the final drill, the Chargers’ Day 13 schedule included the kind of structured practice flow teams use to build consistency across multiple phases. The report specifically noted that the squad practiced in full pads, underscoring that this was not a walk-through day and that contact and competitive reps were central to the session.

The timing also matters. Training camp is a long runway, and late-week practices tend to show which units have tightened their assignments as the preseason approach grows clearer. A defense that can hold its shape through extended work and still create turnovers in pressure situations typically indicates more than one good rep, it suggests process.

For Molden, an interception in a situational drill is the kind of highlight that can reinforce trust in coverage responsibilities. Even without a full statistical picture from camp, the Chargers’ decision to spotlight the play in their official report indicates it stood out to the coaching staff as both a correct read and a timely finish.

What to watch next is how the Chargers carry this defensive momentum into subsequent practices. If the team continues to feature the defense in late-game style situations, it will likely affect how quarterbacks are coached to manage risk, and how defenders are deployed in combinations designed to generate turnovers.