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KeAndre Lambert-Smith #84 of the Los Angeles Chargers breaks the tackle of Dicaprio Bootle #17 of the Detroit Lions to score a 15-yard touchdown during the second quarter of the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio on July 31, 2025. Nick Cammett/Getty Images
Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith has won praise from his head coach and quarterback for his playmaking ability during training camp.
Lambert-Smith has had an outstanding camp after being drafted by the Chargers in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. His success reached a new high over the weekend when a clip of him catching a touchdown pass during practice went viral on social media. Head coach Jim Harbaugh and quarterback Justin Herbert heaped praise on the rookie at press conferences Monday.
“They’ve made a bunch of plays,” Herbert said of Lambert-Smith and fellow rookie, second-round pick Tre' Harris. “We’ve asked them to do a lot. We’re asking those guys to fill in and play multiple positions, and they’ve done a great job picking up the offense. They just go out there and make plays, and they continue to get two feet inbounds and adapt to the NFL, and it’s been really fun to see.”
Herbert praised Lambert-Smith specifically for his deep ball tracking and his ability to adjust himself along the sideline.
“[I]t’s a skill that [is] hard to learn, but it’s either, kind of, you got it or you don’t. And he definitely does. He’s made a bunch of plays like that where he just has a great feel for the sideline, understanding where the ball is and how to go up and get it at the high point. So, it’s really good to see from a young receiver like that.”
Lambert-Smith showcased his skillset during Saturday’s practice in a clip posted by the Chargers. Herbert takes a snap and fakes a handoff to his running back. He then launched a high-arcing ball down the sideline to Lambert-Smith, who hauled it in while being covered by cornerback Deane Leonard for a touchdown. Lambert-Smith threw up his hands and shouted while Harris came over to celebrate with him.
The clip went viral on X, with more than 3.4 million views since Saturday.
That catch was not the only touchdown he scored that day. In a second clip posted to the team’s Instagram page, Herbert takes a snap from the shotgun and fakes a handoff, then throws a pass to Lambert-Smith over the middle; the receiver jogs into the endzone.
Indeed, Lambert-Smith has been a human highlight reel on the Chargers’ X page. One video, which has garnered over 100,000 views, shows him making two acrobatic catches during a July practice: in the first clip, he makes a leaping catch in front of Leonard along the sideline; in the second, he twists his body to make a catch along the sideline away from coverage by corner Cam Hart. The Chargers also posted a clip from a one-on-one drill in which Lambert-Smith makes a leaping catch over Leonard along the boundary, then pirouettes in the air and taps both feet inbounds; that clip has nearly 400,000 views. Still another clip shows him beating Hart in a one-on-one.
Lambert-Smith was also the Chargers’ leading receiver in the Hall of Fame Game. He had two receptions for 43 yards and a touchdown in the 34-7 win over the Detroit Lions.
Lambert-Smith played four years of college football at Penn State. He had modest statistics, catching 116 passes for 1,598 yards and 11 touchdowns in his time with the Nittany Lions. He transferred to Auburn in 2024, catching 50 passes for 981 yards and eight TDs with the Tigers. Lambert-Smith was drafted with the 158th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He was the second receiver taken by the team; the Chargers selected Tre' Harris with the 55th pick in the second round.
Harris has also made a few highlight reel plays, including a leaping catch behind linebacker Troy Dye.
Harbaugh praised both rookies for their big plays.
“This is two days in a row where KLS will make a play, and then there’s Tre‘ Harris, and there’s another Tre’ Harris, and then there’s another KLS, and then there’s another Tre', and then two KLS’s, and it just goes back and forth,” Harbaugh said. “And you come out of the practice—both practices, yesterday and the day before—made splash plays. [They’re] both really doing well with their assignments, and that’s the kind of good competition... they’re friends, and it’s really good and healthy for our team.”
John Rigolizzo is a writer from South Jersey. He previously wrote for the Daily Caller, Daily Wire, Campus Reform, and the America First Policy Institute.
