Rookie Discusses Career-First Start Vs Denver

Not a whole lot went right in your Los Angeles Chargers' 16-9 loss to the Denver Broncos Sunday, its fourth straight and seventh in its last eight.

But one younger Charger made the most of a golden opportunity.

Fifth-round rookie left guard Jordan McFadden notched his first-ever NFL career start, after normal starter Zion Johnson was inactivated after hurting his neck in a workout during the week, per Eric Smith of Chargers.com.

"A little bit of butterflies because you want to play well for the organization, the guys in this locker room," McFadden said of how he felt leading up to the big moment. "Definitely a little bit of butterflies."

"But after you get out there, at the end of the day it's just football," McFadden said. "That's what I reminded myself every time before I took the field. It's football, just do what you do. Definitely butterflies but settled in for sure."

The 6'2", 303-pound Clemson product avoided penalties and was available for every play on offense. Interim head coach Giff Smith was apparently a fan.

"When you don't hear a guy on the offensive line, it's a good thing. He did well," Smith said. "I think he proved he's an NFL player and obviously a good draft for us so we're excited about him. Hopefully we get Zion back but definitely with McFadden moving forward, we're really pleased."

As Smith notes, left guard was a bit of a positional change for McFadden, as he primarily served as a tackle while a Tiger.

"Definitely challenging," McFadden said of the adjustment. "At guard, everything happens a little bit faster than at tackle."

"Especially early in training camp, getting used to that was big for me," McFadden added. "Once again, I had Zion and Jamaree [Salyer] to kind of help me, talk about things with me, so that was really helpful. I appreciate them for that for sure."

We're glad that at least one intriguing young prospect is bolting up.