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Tre Harris debuts for L.A. Chargers as NFL Rebels flood Week 1

Ben Garrettby: Ben Garrett09/05/25SpiritBen
NFL: Los Angeles Chargers at Los Angeles Rams
Aug 16, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Tre Harris (9) catches the ball against Los Angeles Rams cornerback Cam Lampkin (33) in the secnd half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Ole Miss football on Thursday had two former Rebels make their 2025-26 season debuts in the NFL. 

Eighteen more will join them this weekend, including second-round rookie wide receiver Tre Harris for the Los Angeles Chargers Friday night against the Kansas City Chiefs. Harris is now teammates with former Ole Miss cornerback Deane Leonard.

Kickoff is 7 p.m. CT on YouTube and NFL+. Harris was the third Rebel off the board in the 2025 NFL Draft, behind only defensive tackle Walter Nolen (first round, Arizona Cardinals) and quarterback Jaxson Dart (first round, New York Giants.) The Chargers took Harris in the second round as the No. 55 overall selection.  

Nolen is opening the year on the Physically Unable to Perform List. Dart is starting out as QB2 behind Russell Wilson. The Giants are at the Washington Commanders on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT. 

All-time Ole Miss great Laremy Tunsil was traded to the Commanders from the Houston Texans in the off-season and will start at left tackle opposite Dart and Co. Trey Amos was a second-round selection of Washington and could draw the start at cornerback.

Dart in the preseason completed 32 of his 42 passes (68.1 percent) for 372 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed for 52 yards and another score.

“Dart’s got that aura about him,” Giants running back Devin Singletary said. “Coming in as a rookie, he’s not nervous about anything. He’s attacking everything head-on. He’s not afraid to make a check if he has to. You can see he can make all the throws. We got ourselves a dog with JD, for sure.”

AJ Brown, one of the greatest players in program history, had just one catch for eight yards in a 24-20 win over EDGE Sam Williams and the Dallas Cowboys. 

Brown in February became one of just 15 Rebels in history to win a Super Bowl.

He gave the graduation commencement at Ole Miss in the spring.

Brown finished the year with over 1,000 yards receiving for the fifth time in his now-seven NFL seasons. Brown was named All-Pro for the third straight year. Ole Miss linebacker Chance Campbell is on the Eagles’ practice squad.

Brown left Ole Miss in 2018 as the Rebels’ career leader in receiving yards (2,984) and 100-yard receiving games (12).

“I know my city is so proud of me,” Brown said. “I’m proud to be a Mississippian. Blue-collar state, you have to grind for what you want. I’m happy I’m from there. It taught me a lot.”

Williams got the Week 1 start for Dallas in Philadelphia. 

It marked the 26-year-old Williams’ return to NFL action since losing all of the 2024 season to a torn ACL. 

Williams logged a team-high five QB pressures. He also tallied five tackles while playing 62 percent of the defense’s snaps. Fellow Cowboy and former Rebel Jonathan Mingo, a wide receiver, started the season on IR with a PCL sprain. He’s out 4-6 weeks.

The Seattle Seahawks traded wide receiver DK Metcalf to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the off-season for a second-round draft pick. He signed an extension with the Steelers for five years and $150 million. 

Metcalf was a two-time Pro Bowler over six seasons in Seattle. He caught 438 passes for 6,324 yards and 48 touchdowns. Metcalf has had three seasons of 1,000 receiving yards or more since 2019. His other three still went for at least 900 yards.

“DK is a lead-by-example guy,” Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers said. “He’s a big reason I’m in Pittsburgh — conversations we had and just the kind of person that he is. At the start of the year, I didn’t really know DK at all. He’s like, ‘I work out at 6 a.m. every day.’ I’m like, OK, this guy has discipline, this guy has a drive.’ I said, ‘How about 8 o’clock because I’m gonna have to drive from Malibu to UCLA?’ He said, ‘Yeah, that’s fine.’

“He’s not just a specimen, but he’s a really solid human being. He’s a solid, solid dude, and he leads by example. The way he practices, I think that’s one of the most encouraging things is the room goes how the top dog goes.”

Other NFL Rebels include …

Tavius Robinson and Dayton Wade (Baltimore Ravens), Dawson Knox and Elijah Moore (Buffalo Bills), Princely Umanmielen (Carolina Panthers), Jaylon Jones (Chicago Bears), Daijahn Anthony and Cedric Johnson (Cincinnati Bengals), Evan Engram and DJ Jones (Denver Broncos), Isaac Ukwu and Kenny Yeboah (Detroit Lions), Malik Heath (Green Bay Packers), Ulysses Bentley IV, Laquon Treadwell and Trey Washington (Indianapolis Colts), JJ Pegues (Las Vegas Raiders), Benito Jones and John Saunders Jr. (Miami Dolphins), Ben Brown and Mark Robinson (New England Patriots), AJ Finley, Jared Ivey and Chris ‘Pooh’ Paul Jr. (Seattle Seahawks) and Jordan Watkins (San Francisco 49ers).

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