Chargers Add Physicality At The Line of Scrimmage in 2026 NFL Mock Draft

The LA Chargers head into the 2026 NFL Draft in an interesting position, to say the least. In the 2025 season, LA finished 11-6 behind a stellar season from Justin Herbert and Jesse Minter’s defense. However, the season ended quite abruptly with a 16-3 Wild Card loss to the New England Patriots.

While Herbert did have a great season, the offensive line was clearly struggling to find answers all season long, with both of their tackles being out with injury for most of the season in Rashawn Slater and Jose Alt. Herbert, at many points during 2025, had to make plays on the run and was one of the most hit quarterbacks in the NFL. Alt and Slater should both be back for the start of the 2026 season, which will provide a huge boost to the offensive line, especially after the addition of center Tyler Biadisz.

The only questions up front are who the starting guards will be when Week 1 comes around. Minter led a top-five defense, stopping opposing teams' passing and rushing attacks with great success. The only downside is that now Minter is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, which has Chris O’Leary stepping into the role of defensive coordinator for LA.

The Chargers also lost pass rusher Odafe Oweh to free agency, who was one of their more productive players on the edge. When looking at what Los Angeles needs for 2026, there are several places they could use early picks on. If there is a high-level interior offensive lineman available, that is an option to replace the struggles they had and the loss of Zion Johnson.