Official 2026 Chargers Roster Discussion | Roster Build | Free Agency

[Boltx]

Free agency...with 99 million and few draft picks.. ..does not have to be about spending foolishly at the top of the market but it should be at least be about behaving like a team that wants to win a Super Bowl.

You don't have to go crazy but you also don't have to sit on your hands pinching pennies while startable veteran guards are signing with other teams. How about giving MM some decent guards to work with in his system? Mike's system is not infallible. It did not win enough to stop him from getting fired. Mike's system did not mask the rookie guard Miami drafted in the 2nd round last year who was basically the worst guard in football.

Behaving like a serious contender in free agency....

That means you draft proof your roster so you are not relying on rookies in starting positions ....and you are not reaching in the draft because you have left your team desperate. For those who say they are fine reaching for Pregnon at 22 over a top edge rusher I just want to mention that Pregnon is not as good of a guard prospect as Zion Johnson was in 2022 for some perspective. There is a reason he is slotted to be drafted 35-45

That means injury proofing your roster....so you have signed enough playable depth to deal with injuries. What happens if Cole Strange and the rookie guard you draft gets injured? Are you playing Trevor Penning and Branson Taylor in a playoff game?? No one here can tell me multiple o line injuries can not happen. We know better. We are Charger fans.

The Chargers do not have to compete for the most expensive free agents but they should be improving their roster more, not acting complacent like they are already winning playoff games. Jim Harbaugh is going into year 3 without a playoff win. Where is the urgency and seriousness? You play in the AFC West.

Harbaugh and Hortiz came in here preaching offensive line as the most important position group on the team. Yet since drafting Joe Alt 5th overall they have taken mostly half measures. Their 2 year record with o line is not impressive. Not seeing a whole lot different. Center was upgraded but guards and depth is still a major question mark. Do better.

There is this tendency in human nature to do enough to garner some decent praise (hey, back to back 11 win seaons, pretty good Pop), but to not stick your neck too far out there chasing ACTUAL greatness.

I'm not saying this is or isn't Joe Hortiz's mentality. But you have to wonder.

For the record, I don't think Harbaugh thinks this way at all. But what can he do? He is delegating to his GM and position coaches, like a good HC should. I wonder if he is as frustrated as some of us are.

I would have thought the last 2 years of watching your franchise QB get pulverized would have lit more of a fire under these guys. Biadasz was a good start, then it sorta fizzled out.

[CanadianBoltFan]

.
Until we see our 2026 OL in action vs other NFL teams and under the direction of McDaniel and his new assistants, we just don't know.
Past history, sure. What happened, happened. What will happen is far from engraved in stone.
If complaining makes you feel good? OK.
I believe you're going to feel embarrassed when this O gets going. Top 10 across the board. PPG, Run YPG, Pass YPG, Tot YPG. In my opinion.

Do you think after watching over 4 decades of Charger failures....seeing some Charger success that embarrassment is what I will be feeling? More than happy to be wrong.

What will truly be embarrassing would be to see shit o line play for the 3rd year in a row under these guys

And if you don't think the vast majority of Charger fans are frustrated with this passive approach from Hortiz and the Chargers you should look past the small capsule of this posting board. It is hardly about me. Go check out some social media. Go check out some podcasts.

[CanadianBoltFan]

Personally, I'm pretty happy with Tyler Biadasz. Big upgrade over Bozeman.
I'm not as happy about Cole Strange. But... he was probably suggested by McD. He's an upgrade over Becton.

The draft hasn't even happened yet. I like a lot of the IOL prospects. I can see us drafting them in the 3rd and 4th rounds.
One could be a starter at LG... one could be a backup center and develop into the RG. Maybe even compete year 1.

No one has talked much about safety... but O'leary will probably want another safety on draft day... maybe a CB.
He was the safeties coach @LAC after all. With his aggressive style of football... the defensive backfield will have to be solid.

1st: Edge Mesidor or Parker
2nd: Safety AJ Haulcy or CB Keionte Scott
3rd: IOL Brian Parker or Connor Lew
4th: IOL Pat Coogan or Logan Jones

The defense will attack and hit hard... per Chris O'Leary.
The offense will feature a strong running game and creative pass patterns.

I like Biadasz too. Thorn had him #6 of 43 available FA IOL players though I liked the signing before I saw that. Strange didn't even make the list

I think you are a little optimistic with your draft plan. I know you love Parker and he looked good during Shrine week but week 1 starter at LG for a contending team? A lot of hope attached to that.

In round 4 for developing as far as G and competing in year you are losing me. I like Jones quite a bit but think he is strictly a center and Cooghan is a stretch for wide zone. Did you see him stumble around the combine? Worst looking center there in the drills, doesn't seem to have much athleticism.

Nothing wrong with drafting developmental players who can compete to start at some point but this is why you "draftproof" your team in free agency as a contending team so you don't have to rush rookies into the starting line up

As it stands now i dont think they can leave guard to rounds 3 and 4 if they still dont have a legit starter at LG

[beachcomber]

QB Herbert, Lance * is it a given that Justin still has some ceiling to his game
RB Omarion, Keaton, Kimani * not as good on paper as we were last season w/no Najee, and.... we never really had him, so gotta think that the both of Vidal 'n Hampton are still movin' on up + Mitchell is a plus over last season as well
FB Ingold * bless you Mr. Matlock and thank you Alec.... gotta be another upgrade here for us
WR Keenan, Ladd, Harris, QJ, KLS, Derius * know some of you think Allen is backsliding, and.... think again, and.... the others are all still on an upward tick
TE Oronde, Kolar, Jonnu Smith, Tucker Fisk * if so, don't see any backsliding here, albeit we do need to replace Will's fiftysomething catches here.... (and we will)
LT Rashawn * def a red herring, if not red alert, as woulda liked Josh Jones here, and as outside of the first round, am dubious 'bout the draft as a swing tackle resource.... hoping for a June 1 designation here
LG Strange, Ben Cleveland * perhaps a drop off from Zion, and then again we might be better suited for what lies ahead con McUltra & Co.
OC Biada Yada Yada, Parker Brailsford, Bryce Foster * if there's a bigger or better upgrade, it's could only be one thing, and it ain't re: our personnel.... 'tis the other OC.... (let's go)
RG Penning, Keylan Rutledge * it was only one game, and.... Trevor outplayed Mekhi, and fwi may be worth, and yes.... still an upgrade here over Becton, and the draft could even add emphasis to that
RT Joe, Pips * think the latter is Joe's lone mistake so far, and might notta even been him, as it coulda been Jim that weighed in on things, and.... still better w/Alt back than we were

NT Jamaree, Dalvin * leavin' a lotta talent in the draft on board here, and.... a Tomlinson has worked well for us before, and think 'tis safe to say that he is an upgrade over Naquan
DT Teair, Eboigbe * we lost Da'Shawn 'n Otito here, and so yes, think we might need to add here.... do they want Caleb Banks, will they settle for Peter Woods, or.... do we not need more for our star/money packages
ED Khalil, Tuli, Bud, Kennard * 'nother spot where you can point to a drop off without Oweh, and.... wonderin' if O'Leary is good w/four here for now
ILB Denzel, Junior * yet another spot that does not bode well for us unless we add here.... least far as I'm concerned
OLB Daiyan, Dye, Del'Shawn, Marlowe * don't think the latter makes the 53 here, and.... we have lost no ground here, and may have gained if Henley is better emotionally than he was of last
SAF Derwin, Molden, Mickens, Kendall, Tony * again we have lost no ground here, and may gain ground w/the growth of RJM
CB Donte Jackson, Tarheeb, Cam, Nikko Reed, Deane Leonard * can we recover from losing St. Juste and not upgrading Leonard.... sure seems like we're ripe for an add here given the such

ST Cam, Scott, Harris * plenty of peoples are expecting/looking for trouble w/JKS, albeit personal suspicion is that is unlikely

[beachcomber]

so looking/going over the roster, think 'tis safe to say that we are @least as good or better than we were last year, and.... that's not to say that there's not more work to be done.

RB * would like to replace what Najee was s'posed to be.... is Ingold that guy, should we bring back Hassan, do we hope for one of the Penn St guys in the draft, or will there be a surprise cut, or.... is Omarion gonna stay healthy for 20 straight games ?? !!

WR * not buying the hype that Hortiz was/is hell bent on bringing in an X.... would DK have gotten us over the hump last season.... eye liked AJ Brown coming out, and.... we are already six deep, and don't think he is the difference maker from what we've got.... the difference has to be w/our Oline health.... that is our make or break deal for this coming season/SB run

TE * still wouldn't rule out that McD is drooling over a TE or coupla few from this draft, and.... think the more sensible route is just to fill in the blanks w/Jonnu 'n Tucker

OT * am a buyer if you're worried 'bout our depth here, as yeah.... Alt can slide over for Rashawn if need be, albeit see know reason how we don't know better than to throw Pips out there game in and game out, and of course we hope that's not the case, and.... gotta be somebody that we can hedge our bets @left swing tackle.... hoping for a June 1st designation or late preseason add here

OG * woulda been really bad if Joe followed the some of your leads and repeated the Mekhi mishap from last offseason.... not overly taken by the guard class this go 'round, albeit think that Butch deserves a shot @taking one someone from this slate @guard, albeit not two of 'em, and agree.... despite that am personally ok w/the likes of a Penning and/or Strange, it makes no sense not to hedge your bets from the draft, as there are plenty to choose from this class

OC * not in love w/Biadasz, and.... fairly optimistc like the rest of us that this will turn out well, and.... looks like we've got a good opportunity to upgrade Andre James as well

DT * gonna surmise that while an upgrade seems rather obvious here, my suspicion is that Hand woulda been retained if we were going three wide on the IDL, and given that, think we might be good w/the both of Teair 'n Justin here

ED * again on paper, sure seems like we need to replace what we got from Odafe, and.... new HC of the defense, and perhaps a new wrinkle or coupla few, and that.... wouldn't surprise me to no end if they surprised you w/their first round s******** and held off on the seemingly inevitable ED gambit that most here expect outta the gate

LB * for myself, this is one of the greatest concerns, as think it pretty much goes without saying that we will be without Denzel @some point in time this season, and again personally.... am not one wishing to be looking @Colson as my firewall against the run, 'specially come the playoffs or in a game w/similar implications, and.... there is def major league talent @LB this stanza

SAF * not sure you can single out this group as in need of an upgrade, as not sure they don't ride w/Tony one last time.... Mack, Allen, Perryman, and Jefferson.... for the win

CB * 'nother place where you can argue that we have fallen off, and as many have pointed out, that this is O'Leary territory/turf, and that he may well want to get an upgrade in here.... question is where in the draft does he strike ??

[beachcomber]

and so, and has previously been mentioned.... think we're good for now, and.... in the draft, am looking @these positions.... OG, OC, ED, LB, CB

come June 1st or even just after May 1, think Joe will be back open for biz, and may be looking to fatten up @RB, TE, LT

and don't think he makes a trade, albeit will not be surprised if he saves his coin and surprises maybe even himself, w/yet another rabbit outta the hat just before the season starts or thereabouts.

San Angeles Los Diegos.... Super Chargers.... to be con't

[La Costa Boy]

I still think that Cam Jordan would be a nice piece to add to our edge group. Cheap(er) and a nice 1 year rental for a solid player.

[Topcat]

There is this tendency in human nature to do enough to garner some decent praise (hey, back to back 11 win seaons, pretty good Pop), but to not stick your neck too far out there chasing ACTUAL greatness.

I'm not saying this is or isn't Joe Hortiz's mentality. But you have to wonder.

For the record, I don't think Harbaugh thinks this way at all. But what can he do? He is delegating to his GM and position coaches, like a good HC should. I wonder if he is as frustrated as some of us are.

I would have thought the last 2 years of watching your franchise QB get pulverized would have lit more of a fire under these guys. Biadasz was a good start, then it sorta fizzled out.

I sure hope they draft at least 2 OL...

[Bolt4Knob]

The GAC guys had a good podcast -- it really is amazing in year 3 of JH2 that they haven't addressed the needs of the interior more

All offseason - raise the floor to allow the draft to be what it is. I think today, they are lacking today. Still need Edge 3 and OG

As for the draft and Topcats note about two IOL -- have too. In 5 picks, they need IOL by the end of R3 and another pick, they need Edge and probably IDL. Thats for starters

Hence, why I want more picks - trade back. I get easier said than done. But a couple more picks by the end of R5 would be ideal

[dmac_bolt]

I can sit here, bitch and complain about the moves they have or have not made. Guess what…. It’s not going to do one damn thing except frustrate me. I am now in a wait and see mode for this squad. The one thing I do know, Hortiz upgraded the #1 position of need in a big way. That is Tyler Biadasz. You can even say he upgraded RG, at least I think he did. LG is the biggest question mark and there is still time to fix that. I do think they sign another LG in free agency for competition and depth.

Hortiz is making it obvious that the first 2 picks are going to be Edge and LG. With that being said, he has to try and trade back to get extra picks and take Bisontis.

Still a lot of time! Let’s wait and see what happens.

Words to live by, Loud. My lovely Mrs Dmac is adorable but she needlessly suffers from fretting and worrying at times. Has since I met her. Worrying about things to come, but also fretting about things that already happened. She has gotten better over the years as I try to instill the Dmac Way but it almost discourages me from divulging some family risks and concerns at times. I try not to, that is not a partner way, but I am motivated to delay information so that I can reduce her needless suffering. The Dmac Way is simple:

1. never lament or suffer emotionally for things that already occurred. It is what it is. Its the “dead money” principle applied to all facets of life - dead money is gone, its over, no new money changes that. do not fret about things that already occurred, its self-punishment without purpose. accept what is as it is, and look forward always.

2. never use worry as a substitute for just doing something about that future. I do not worry. I decide to take action or alter behavior about a future concern, or I decide to let it fall as it will be and not do anything. In either case I do not worry. I do not let past events turn into future worry.

I get the guys here that are complaining the same thing non-stop every day here, and have complained since about mid-day a week ago Monday. I too DO NOT think Joe did what he should have or could have for the OL. But I am not going to vent and moan and gripe all day every day about it. It is wasted energy for Dmac and in this case it’s compounded because we don’t even know the outcome. Its worst-case-hypotheses-panic

[Chargers8491]

Wheels on the bus go around and around.....

[wu-dai clan]

QB Herbert, Lance * is it a given that Justin still has some ceiling to his game
RB Omarion, Keaton, Kimani * not as good on paper as we were last season w/no Najee, and.... we never really had him, so gotta think that the both of Vidal 'n Hampton are still movin' on up + Mitchell is a plus over last season as well
FB Ingold * bless you Mr. Matlock and thank you Alec.... gotta be another upgrade here for us
WR Keenan, Ladd, Harris, QJ, KLS, Derius * know some of you think Allen is backsliding, and.... think again, and.... the others are all still on an upward tick
TE Oronde, Kolar, Jonnu Smith, Tucker Fisk * if so, don't see any backsliding here, albeit we do need to replace Will's fiftysomething catches here.... (and we will) Max Klare sizzles
LT Rashawn * def a red herring, if not red alert, as woulda liked Josh Jones here, and as outside of the first round, am dubious 'bout the draft as a swing tackle resource.... hoping for a June 1 designation here Fano would be a nice insurance policy at G/Swing Tackle
LG Strange, Ben Cleveland * perhaps a drop off from Zion, and then again we might be better suited for what lies ahead con McUltra & Co.
OC Biada Yada Yada, Parker Brailsford am seriously wondering if Brailsford rd6 G/C is Joe's secret plan Bryce Foster * if there's a bigger or better upgrade, it's could only be one thing, and it ain't re: our personnel.... 'tis the other OC.... (let's go)
RG Penning, Keylan Rutledge * it was only one game, and.... Trevor outplayed Mekhi, and fwi may be worth, and yes.... still an upgrade here over Becton, and the draft could even add emphasis to that Dream last night...Penning & Cleveland have been on Izempic for 3 months.
RT Joe, Pips * think the latter is Joe's lone mistake so far, and might notta even been him, as it coulda been Jim that weighed in on things, and.... still better w/Alt back than we were

NT Jamaree, Dalvin * leavin' a lotta talent in the draft on board here, and.... a Tomlinson has worked well for us before, and think 'tis safe to say that he is an upgrade over Naquan
DT Teair, Eboigbe * we lost Da'Shawn 'n Otito here, and so yes, think we might need to add here.... do they want Caleb Banks, will they settle for Peter Woods, or.... do we not need more for our star/money packages LAC is needy...4i/Hand type...wu likey Banks, Woods
ED Khalil, Tuli, Bud, Kennard * 'nother spot where you can point to a drop off without Oweh, and.... wonderin' if O'Leary is good w/four here for now now or never...no Kennard conundrum
ILB Denzel, Junior * yet another spot that does not bode well for us unless we add here.... least far as I'm concerned
OLB Daiyan, Dye, Del'Shawn, Marlowe * don't think the latter makes the 53 here, and.... we have lost no ground here, and may have gained if Henley is better emotionally than he was of last CJ is a fine player...Rodriguez you have my attention...but we might be good with rotating Dye
SAF Derwin, Molden, Mickens, Kendall, Tony * again we have lost no ground here, and may gain ground w/the growth of RJM keep seeing Emmanuel there @ #22 in sim's.
CB Donte Jackson, Tarheeb, Cam, Nikko Reed, Deane Leonard * can we recover from losing St. Juste and not upgrading Leonard.... sure seems like we're ripe for an add here given the such

ST Cam, Scott, Harris * plenty of peoples are expecting/looking for trouble w/JKS, albeit personal suspicion is that is unlikely

wu's clues in blue IMHO ATM