Bolt Beat

Of course, the 2027 NFL Draft is a long way off. Especially for the Los Angeles Chargers, there's a long road before they can even start to think about their roster construction next offseason. They'll need to see what kind of advancements the offense makes under new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, and the hierarchy of the defense leaves a lot of questions for new defensive coordinator Chris O'Leary to answer over the course of this campaign.

The Los Angeles Chargers have made their vision clear this offseason, both with their hiring of Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator and the personnel they've brought on to help fill out the roster. While the overarching goal of the new scheme is to maximize the talents of Justin Herbert, that comes with a whole new modus operandi in Los Angeles under McDaniel.

As far as 2026 is concerned, the Los Angeles Chargers' inside linebacker room is relatively set. It's reasonable to expect a bounce-back season from Daiyan Henley, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract. While Denzel Perryman's production is waning, his return on a one-year deal should help stabilize the Chargers' run defense. Beyond that, some combination of Troy Dye, Junior Colson, Marlowe Wax, and UDFA Lander Barton should form a formidable group.

Chargers DT Jamaree Caldwell grew into his own during his rookie campaign. After a solid preseason in 2025, Caldwell grew into a solid defensive line rotation role with the the team. As a rookie, Caldwell played 525 snaps. For comparison, the recently extended Teair Tart played just one more snap at 526. Compared to the average day two or day three drafted DT, Caldwell shouldered more of a load as a rookie.

The Chargers enter 2026 with high expectations for their EDGE rushing trio of Khalil Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu, and first-round pick Akheem Mesidor. With new DC Chris O'Leary calling the shots, racking up pressures and sacks might be even more important than it was under Jesse Minter. At 35 years old, Mack looks to replicate the level of production we saw in his first four Chargers seasons. Tuipulotu is in the midst of a contract negotiation with the Chargers and is coming off a career 2025 season.

The Los Angeles Chargers, under Joe Hortiz, have largely been comfortable letting defensive talent walk when the market dictates their price. In part, this has likely been due to the confidence Hortiz had in Jesse Minter's scheme. But even with Minter gone and Chris O'Leary in place for 2026, Hortiz still let both Odafe Oweh and Benjamin St-Juste walk. Oweh was replaced by the selection of Akheem Mesidor in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, while St-Juste will likely be replaced internally.

Barring a return for veteran receiver Keenan Allen, the Los Angeles Chargers' receiving corps is largely set in stone for 2026. Both Mike McDaniel and Jim Harbaugh have routinely referred to the team's trio of 'elite' receivers— Quentin Johnston, Ladd McConkey, and Tre' Harris— this offseason. Beyond those three, there's room for grappling between KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Brenen Thompson, and Derius Davis for a share of the offense.

The Los Angeles Chargers, admittedly, don't have the easiest path to the playoffs in 2026. They'll face a brutal seven-game slate between Weeks 3 and 10, with matchups against some of the most formidable defenses in the NFL. If they can survive that intact, they'll still need to vie with both the Denver Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs to come out near the top of the AFC West. Of course, it's right to be optimistic about the Chargers offense under new coordinator Mike McDaniel.

ESPN recently released their rankings for the projected starting lineups of all 32 NFL teams in 2026. The Chargers for the most part ranked where you'd expect in ESPN's ranking. Los Angeles came in at 13th out of 32 teams in the analysis from Mike Clay, Aaron Schatz, and Seth Walder. It's not necessarily too low or high for the current group. The Chargers are coming off of an 11-6 season but went into the playoffs last year as the AFC's seventh seed.

As we exited the 2026 NFL Draft, we knew the basic contours of the position battles the Los Angeles Chargers would face through OTAs and training camp. Their selection of Akheem Mesidor and their pickup of Nadame Tucker as a UDFA guaranteed that one of Kyle Kennard and Bud Dupree's roster spots would be threatened. Their decision to take Jake Slaughter— after Olaivavega Ioane went off the board— was a signal that the left guard spot would be open to competition as well.