March 8, 2026, 11:32 a.m. PT

The Chargers found a solution at center.

While it’s not Ravens pivot man Tyler Linderbaum as many predicted, Los Angeles got a deal done with former Commanders center Tyler Biadasz before the start of free agency, signing Biadasz to a 3-year, $30 million deal on Friday. Biadasz was available to sign immediately after being cut by Washington on February 26.

Biadasz suffered knee and ankle injuries on Christmas Day against the Cowboys and was placed on injured reserve for Week 18 before being released with one year remaining on his contract with the Commanders.

This is a clear signal from the Chargers – the market for Linderbaum and popular consolation prize Connor McGovern from Buffalo was likely to get too expensive given the other needs LA has on the roster, even with nearly $100 million of cap space entering the new league year. Jim Harbaugh’s squad still only has six offensive linemen under contract with Biadasz coming in – Rashawn Slater, Joe Alt, Biadasz, and futures deals with Ben Cleveland, Josh Kaltenberger, and Branson Taylor.

But it also signals that Los Angeles wasn’t prepared to draft a center to start right away. Only two centers – Florida’s Jake Slaughter and Texas A&M’s Trey Zuhn III – were in The Athletic’s Dane Brugler’s top 100 prospects prior to the NFL Combine. Brugler has since said that there’s a distinct possibility that there are no centers taken in the top 75, but up to 6 taken between picks 75 and 110.

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The Chargers are in that mix with a third-round selection at No. 86, which is likely where Los Angeles will begin looking at picks along the offensive line. Since they paid $10 million a year for Biadasz rather than $20 million or more for Linderbaum, they have that $10 million to offer to another veteran interior player.

That could come in the form of pending free agent Zion Johnson, who is projected to have a strong market in free agency next week. It could also be an outside veteran like Pittsburgh’s Isaac Seumalo or Buffalo’s David Edwards. But it appears likely that LA will try to patch both guard spots with free agency money, with Penn State guard Vega Ioane now projected to be off the board by the time the Chargers are on the clock with the 22nd overall pick.

That should signal a pick on the defensive side of the ball, likely on the defensive line, for the Chargers in the first round. A falling defensive tackle like Caleb Banks from Florida or Peter Woods from Clemson could make sense, as could an edge rusher like Clemson’s TJ Parker or Oklahoma’s R Mason Thomas. If Tennessee corner Jermod McCoy starts to fall due to a torn ACL that held him out of the 2025 season, LA may pounce on the value there as well.

In the third or fourth round, the names to watch as additions on the interior of the offensive line include Keylan Rutledge from Georgia Tech, Sam Hecht from Kansas State, Connor Lew from Auburn, and Logan Jones from Iowa. Rutledge is primarily a guard, but was asked to snap by a majority of teams at the Combine earlier this month. Hecht and Lew have been viewed as among the top centers in the class, but Lew is coming off a torn ACL of his own. Jones is an ideal zone center who would fit Mike McDaniel’s offense, but his questionable positional flexibility may offer less value to the Chargers, since Biadasz is a pure center as well.

There’s still much to be decided, as the Chargers still have around $90 million of cap space and plenty of options in free agency, which starts Monday. But the Biadasz signing is the first clue we have in determining LA’s draft strategy next month.