{"id":740694,"date":"2026-02-09T16:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T16:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/740694\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T16:51:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T16:51:15","slug":"chargers-2026-mock-draft-roundup-1-0-trenches-trenches-trenches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/740694\/","title":{"rendered":"Chargers 2026 Mock Draft Roundup 1.0: Trenches, trenches, trenches"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Super Bowl LX has officially come and gone which means it\u2019s time to full pivot our attention to free agency and the NFL Draft. On this bright and shiny Monday, let\u2019s take a look at the initial names being mocked to the Chargers across the media landscape at this early point in the draft season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">excelling as an earth mover in the run game and showing the athleticism to be effective in both gap and zone schemes. In pass protection, he plays with a strong base, using a well-timed, powerful punch to neutralize the bull rush.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The Chargers\u2019 offensive line was an Achilles\u2019 heel this past season. They\u2019ll get <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pff.com\/nfl\/players\/joe-alt\/147481\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Joe Alt<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pff.com\/nfl\/players\/rashawn-slater\/59971\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Rashawn Slater<\/a> back from injury at the tackle spots, but their interior pass blocking must improve. Ioane was one of the best pass-blocking guards in college football in 2025, notching an 87.0 PFF pass-blocking grade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The run on edge rushers before this pick leaves the Chargers with some interesting decisions. Do they add to an offensive line that was marred by injury in 2025 or try to fix a D-line that still needs a true anchor to help defend the run? With the talent that\u2019s left on the board, Banks would be very enticing as the nose tackle Los Angeles is missing. The 6-foot-6 339-pounder is an aggressive bull rusher with rare first-step quickness for his size. Think Vita Vea, but with better length. Banks missed all but two games last season due to a foot injury, but his Senior Bowl performance was well-received by scouts, who saw the explosive play in the trenches that excited them entering the 2025 season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Injuries decimated the Chargers\u2019 offensive line in 2025, highlighting the lack of overall depth and long-term answers on the interior. Pregnon would be a plug-and-play starter at either guard spot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">\u201cAfter he missed all but two games last season due to a foot injury, Banks parlayed a strong Senior Bowl showing into significant buzz in the pre-draft process. With nose tackle Teair Tart recently re-signed, the Chargers can continue to focus on setting the tone at the line of scrimmage by bringing on the 6-foot-6, 335-pounder, who might be the most disruptive interior force in the class when he\u2019s putting it all together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">\u201cThe Chargers need to get more stout up front, and a Senior Bowl standout would be a great fit here. Caleb Banks can anchor against the run while still holding his own on passing downs. At 6-foot-6 and 330 pounds, he moves surprisingly well for his size, as he showed in Mobile.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">\u201cThe Chargers have some tough decisions to make in free agency &#8230; like what to do with offensive lineman Zion Johnson and edge rusher Khalil Mack. If neither return, those would be two clear areas of need for the Bolts. That said, if Tyson were available at this pick, I think they\u2019d scribble down his name at lightning speed. If not for some past injuries, his stock would be higher. His ball-tracking and body-control metrics rate very highly despite the injury history, and even though his speed is not in the top echelon, his contested-catch ability and short-area quickness help make up for it. Remember, the Chargers will presumably get both of their starting tackles back healthy by the start of next season.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Super Bowl LX has officially come and gone which means it\u2019s time to full pivot our attention to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":740695,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2064],"tags":[241,7,1014,262,2452,38790,2453,2444,2443,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-740694","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-chargers","8":"tag-chargers","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-los-angeles","11":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","12":"tag-los-angeles-chargers-draft","13":"tag-los-angeles-chargers-mock-drafts","14":"tag-los-angeles-chargers-news","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-losangeleschargers","17":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116041711026281809","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=740694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/740695"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=740694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=740694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=740694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}