The 2026 NFL Combine begins their on-air coverage today with both the defensive linemen and linebackers taking the field for the 40-yard dash and other athletic testing. There\u2019s quite a few standout players at both positions and the Chargers will have likely have their eyes on a number of them.<\/p>\n
As we get set to start taking the week\u2019s athletic feats, here\u2019s a quick batch of players I\u2019d like to see the Chargers keep a close eye on in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n
DT Lee Hunter, Texas Tech<\/p>\n
A mountain of a man nicknamed \u201cThe Fridge\u201d, Hunter has the chance to be the first defensive tackle off the board. He was key in making the Red Raiders\u2019 defense one of the best in the nation which allowed Tech to make the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.<\/p>\n
At nearly 6\u20194 and 318 pounds. Hunter is a stout, two-gaping defensive tackle with the natural girth and length to be a disruptor in the middle. He\u2019ll need to show some more athleticism to prove he can be a solid three-down player at the next level, but there\u2019s more than enough here for him to affect the game on those first two downs.<\/p>\n
DT Dominique Orange, Iowa State<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Big Citrus\u201d is a promising interior defender with good size (6\u20192, 322) and massive mitts (10.5 inches). He succeeds as a run defender who strains and wins with solid technique and an ability to recover even if he loses immediately off the snap. Scouts have called him a \u201cnon-factor\u201d as a pass rusher so there\u2019s an obvious shortcoming in his game, but that shows just how much they also love his run defense. His quick reaction time helps him avoid being ear-holed on down blocks and hold his ground at the point of attack.<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll likely come off the board on day two, which is where I\u2019d prefer the Bolts take an interior defender, if at all.<\/p>\n
EDGE Gabe Jacas, Illinois<\/p>\n
Jacas is a player who reportedly has many more fans amongst inner league circles compared to those on the outside. He has great length at 6\u20194 and 260 with 33-inch arms and 10-inch hands. The tape shows a player with standout strength at the point of attack who will rag-doll tight ends should an offense choose to leave them one-on-one.<\/p>\n
An anonymous NFC scout called Jacas a \u201cplay-through-your-face-type\u201d player and that line alone is enough to make me intrigued. If the Chargers are unable to keep the trio of Khalil Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu, and Odafe Oweh together for 2026, Jacas is a name I\u2019d love to see the Bolts look into with their second-round pick.<\/p>\n
EDGE Nadame Tucker, Western Michigan<\/p>\n
Tucker led the nation in sacks with 14.5 while being coached by new Chargers defensive coordinator Chris O\u2019Leary. That\u2019s an impressive true statement about him because the 2025 season was first season as a full-time player at the FBS level.<\/p>\n
At 6\u20192 and 247 pounds, Tucker is on the smaller with average length (31 3\/8 inches) and small hands (9 inches). Expectations are that he\u2019ll have to take some more time to acclimate to the pro level, but his natural feel for the game that he showed this past season may earn him an early role as a designated pass rusher. Tucker will surely be picked late on day three, but the Chargers could do a lot worse with a dart throw than reuniting him with O\u2019Leary in a defense he already understands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 NFL Combine begins their on-air coverage today with both the defensive linemen and linebackers taking the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":778562,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2064],"tags":[241,7,1014,262,2452,2453,2444,2443,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-778561","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-news","14":"tag-losangeles","15":"tag-losangeleschargers","16":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116139377980569737","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778561","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=778561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/778562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=778561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=778561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=778561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}