{"id":818760,"date":"2026-03-18T08:26:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T08:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/818760\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T08:26:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T08:26:19","slug":"chargers-roster-earns-top-10-ranking-in-early-free-agency-assessment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/818760\/","title":{"rendered":"Chargers roster earns top 10 ranking in early free agency assessment"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 17, 2026, 11:24 p.m. PT<\/p>\n

The Chargers<\/a> roster ranked in the top 10 in an early assessment of NFL free agency by Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Bolts ranked ninth, just in front of the 49ers, for the best roster in early free agency.<\/p>\n

“Quarterback Justin Herbert must get over a playoff hump; he’s yet to lead the Chargers to a postseason victory in three outings. However, the 28-year-old is a two-time Pro Bowler who carried his team to the playoffs in back-to-back campaigns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“When healthy, the Chargers have one of the league’s best offensive lines, but we didn’t see the starting unit together last season. Rashawn Slater sat out the 2025 term with a ruptured patellar tendon. Joe Alt missed 11 contests because of injuries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“With those two Pro Bowlers back on the field, Los Angeles should field a more efficient passing attack and physical ground game, which means wide receiver Ladd McConkey and running back Omarion Hampton could see spikes in their production,” Moton writes.<\/p>\n

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n

Additionally, the Chargers bringing back Khalil Mack on an $18 million deal, along with some other big names on the defense, keeps LA solid on the other side of the ball.<\/p>\n

“Star pass-rusher Khalil Mack is back on a one-year deal. He’ll continue to pair with Pro Bowler Tuli Tuipulotu on the edge. Derwin James Jr., an eight-year veteran, is still a Pro Bowl-caliber safety. Ball-hawking cornerback Donte Jackson doesn’t have resume accolades, though he’s recorded nine interceptions over the last two years,” Moton added.<\/p>\n

Although the Chargers lost defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, Moton believes the unit should be just fine under Chris O’Leary.<\/p>\n

All in all, it looks like the Chargers have impressed with their moves thus far in free agency. What’s coming up next? Hopefully, a high-end guard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 17, 2026, 11:24 p.m. PT The Chargers roster ranked in the top 10 in an early assessment…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":818761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2064],"tags":[95878,241,7,1014,262,2444,2443,6,97083,97084,95882,97519,101503,97514,96161,100767,97141,97085,95896,95888,95899,97515,95883,100768,95881],"class_list":["post-818760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-chargers","tag-accessfree","tag-chargers","tag-football","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-chargers","tag-losangeles","tag-losangeleschargers","tag-nfl","tag-sstssportsnflchargers","tag-sstsnchargers","tag-tagamerican-football","tag-tagderwin-james-jr","tag-tagdonte-jackson","tag-tagjoe-alt","tag-tagjustin-herbert","tag-tagkhalil-mack","tag-tagladd-mcconkey","tag-taglos-angeles-chargers","tag-tagnational-sports","tag-tagnfl","tag-tagoverall-neutral","tag-tagrashawn-slater","tag-tagsports-news","tag-tagtuli-tuipulotu","tag-typestory"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116249230410600179","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818760","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=818760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/818761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=818760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=818760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=818760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}