{"id":858625,"date":"2026-04-07T09:43:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T09:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/858625\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T09:43:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T09:43:22","slug":"los-angeles-chargers-2026-nfl-draft-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/858625\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Chargers 2026 NFL Draft Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Chargers finished their second year under Jim Harbaugh<\/a> and Joe Horitz in nearly the same way as their first in 2024. In both seasons, the Chargers experienced first-round playoff exits, with a top-10 defense faltering under the pressure of a mediocre opposing offense, and a mediocre offense struggling against a top-10 defense.<\/p>\n

The outcome of their 2025 campaign, though nearly identical to 2024 in its blowout style, is mainly due to the team\u2019s offensive line play. L.A. finished 29th in sacks allowed, with Herbert being sacked 54 times. Herbert ranked second in the league for most sacks, one fewer than the leaders Geno Smith<\/a> and Cam Ward<\/a>, whose teams are picking first and fourth in the draft, respectively. <\/p>\n

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Remarkably, the Chargers advanced as far as they did despite both starting tackles missing most of the season, and right guard Mekhi Becton<\/a> playing well below the standard expected from a reigning Super Bowl champion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chargers Draft Picks:<\/p>\n

In 2026, the Chargers have a solid advantage, currently holding the third-most cap space in the league and five draft picks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chargers Positions of Need:<\/p>\n

The Chargers are lacking a strong veteran presence in a few positions that should be addressed in this year\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n

Key Draft Targets for Chargers:\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Olaivavega Ioane\u2013 OG \u2013 Penn State\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ioane stands out at 6-foot-5 and 320 pounds. The Chargers will take anyone they can to strengthen the weak offensive line, and Ioane has incredible core strength and power to keep Herbert protected in the pocket.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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He\u2019s not as agile as teams might want for a first-round guard<\/a>, but he compensates with his size and strength. With many teams needing offensive line help, and good linemen becoming increasingly challenging to find, the Chargers would be smart to select Ioane 22nd overall.<\/p>\n

TJ Parker \u2013 EDGE \u2013 Clemson<\/p>\n

With Odafe Oweh<\/a> leaving to sign with the Commanders, the Bolts could afford to strengthen their edge rush alongside veteran Khalil Mack<\/a>, likely playing his last season in the NFL, and Tuli Tuipulotu<\/a>, who played exceptionally well in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parker has a strong attack and gets off blocks easily, but, like Ioane, he lacks speed in areas where his strength lies. He\u2019s also extremely intuitive and reads quarterbacks as well as any current NFL player. Hopefully, he can learn a thing or two from the elite pass rushers L.A. already has. Parker projects<\/a> as a late day-one talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kayden McDonald<\/a> \u2013 DT \u2013 Ohio State\u00a0<\/p>\n

McDonald is the ideal fit for a typical Jim Harbaugh<\/a> team: strong in the trenches and resilient enough to stop opposing offensive efforts before they gain momentum.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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McDonald may not be the usual first-round prospect<\/a>, but he has the strength to make a case for himself. He\u2019s a bit shorter than most DTs at 6-foot-2, but his 326 pounds enable him to shed blocks and disrupt the run effectively.<\/p>\n

The post Los Angeles Chargers 2026 NFL Draft Preview<\/a> appeared first on The Lead<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Los Angeles Chargers finished their second year under Jim Harbaugh and Joe Horitz in nearly the same…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":858626,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2064],"tags":[127,241,7,1507,1389,1012,3278,1014,262,2444,2443,4388,6,1822,1482,10719],"class_list":{"0":"post-858625","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-chargers","8":"tag-cam-ward","9":"tag-chargers","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-geno-smith","12":"tag-herbert","13":"tag-jim-harbaugh","14":"tag-khalil-mack","15":"tag-los-angeles","16":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","17":"tag-losangeles","18":"tag-losangeleschargers","19":"tag-mekhi-becton","20":"tag-nfl","21":"tag-odafe-oweh","22":"tag-offensive-line","23":"tag-tuli-tuipulotu"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858625","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=858625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/858626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}