{"id":898737,"date":"2026-05-23T03:54:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T03:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/898737\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T03:54:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T03:54:19","slug":"chargers-53-man-roster-projection-heading-into-otas-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/898737\/","title":{"rendered":"Chargers 53-Man Roster Projection Heading Into OTAs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> have worked through voluntary items ahead of OTAs and made some roster changes along the way.<\/p>\n

Namely, not terribly long after the NFL draft, the Chargers signed David Njoku<\/a>, a splash signing for Mike McDaniel’s offense and star quarterback Justin Herbert<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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With early summer work unfolding before a break, here’s an updated look at a Chargers 53-man roster projection.<\/p>\n

Chargers 53-man roster projectionQB (2)<\/p>\n

DJ Uiagalelei<\/a> is still a fun project, but Trey Lance is one of the NFL’s best backups.<\/p>\n

RB (4)<\/p>\n

Given what Kimani Vidal showed as a backup last year, there’s no need to go heavy here. Keaton Mitchell figures to get a nice versatile workload as a spell in a McDaniel offense.<\/p>\n

WR (6)<\/p>\n

Some really tough calls at wideout for the Chargers. The hope here is that the loss of Derius Davis<\/a> on special teams can be accounted for with rookie Brenen Thompson, the guy with 4.26 speed. The Chargers, from a business stance, were smart to pick up Quentin Johnston’s fifth year, but that doesn’t mean someone like Tre Harris can’t pass him on the snaps sheet.<\/p>\n

\"Los<\/p>\n

Omarion Hampton | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

TE (3)<\/p>\n

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Tanner McLachlan<\/a> out, in for these projections. It’s a little light, but Oronde Gadsden figures to pretty much never come off the field anyway. Charlie Kolar is a capable third and blocker.<\/p>\n

OL (10)<\/p>\n

Talk about a dramatic overhaul. Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt should be healthy. Same for swing tackle backup Trey Pipkins. Second-rounder Jake Slaughter was a polarizing draft pick, but they believe he can start at guard. Other new arrivals like Cole Strange and Kayode Awosika fit McDaniel’s athletic requirements for his scheme.<\/p>\n

DL\/EDGE (10)<\/p>\n

First-rounder Akheem Mesidor was a little older than some might have liked and made the decision to let Odafe Oweh<\/a> get away a little strange. But he should be able to help right away. He and undrafted standout Nadame Tucker push names like Bud Dupree<\/a> off the roster. It’s flying under the radar, but the Chargers still got a big win when they re-signed Teair Tart early in the process this offseason.<\/p>\n

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LB (5)<\/p>\n

Is Junior Colson going to flash and stick around? Hard to stay, but he sticks here for now. But Del’Shawn Phillips remains a special teams ace. Troy Dye is a backup most teams would like to have. This spot is a candidate to get chopped down further, though.<\/p>\n

CB (6)<\/p>\n

The Chargers are suffering from success at corner. Derwin James<\/a> mans the slot. Eric Rogers and Nikko Reed are overlooked finds. Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart were mid-rounders who helped right away. Donte Jackson was a castoff of a free agent who did well in the scheme, too.<\/p>\n

S (5)<\/p>\n

Elijah Molden-Tony Jefferson as the duo means James can play to his strengths in the slot near the line of scrimmage. Draft pick Genesis Smith will need to fix tackling woes from college to make this projection right, though, as RJ Mickens looks like a possible steal over the long-term, too.<\/p>\n

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ST (2)<\/p>\n

Sign Up For the Chargers Daily Digest – OnSI’s Free Los Angeles Chargers Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n

This article was originally published on www.si.com\/nfl\/chargers\/onsi as Chargers 53-Man Roster Projection Heading Into OTAs<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Los Angeles Chargers have worked through voluntary items ahead of OTAs and made some roster changes along…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":898738,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2064],"tags":[52319,1752,62751,7860,13936,10726,241,4699,6302,8398,4753,4131,33801,15081,10722,4919,2820,5853,5469,9292,7,30256,1037,10729,5661,10721,10096,1159,6290,2100,21396,3278,10724,2779,470,1014,262,2444,2443,3814,4836,6,3818,1822,288,22397,9277,1526,30636,10998,5340,15079,90594,8581,2721,8401,15076,10719,11221],"class_list":["post-898737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-chargers","tag-akheem-mesidor","tag-alec-ingold","tag-brenen-thompson","tag-bud-dupree","tag-cam-hart","tag-cameron-dicker","tag-chargers","tag-charlie-kolar","tag-cole-strange","tag-daiyan-henley","tag-dalvin-tomlinson","tag-david-njoku","tag-deane-leonard","tag-denzel-perryman","tag-derius-davis","tag-derwin-james","tag-dj-uiagalelei","tag-donte-jackson","tag-elijah-molden","tag-eric-rogers","tag-football","tag-jake-slaughter","tag-jamaree-caldwell","tag-jk-scott","tag-joe-alt","tag-junior-colson","tag-justin-eboigbe","tag-justin-herbert","tag-kayode-awosika","tag-keandre-lambert-smith","tag-keaton-mitchell","tag-khalil-mack","tag-kimani-vidal","tag-kyle-kennard","tag-ladd-mcconkey","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-chargers","tag-losangeles","tag-losangeleschargers","tag-luke-grimm","tag-mike-mcdaniel","tag-nfl","tag-nikko-reed","tag-odafe-oweh","tag-omarion-hampton","tag-oronde-gadsden","tag-quentin-johnston","tag-rashawn-slater","tag-tanner-mclachlan","tag-teair-tart","tag-the-chargers","tag-tony-jefferson","tag-tre39-harris","tag-trevor-penning","tag-trey-lance","tag-trey-pipkins","tag-troy-dye","tag-tuli-tuipulotu","tag-tyler-biadasz"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898737","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=898737"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898737\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/898738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=898737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=898737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=898737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}