Los Angeles Chargers 2026 NFL Draft Needs, Picks & Depth Chart

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No matter how well they did in free agency, all 32 NFL teams head into the 2026 NFL Draft with holes to fill on the roster.

Leading into the draft, we will identify the top needs for every team and break down the depth chart position by position.

What are the Chargers' top positions of need heading into the 2026 NFL draft?

Los Angeles Chargers Needs: Top Positions of Need in 2026

1. Offensive Line
2. Edge Rusher
3. Defensive Line

Explore all of our 2026 NFL Draft content:

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Los Angeles Chargers 2026 Draft Capital

The Chargers have the 26th-most draft capital according to our Sharp Football Draft Value.

Our Sharp Football Draft Value is a valuation of draft capital based on a combination of average performance delivered and average dollars earned on second contracts.

Los Angeles Chargers Mock Draft Predictions

Find out who our top-rated experts expect the Chargers to draft:

• Brendan Donahue's 2026 NFL Mock Draft – Complete first round breakdown from the #2 most accurate mock drafter over the last five seasons.
• Ryan McCrystal's 2026 NFL Mock Draft – Complete first round breakdown from the #20 most accurate mock drafter over the last five seasons.

Los Angeles Chargers Offense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs

Rich Hribar breaks down the offensive depth chart by position for the Los Angeles Chargers, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft.

Quarterback

1. Justin Herbert
2. Trey Lance
3. DJ Uiagalelei

Justin Herbert went through the wringer in 2025.

Rashawn Slater missed the entire season.

Joe Alt only appeared in six games.

Herbert closed the year with a broken left hand, taking a career-high 54 sacks.

That was the second-most sacks taken in the league behind Cam Ward (55).

Herbert was hit on a league-high 129 dropbacks.

For some added context, Bo Nix led the league with 669 dropbacks (54 more than Herbert).

He was hit 71 times.

With Alt off the field (431 dropbacks), Herbert completed 65.9% of his passes (15th), averaging 7.3 air yards per pass attempt (25th), 6.9 yards per pass attempt (22nd), a 4.2% touchdown rate (26th), 2.8% interception rate (28th), and a 10.1% sack rate (31st).

With Alt on the field (184 dropbacks), Herbert completed 67.5% of his passes, averaging 9.1 air yards per attempt, 8.3 yards per pass, had a 7.1% touchdown rate, 1.9% interception rate, and an 8.3% sack rate.

The most significant difference, as you can see in those splits, is that the Chargers adopted a shorter passing game to compensate for the loss of Alt.

With Alt, 64.3% of Herbert’s passes were five or more yards downfield, 36.4% were 10 or more yards downfield, and 13% were 20 or more yards downfield.

Without Alt, 54.2% of his passes were five or more yards downfield, 30.2% were 10 or more yards downfield, and 12.3% were 20 or more yards downfield.

The other area that hurt this scoring offense was the red zone.

Herbert only completed 50.6% of his passes in the red zone, which was 28th in the league.

He had a league-high 5.2% interception rate in the red zone while taking a sack on 8.3% of his dropbacks (25th).

All of that pressure forced Herbert to run more than ever.

Herbert rushed for a career-high 498 yards in 2025.

He had a career-high 8% scrambling rate.

His previous high was 6.2%.

Hoping for better fortune in terms of offensive line health, Herbert will get to work with new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel.

Herbert is under contract through 2029, but he is not cheap and will need a reworked deal before the 2028 season.

He is carrying cap hits of $46.4 million in 2026 (15.4% of the cap), $58.4 million in 2027 (18.1%), $71.1 million in 2028 (20%), and $59.5 million in 2029 (15.9%).

The team brought back Trey Lance on a one-year deal this offseason.

Running Back

1. Omarion Hampton
2. Keaton Mitchell
3. Kimani Vidal
4. Jaret Patterson
5. Amar Johnson
6. Alec Ingold (FB)
7. Scott Matlock (FB)

Omarion Hampton’s rookie year was limited to nine games due to an ankle injury.

When active, Hampton turned 156 touches into 737 total yards (4.7 yards per touch) and 5 touchdowns.

Hampton’s rookie sample was highlighted by averaging 3.35 after contact per rush, which ranked 11th out of 49 running backs with 100 or more attempts.

He had a 40.3% success rate as a runner (21st) and a run of 10 or more yards on 11.3% of attempts (14th).

Hampton averaged 1.04 yards before contact per rush, which ranked 38th on that same list.

Arguably, no player here could benefit more from the addition of Mike McDaniel, paired with the potential for better run blocking from having his starting offensive tackles on the field more often in 2026.

Over his time with Miami, McDaniel’s offenses ranked fifth in yards per rush for running backs (4.7 YPC), fifth in success rate (40.9%), and first in explosive run rate (12.7%).

Those teams ran outside zone on 43.3% of their running-back runs, ranking third in the league during that period.

As a rookie, Hampton only averaged 0.21 yards before contact on outside zone runs, 45th in the league.

McDaniel loves a speed back, and the Chargers added Keaton Mitchell during free agency.

Mitchell only has 140 career touches through 26 games played, but he has averaged a robust 6.3 yards per rush when he has received opportunities.

A small sample size, 18.2% of Mitchell’s career runs have gained 10 or more yards, the highest rate in the league over the past three seasons.

Interestingly, Mitchell struggled on his small sample of outside zone runs with Baltimore, rushing for only 3.9 YPC on 37 attempts, which ranked 55th in the league.

That makes up 30.6% of his runs, his highest run type.

Mitchell has cracked the explosives on inside zone runs (20.6% of his career runs), rushing for 6.7 YPC with a run of 10-plus yards on 20.7% of those attempts.

The Chargers still have Kimani Vidal as a back who stepped in effectively for Hampton last year amid poor offensive line play.

In his second season, Vidal handled 171 touches for 779 yards (4.6 yards per touch) and 4 touchdowns.

Wide Receiver

1. Ladd McConkey
2. Quentin Johnston
3. Tre Harris
4. KeAndre Lambert-Smith
5. Derius Davis
6. Dalevon Campbell
7. Luke Grimm
8. JaQuae Jackson

The Chargers threw the ball to wide receivers a league-high 68% of the time in 2025.

Their wideouts combined for 370 targets, which was second in the NFL behind the Cowboys (387).

The opportunities were there for the wideouts, but production was hampered by the offensive line.

Ladd McConkey took a step back in his second season.

After averaging 5.1 receptions for 71.8 yards per game as a rookie, McConkey averaged 4.1 receptions for 49.3 yards per game.

He went from 14.0 yards per catch as a rookie down to 12.0 yards per catch last season.

After being targeted on 23.4% of his routes for 2.40 yards per route as a rookie, McConkey was targeted on 18.9% of his routes with 1.40 yards per route in 2025.

McConkey lost a significant number of targets on third downs to Keenan Allen.

McConkey’s early target share (20.2%) was on par with his rookie season (21.9%), but his target share on third downs (18.4%) was significantly down from 2024 (25.4%).

Allen had 33.6% of the third-down targets last season, which was second in the league behind Amon-Ra St. Brown (37%).

After Alt’s injury, McConkey averaged 2.7 catches for 37.9 yards per game.

Quentin Johnston improved for the second season in a row, averaging a career-high 14.4 yards per catch and 52.5 yards per game.

That yardage per game led the team, and he also led the team with 8 touchdowns over 14 games.

Johnston was a complete boom-or-bust option.

He had fewer than 50 yards in half of his games, with two games with 0 catches.

Johnston enters the year in the final season of his rookie contract.

The Chargers have the option to pick up his fifth-year option for 2027, which will be $18 million.

With Allen still on the open market, Tre Harris is positioned for a larger role moving forward, even if the Chargers do pick up Johnston’s option for 2027.

As a second-round rookie (55th overall), Harris ran a route on 43% of the dropbacks, catching 30 passes for 324 yards and 1 touchdown.

The question for Harris in 2026 will be how many 3WR sets the Chargers run transitioning under McDaniel.

During his four years in Miami, McDaniels’s offenses utilized 11 personnel on 41.4% of their offensive snaps, which was second to last in the league.

KeAndre Lambert-Smith played 123 snaps (19%) as a fifth-round rookie, catching 5 passes for 51 yards and a touchdown.

Tight End

1. Oronde Gadsden
2. Charlie Kolar
3. Tanner McLachlan
4. Thomas Yassmin

Oronde Gadsden’s rookie season was a success.

As a fifth-round pick, he caught 49 passes for 664 yards and 3 touchdowns.

He averaged 13.6 yards per catch.

No tight end in the league averaged more yards per catch with as many receptions as Gadsden last season.

There was a stretch in the middle of the season when Gadsden looked like a ceiling player, but he lost steam due to injuries that dragged this offense down in bulk, and he showed limited ability to contribute as a blocker.

He caught 17 passes for 211 yards and 1 touchdown over the final eight games of the season.

Over that span, his route participation dipped to 65.2% of the dropbacks with a target on 15.9% of his routes.

From Week 6 through Week 9, when he was surging, Gadsden was on the field for 82.1% of the dropbacks with a target on 19% of his routes.

Run blocking remains the primary area that Gadsden must improve to become a full-time player.

He played 50.3% of his snaps in-line, posting the second-lowest run blocking grade at the position per Pro Football Focus.

The Chargers ran the ball only 30.5% of the time when Gadsden was on the field, compared to 50.3% when he was off the field.

That, paired with the addition of McDaniel, led the Chargers to sign Charlie Kolar in free agency to complement Gadsden.

Kolar was a decorated receiving prospect coming out of Iowa State, but he did not have many opportunities in the passing game in Baltimore.

He only caught 30 passes over his four seasons with the Ravens, but he was seventh in yards per route run at the position on his limited opportunities.

Instead, Kolar was a featured part of the run game.

His offenses in Baltimore ran the ball 69.2% of the time with him in the game, the highest rate for any tight end in the league over that span.

Offensive Line

LT: Rashawn Slater
LG: Trevor Penning, Kayode Awosika
C: Tyler Biadasz, Josh Kaltenberger
RG: Cole Strange, Branson Taylor, Ben Cleveland
RT: Joe Alt, Trey Pipkins

As alluded to throughout, this offensive line was a disaster last season.

Rashawn Slater ruptured his patellar tendon in August and missed the entire year.

Joe Alt played in six games due to an ankle injury.

The most-used offensive line combination for the Chargers last year was on the field for only 16.5% of the offensive snaps, the lowest rate in the NFL.

Bradley Bozeman and Zion Johnson were the only starters to play in every game.

Neither remains on the team.

Mekhi Becton was a bust in free agency last season and was let go, giving the Chargers an entirely new interior line heading into the draft.

The team added Tyler Biadasz in free agency to replace Bozeman.

Bozeman ranked 40th in overall grade per Pro Football Focus among centers last season, while Biadasz was 13th with Washington.

Trevor Penning and Cole Strange are penciled in at the guard spots for now, but both can be improved upon while each has a low-leverage contract only for 2026.

Penning joined the Chargers in Week 11 last season, making four starts.

He allowed a 7.5% pressure rate across his time with the Saints and Chargers, which ranked 87th at his position.

He also had 8 penalties, which was 92nd among guards.

Strange was with McDaniel last season in Miami, where he started 14 games.

Strange ranked 63rd among guards in overall grade per Pro Football Focus, four spots below Johnson, who the team let walk in free agency.

Los Angeles Chargers Defense: Depth Chart, Analysis & Draft Needs

Raymond Summerlin breaks down the defensive depth chart by position for the Los Angeles Chargers, identifying areas where the team could improve in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft.

Defensive Line

1. Teair Tart
2. Jamaree Caldwell
3. Justin Eboigbe
4. Dalvin Tomlinson
5. TeRah Edwards
6. Josh Fuga

The Chargers allowed 4.3 yards per carry to running backs (16th) in 2025, but they were second in the rate of negative runs forced.

There will be a new defensive coordinator leading this group, but Chris O'Leary was with the team in 2024 before his one year leading Western Michigan’s defense, so there likely will not be wholesale changes.

Teair Tart was re-signed to a three-year, $30 million contract after reestablishing himself as a quality option against the run over his first two years with the team.

Tart was 10th among all qualified defensive linemen in run stuff rate last year.

A third-round pick last year, Jamaree Caldwell also performed well in that metric, though neither player offered much to the pass rush.

Justin Eboigbe picked up that slack, finishing with 6 sacks despite a somewhat lackluster 9.5% pressure rate.

Dalvin Tomlinson was added to the mix in free agency.

He is not coming off a great season, but he is experienced depth who can help out in the rotation.

If looking for a need, this group could use a true threat as a pass rusher, which the Chargers could look to add in the draft.

Edge Defenders

1. Tuli Tuipulotu
2. Khalil Mack
3. Bud Dupree
4. Kyle Kennard
5. Garmon Randolph

The Chargers finished 16th in pressure rate (36.9%) last season, ranking 10th with 45 sacks.

Tuli Tuipulotu had the best season of his career in 2025, recording 13 sacks with an elite 17.9% pressure rate.

That rate ranked sixth among all qualified pass rushers.

The Chargers lost Odafe Oweh in free agency, but Khalil Mack signed a one-year deal to return after nabbing 5.5 sacks in 12 games last year.

Fellow veteran Bud Dupree will also return, though he is at best a rotational option at this point in his career.

A fourth-round pick last year, Kyle Kennard appeared in just five games as a rookie, playing 80 total snaps.

The Chargers could be fine with this group for just 2026, but there are a lot of long-term questions with Tuipulotu scheduled to be a free agent after this season, while Mack and Dupree are nearing the end of their careers.

Adding a high-level rookie to the edge group makes sense.

Linebacker

1. Daiyan Henley
2. Denzel Perryman
3. Troy Dye
4. Junior Colson
5. Del’Shawn Phillips
6. Marlowe Wax
7. Emany Johnson

The Chargers did not get great play out of their linebacker unit last season.

Daiyan Henley took a big step back against the run, recording a tackle on just 14.2% of his run defense snaps, though he still allowed just 6.3 yards per target and a 78.9 quarterback rating in coverage.

Denzel Perryman was limited to just 10 games, with Troy Dye filling in as the No. 3 option.

Both Perryman and Dye were more impactful against the run, ranking in the top 20 in run stuff rate.

A 2024 third-round pick, Junior Colson missed all of last season on injured reserve and has played just 218 snaps in the league.

The Chargers brought back Perryman in free agency and probably have enough to get by at a lower-value position, but there is room for an upgrade at linebacker.

Cornerback

1. Tarheeb Still
2. Cam Hart
3. Donte Jackson
4. Deane Leonard
5. Nikko Reed
6. Eric Rogers
7. Isas Waxter
8. Jordan Oladokun

The Chargers allowed 6.6 yards per attempt (8th) last season and finished eighth in EPA allowed per pass.

The top three snap takers from last season are back, with Benjamin St-Juste the only notable loss in free agency.

Tarheeb Still continued to play at a high level in his second season, allowing just a 76.8 quarterback rating in his coverage.

Cam Hart did not fare as well as a sophomore, ranking 111th in yards allowed per coverage snap among qualified corners.

He has made plays on the ball through two seasons, though, with 18 passes defensed in 30 games.

Donte Jackson played the third-most snaps among the returning corners, but he was better per coverage snap than both Still and Hart.

Los Angeles might not have a true No. 1 corner, and the depth here is questionable, but that is mitigated by how many snaps Derwin James plays in the slot.

The Chargers could target a high-end starter in the draft, but they are fine at corner overall.

Safety

1. Derwin James
2. Elijah Molden
3. Tony Jefferson
4. RJ Mickens
5. Kendall Williamson

Derwin James got back on track while working with new DC Chris O'Leary in 2024, and he kept that momentum going with a great 2025 season in his usual Swiss Army Knife role.

He reportedly wants a new contract, which could lead to some missed offseason time, but James should be ready to anchor the defense by Week 1.

Elijah Molden is not coming off his best season and missed some time last year, but his breakout came while working with O’Leary in 2024, which gives hope of a bounceback.

Tony Jefferson re-signed in free agency to handle the No. 3 duties, a spot that should continue to see a lot of snaps.

2025 sixth-round pick RJ Mickens showed well across 328 rookie snaps, giving the Chargers even more depth.

There is high-end talent and depth in this safety unit.

2026 Depth Chart Analysis & Team Needs for All 32 NFL Teams