The Los Angeles Chargers had a number of goals to accomplish this offseason.
First and foremost was replacing their two departed coordinators, and they accomplished that successfully by bringing in both Mike McDaniel and Chris O'Leary to lead their respective units under Jim Harbaugh. After that, though, the goal was clearly to replenish the depth of the offensive line.
The Chargers started strong, foregoing the Tyler Linderbaum sweepstakes and adding Tyler Biadasz days before the start of free agency. They then re-signed Trevor Penning and Trey Pipkins III while adding Cole Strange through free agency. Then, on Draft day, they spent three separate selections on guards— Jake Slaughter in the second round, and Logan Taylor and Alex Harkey in the sixth. They also added another tackle, Travis Burke out of Memphis, in the fourth.
To this point, the Chargers' O-line combinations have all been theoretical. The expectation has been that Slaughter would get a genuine shot at the starting left guard spot over Trevor Penning, although he didn't play a single snap at the position in college.
But during Day 1 and 2 of OTAs, Los Angeles shuffled its rotation around, giving Kayode Awosika first team reps while Penning did not practice. The implications of the move could be minimal, but it's clear that Los Angeles wants to test its newfound depth this offseason.
"Slater and Alt manned their respective tackle spots in front of Herbert on Wednesday, with the Chargers initially rolling out an interior of left guard Kayode Awosika, center Tyler Biadasz and right guard Cole Strange. While Biadasz and Strange were mainstays in their spots for the entirety of practice, the Chargers rotated rookie second-round pick Jake Slaughter in at left guard on Wednesday." Eric Smith, Chargers.com
Chargers have the flexibility to toy with their combinations along the O-line
Of course, there's some risk involved here no matter what way the Chargers go at the start of the regular season.
Slaughter will be making a positional switch and attempting to adjust to NFL pressure. Although Penning has starting experience at both tackle and guard, he didn't put much inspiring work on tape last season, allowing 26 total pressures and five sacks across 346 pass-blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus. Awosika started four games for the Detroit Lions, allowing 10 pressures on 168 pass-blocking snaps.
As mentioned, the dominant thought is that Slaughter will take over for Penning between now and the start of the season. But the fact that Awosika was given first-team reps during OTAs holds some significance.
If the plan is to start Slaughter out with the second unit in order to get his feet wet at guard, there's plenty of room for Awosika (or Penning, when he returns to practice) to impress the coaching staff with first-team reps. With Rashawn Slater blocking next to them, this task is made slightly easier.
Los Angeles has worked hard this offseason to have flexibility, especially at guard. They also will carry three players along their offensive line who have experience at center— Biadasz, Slaughter, and Strange. Even if the ceiling for these players isn't as high as many fans would like, it's clear the Chargers have optionality in how they want to assemble their starting O-line and react to injuries over the course of the season.
Evidently, they don't believe it's Slaughter-or-bust at left guard. Whether it's the right move or not, it's a testament to the flexibility they've granted themselves this offseason, and it's something they did not truly have in 2025.
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