Selecting Joe Alt with the No. 5 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft was highly debated at the time but one thing is for certain now: the LA Chargers made the right choice. As special as Malik Nabers is, the Chargers got the best rookie tackle in the class and still ended up with an elite rookie wide receiver in Ladd McConkey.
Plus, Alt is just as special as Nabers but in a different way. While he may not be making circus catches that get featured on SportsCenter's Top 10, he served as a foundational piece for the Chargers offensive line in his rookie season and is only getting better.
Just ask Jim Harbaugh, who is singing Alt's praises when he does not even need to. In fact, Harbaugh went as far as to tell Matt "Money" Smith and Chris Hayre of Chargers Weekly that Alt has Hall of Fame potential.
"Right now, he is one of our most ascending players. He’s that much better, that much improved. He’s on track for a Hall of Fame-type career. "Jim Harbaugh on Joe Alt
Chargers' head coach Jim Harbaugh raises the bar even higher for Joe Alt
Harbaugh is one to hype his own players up and get the most out of them but this is an entirely new level. It's not every day that a head coach with Harbaugh's experience says that a second-year player has legitimate Hall of Fame potential.
That is how special Joe Alt is. And while he has a lot of work to do to ever reach these expectations, he certainly has the talent to do so.
Alt proved that in his rookie season with the Chargers. The former Notre Dame tackle was asked to move across the offensive line with Rashawn Slater already occupying left tackle. It didn't matter. Alt was easily the best rookie tackle in the league and cemented himself as one of the best right tackles in the sport.
According to Pro Football Focus, Alt allowed 24 total pressures on 641 pass-blocking snaps for a pass-blocking efficiency rate of 97.5. His efficiency rate ranked ninth in the entire NFL for tackles with at least 600 pass-blocking snaps. It beat out Rashawn Slater's 97.3 rating, albeit in 586 snaps.
It's not normal for a tackle to come into the NFL, switch positions, and instantly produce at a top-10 clip in the NFL. Alt is simply different, and as Harbaugh alluded to, has massive potential that will only grow with more experience.
If Alt was that good as a rookie, and is one of the biggest ascenders on the Chargers, one can only imagine how special he is going to be in his sophomore season. An All-Pro nod very well may be in the cards, which could be the first of many in what Harbaugh thinks can be a Hall of Fame career.