As the NFL season turns the corner into Thanksgiving (and the push for the playoffs), the time has officially come for early draft coverage, and ESPN's latest 2026 mock draft has added fuel to the fire.
Yet, the player they have the Chargers selecting at 22nd overall, defensive tackle A'Mauri Washington out of Oregon, while a potentially bruising run stopper, would represent the wrong choice for the organization as it stands.
Instead, there is a glaring need on the interior of the offensive line, and, although the top player at that position (Olaivavega Ioane) will likely be off the board by the time Los Angeles picks, there is one player who should still be the obvious selection: Kadyn Proctor out of Alabama.
The Chargers need to devote more resources to their offensive line, or they might as well give up on their Super Bowl hopes
The struggles of the Chargers' offensive line this season have been well-chronicled and, for the most part, are not worth re-hashing here. Suffice to say that the interior has been decidedly rough.
When their star tackles, Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater, return next year, the line will get a major boost. Yet, if Bradley Bozeman, Zion Johnson and Mekhi Becton are still making up the interior, this team will encounter many of the same struggles that have kneecapped them this season.
The Chargers spent a first-round pick on Alt in the 2024 draft, and, so far, that decision has paid off excellently when he's played. However, apart from that selection, they have not spent higher than a fifth-rounder on an offensive lineman since 2013, when they selected DJ Fluker with the 11th overall pick.
Therefore, this is by no means a knock against Washington. If you see the type of plays he's put on tape this season, he would be an excellent selection for almost any team looking to develop a potentially crushing defensive tackle. It is, instead, an insistence that the Chargers finally allocate their resources wisely.
Although Proctor (who is 6'7" and 360 lbs) is listed as an offensive tackle, multiple teams have considered moving him inside in order to alleviate some of the isolation that comes from playing the outside, according to Dane Brugler of The Athletic. Brugler has Proctor listed at 18 on his recent Big Board and as the third-best tackle in the draft class.
Proctor has lacked consistency this year, but putting an athlete of that caliber alongside a player of Alt's consistency could truly allow the offensive line to begin to put itself together on a more consistent basis.
Moreover, Brugler only has two guards in his Top 50, meaning that this is a relatively thin class as far as interior linemen go. If the Chargers want to improve their protection in any meaningful way, they will need to strike while the iron is hot.
For a team with different immediate needs, Washington might be the ideal late first-round selection. For Los Angeles, however, their ability to maximize Justin Herbert's career starts with upgrading his protection. The draft could present them with an opportunity to do so.