The Chargers are getting closer to signing their whole 2026 draft class. On Thursday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the team officially agreed to terms with rookie EDGE rusher Akheem Mesidor. Mesidor signed a four year deal worth $20.46 million fully guaranteed.
The fully guaranteed dollar amount doesn't come as a surprise. All first-round pick contracts are fully guaranteed and contract value is determined by draft slot. But still, the Chargers have had cash flow and contract discrepancies linger into the offseason before like the Joey Bosa situation in 2016. However, they have recently been able to get their first-round picks under contract fairly quickly.
Following the signing of EDGE Akheem Mesidor, the Chargers have just one more rookie to take care of in their draft class.
At rookie minicamp, the Chargers agreed to terms with five members of their draft class. That batch signing included OT Travis Burke, S Genesis Smith, DT Nick Barrett, OG Logan Taylor, and OG Alex Harkey. A few days later, the team officially signed second-round draft pick Jake Slaughter to his rookie deal. That left just two rookies unsigned-the aforementioned Mesidor and WR Brenen Thompson.
With Mesidor reportedly having agreed to terms on his rookie contract today, that leaves only Mississippi State's Thompson unsigned. Ultimately, there's not much cause for concern unless the negotiation were to linger into training camp. But the Chargers still have plenty of time to get Thompson under contract.
Last year, the Chargers dealt with a brief WR holdout when it came to Tre' Harris missing some training camp time. This happened in a situation where second-round draft selections were fighting for higher guarantee percentages across the league. Given the different nature of the draft capital used to select Thompson, it's unlikely the Chargers will deal with a similar situation in this case.
Thompson's selection came with a lot of fanfare from the Chargers' own coaching staff. OC Mike McDaniel was one of his biggest proponents that pounded the table for his selection. After he officially signs, the Chargers will have gotten their entire rookie class under contract.
Unlike last offseason, the Chargers shouldn't have to deal with any holdout situations amongst the rookie class. I'd also expect Thompson to be one of the training camp standouts with the speed he provides. Much like with KeAndre Lambert-Smith last preseason, he could also display his explosiveness there. The Chargers still have over a month until training camp starts and should be able to get negotiations with the speedy rookie wrapped up soon.
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