The Los Angeles Chargers needed to make major changes to their offensive protection this offseason. At the very least, they've successfully replenished their depth.
They added Tyler Biadasz, Cole Strange, and Kayode Awosika in free agency before spending four of their eight draft picks on offensive linemen, grabbing Jake Slaughter in the second round, Travis Burke in the fourth, and Alex Harkey and Logan Taylor in the sixth.
The Slaughter pick was defensible, especially given the confidence the coaching staff has projected in his ability to make the positional switch to left guard. So was the Burke pick considering his long-term upside as a potential swing tackle. But as the Chargers continue to build out the roster, their decision to spend both of their sixth-round selections on depth guards will remain somewhat controversial.
It's not that either Harkey or Taylor were bad selections— they both have the potential to develop into solid protectors at the NFL level. But if neither pans out, that pair of decisions could be seen as overkill: a waste of carefully amassed draft capital on a need that had already been filled.
Now, with 17 linemen on the roster heading into training camp and only nine or 10 spots to distribute among them, the Chargers will likely have to choose between one of those selections to remain on the 53-man roster this season. It's not a high-stakes conundrum, but it's a call they'll need to make during the month of August.
Logan Taylor and Alex Harkey will be competing for a roster spot during training camp
At the end of the day, it was a low-cost gamble for the Chargers to add two offensive linemen in the sixth round. But neither has a clear-cut path to a roster spot.
From among those 17 linemen, there are likely nine who are locks for the roster— the five projected starters and Trey Pipkins III, Travis Burke, Kayode Awosika, and Trevor Penning. UDFA Isaiah World will likely take his rookie season as a 'redshirt' year as he rehabs the ACL tear that ended his season during the College Football Playoffs.
The likely leaves a singular roster spot for Harkey, Logan Taylor, Branson Taylor, Laekin Vakalahi, Jacob Spomer, Ben Cleveland, and Josh Kaltenberger to vie for.
Out of those, Logan Taylor likely has the upper hand. He played snaps at three positions along the offensive line (RT, RG, and LT) with Boston College in 2025, allowing 22 total pressures on 538 pass-blocking snaps per Pro Football Focus.
Although Harkey might have higher upside long-term within McDaniel's zone-blocking scheme, his move inside to guard is a result of his lack of NFL-caliber athleticism and fundamental solidity. He allowed 16 pressures on 378 pass-blocking snaps with Oregon in 2025, but he played almost all of his snaps at right tackle, taking just 30 at right guard in his final college season.
There's not enough NFL experience among these depth pieces to truly make a case against either Harkey or Taylor in that regard. But both of these selections will be fighting to prove they belong on the roster, and the time will soon come for Joe Hortiz and company to figure out whether their pair of sixth-round decisions were truly justified.
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