No matter how you spin it, it's hard to avoid the fact the Los Angeles Chargers' approach in the early portions of free agency has fallen short of fan expectations.
After the cuts of Mekhi Becton and Will Dissly, the Chargers had the most cap space in the NFL, and many fans expected them to leverage that to make some big signings. Instead, the top players on the market rapidly went to rival teams, and Los Angeles was yet again left digging in the bargain bin to fill out their roster.
But it's not all bad. If you trust Mike McDaniel to re-shape the offense, perhaps the replacement of three interior starters and the returns of Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater will be enough. If new defensive coordinator Chris O'Leary can elevate the defense in the same way Jesse Minter did, we might not see much regression on that side of the ball either.
It's completely reasonable to be frustrated at this point in the offseason. But there's also reason to be optimistic about what this team can be next season.
Moe Moton at Bleacher Report, in his recent rankings of the top rosters in the NFL after early free agency, placed the Chargers ninth. There's a number of ways in which this ranking is realistic, and to whatever extent that's true, there's still reason for hope.
Chargers still have a shot at being one of the top teams in the NFL next season
The Chargers' failings in 2025 don't need to be re-hashed here. But it's safe to say that if the offense turns itself around, they could be a truly dangerous team in 2026.
Moton agrees, and it's the reason he ranked Los Angeles so highly.
"With those two Pro Bowlers back on the field, Los Angeles should field a more efficient passing attack and physical ground game, which means wide receiver Ladd McConkey and running back Omarion Hampton could see spikes in their production... Watch out for the Chargers' offense when it's healthy."- Moe Moton
In 2025, the Chargers had the offensive weapons they needed to be an explosive offense. It was their offensive line, which suffered injuries across the board and allowed 60 sacks over the course of the season, that truly held them back. With Alt and Slater hopefully healthy and back in the mix, and a capable center in the fold in Tyler Biadasz, it's possible that simply having capable guard play will be enough to bring this line back into the top half of the league.
Can Cole Strange and whoever they slot in at left guard provide that? It's possible.
The other side of the coin, however, is the defense. Losing Odafe Oweh was a blow, but Los Angeles should now be able to replenish their depth in the draft and through the rest of free agency while also managing to extend Tuli Tuipulotu.
If O'Leary can utilize what he learned under Minter to continue the Chargers' zone-heavy defensive scheme, there's very little reason to believe we'll see serious regression in 2026. This would, hopefully, leave Los Angeles as a top-10 defense yet again.
When you take these facts in tandem and gloss over some of the disappointment of the offseason so far, the Chargers still have a real chance to enter Super Bowl contention in 2026.