The Los Angeles Chargers will see, at the very least, a change in the expression of their defensive identity under Chris O'Leary in 2026.
The infrastructure of the defense will remain largely the same— heavy zone coverage, post-snap rotations, and two-high shells will be the calling cards on that side of the ball. But O'Leary may very well be looking to get more aggressive along the defensive line and in the tackle box, allowing his linemen and linebackers to play more freely and in more versatile roles than Minter did under his blitz-averse scheme.
But even if we set that to the side, the one thing the Chargers were missing last year under Minter was a bona fide nose tackle to help solidify the run defense. They got that this offseason, signing Dalvin Tomlinson to a one-year, $6.8 million contract.
Tomlinson will likely come off the field frequently when Los Angeles moves into nickel— something they did 78% of the time in 2025, per Sharp Football Analysis. But when the defense needs to hunker down and stop the run, Tomlinson will be a vital piece alongside starting defensive tackles Jamaree Caldwell and Teair Tart.
But we haven't heard much about Tomlinson in training camp. He played just six snaps between the Chargers' two preseason games, and he hasn't popped up with any highlight plays although the defensive line around him has excelled in their practice reps.
Tomlinson isn't a flashy player, though— he simply needs to get the job done in 2026.
Dalvin Tomlinson simply needs to be a replacement-level NT for the Chargers in 2026
Even if the Chargers didn't have a massive piece in the middle of their defensive line last season, they were able to compensate for that deficit with their versatility. Tart played 60 snaps lined up as a nose tackle last season. Caldwell played 104, and Otito Ogbonnia, Da'Shawn Hand, and Justin Eboigbe took a handful as well.
On paper, Tomlinson might not be the most exciting signing. He posted just 26 combined tackles last season with the Arizona Cardinals, and he was ranked 119th out of 134 qualified defensive linemen in Pro Football Focus's run defense grading system.
But the Cardinals' system was, frankly, a strange one— and it likely wasn't conducive to Tomlinson's skill set. If we rewind even to 2023 and 2024, which he spent with the Cleveland Browns, Tomlinson looks to be an above average tackler and run defender. If the Chargers are able to leverage him wider and in combination with rookie Nick Barrett, they should be able to maximize his productivity even as he enters his tenth NFL season.
If there's an area of improvement for the Chargers defense in 2026, it's against the run. They finished in the top-10 in total rushing defense in 2025, but there were some highly inconsistent performances (against the Washington Commanders and the Jacksonville Jaguars, for example) sprinkled in there.
Even if we haven't seen much out of him in training camp, Tomlinson has the size and the experience to be a reinforcing piece for the Los Angeles defense in that capacity.
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