While it hasn't been a month since their early exit from the playoffs, the Los Angeles Chargers have already had quite the action-packed offseason, what with replacing fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman with Mike McDaniel and also having to hire a new defensive coordinator after Jesse Minter became the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, which turned out to be a returning Chris O'Leary.
With the coaching staff finally in place, the Bolts can finally turn their full focus to player personnel, and that aspect of this offseason is bound to be eventful as well, as Los Angeles has a lot of decisions to make. The Chargers have nearly 30 players set to hit some sort of free agency, which, in turn, is why they have a significant amount of projected salary cap space—the third-most in the NFL at the time of this writing, in fact, with more than $88 million, according to Over The Cap.
How the Bolts use that cash in free agency will obviously help determine the team's biggest needs when the 2026 NFL Draft rolls around in April, but Jim Harbaugh is apparently already enamored with one potential prospect, as he—and pretty much everyone else—watched Florida defensive lineman Caleb Banks put on a show at Senior Bowl practice on Friday.
Jim Harbaugh was clearly impressed with Caleb Banks at Senior Bowl practice
For those unfamiliar, Banks spent his first two collegiate seasons at Louisville, redshirting the first after appearing in just one game, and transferred to Florida ahead of the 2023 season. Between the '23' and '24 campaigns, the 6-foot-6, 330-pounder certainly showcased his skill as a pass-rusher, tallying 53 pressures, but was solid against the run as well.
He returned to Gainesville for a third season in 2025, but a foot injury limited him to just three games. But as Harbaugh witnessed in Mobile on Friday, Banks is clearly as healthy as can be, as the 22-year-old dominated the sessions in which he was involved, showcasing incredible explosiveness and power in front of the many, many NFL executives and coaches on hand.
Florida's Caleb Banks tossing grown men around like rag dolls pic.twitter.com/Zv00WyN5dU
— Justin Penik (@JustinPenik) January 29, 2026
The biggest winner of the weekend was easily Florida DT Caleb Banks. The last two days, after a slow start, were reminiscent of his 2024 tape. Flashes quick feet, great flexibility, and active hands as a pass rusher on this rep pic.twitter.com/P0RbDawS7O
— Joe DeLeone (@joedeleone) January 30, 2026
PFF's lead NFL draft analyst Trevor Sikkema, who has Banks ranked 14th on his big board, by the way, was on hand and posted on his X account that he wishes he "could’ve gotten a picture of the smile Jim Harbaugh had watching a Caleb Banks rep on the sideline of Senior Bowl practice."
In addition to size and strength, another asset Banks possesses is versatility, as he can serve as a nose tackle, 3-technique, or 3-4 defensive end. And with O'Leary seemingly planning to keep Minter's system in place, at least for the most part, Banks should be able to slide in seamlessly.
The issue Harbaugh may face if he really wants to add Banks is that he may not be available when the Chargers go on the clock at No. 22 overall. He was already projected as a first-rounder, and his stock has clearly gone up over the past few days. So, we'll just have to wait and see how things play out.