The LA Chargers have a real candidate to win just about every award the NFL offers. Justin Herbert can win MVP, Jim Harbaugh can win Coach of the Year, Omarion Hampton can win Offensive Rookie of the Year, Derwin James can win Defensive Player of the Year, Mike Williams can win Comeback Player of the Year... you get the point.
The Chargers also have two strong candidates to win the newest award introduced by the NFL. The NFL announced a new award on Wednesday, the Protector of the Year award. Offensive linemen are finally getting some love as the best lineman every year will win the Protector of the Year.
The obvious candidates to win the award from the Chargers are Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt.
Chargers' Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt are destined to be Protector of the Year at some point
Rashawn Slater should instantly be one of the favorites in the entire league to win the award in its initial year. He is, without a doubt, one of the best tackles in the sport and arguably has not even started his prime.
There are many great tackles who will compete for the award and may have a better season than Slater, don't get me wrong. But when it comes to pure ceiling, Slater is one of the best in the league and has a real chance to prove that by winning the award in its first season.
Joe Alt is one of the great tackles in the sport who could compete with Slater for the award. Alt was the most surefire offensive lineman prospect in a draft since Quenton Nelson and he proved why in his rookie season. He switched positions and was still one of the best tackles in the league.
Alt is still a few years away from his prime so he does not have as great of a chance as Slater does to win the award in 2025. However, you could make the case Alt has the better chance in the long run as he has an entire career in front of him. As amazing as Slater is, Alt may have an even higher long-term ceiling.
Either way, it seems like destiny that a Chargers offensive lineman will take home the award within the next five years. If all goes as planned for the Chargers, one of them will win the award as early as this season.