With the inconsistencies and schematic stagnancies the Los Angeles Chargers offense saw over the past two seasons, it's reasonable to be frustrated heading into 2026.
But the outlook under new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel is entirely different. The Chargers added Alec Ingold, Keaton Mitchell, Charlie Kolar, David Njoku, and Brenen Thompson this offseason in an attempt to try to maximize McDaniel's outside zone-heavy and YAC-dependent scheme. Whatever doubts you may have about McDaniel's viability as a head coach, one thing is certain— the man can run an innovative offense.
Of course, it remains to be seen how effective these changes will be. But with a quarterback of Justin Herbert's caliber at the helm of this schematic shift, it's hard not to be optimistic about what Los Angeles can acccomplish this season.
Until they actually pull it off, though, that won't stop them from being underrated on a league-wide scale.
Bill Barnwell at ESPN recently released his rankings of all the NFL's skill position groups heading into 2026. The Chargers placed 19th. Here's what Barnwell had to say about his decision:
"Most of the additions the Chargers made this offseason were about shoring up blocking for their run game. In came Alec Ingold, Charlie Kolar, David Njoku and a new interior offensive line. All of that will help the Chargers run the football more effectively during the regular season, but we're not focusing on blocking here, so it falls outside the purview of what we're looking at in terms of playmakers... There's plenty of talent throughout the lineup for Jim Harbaugh & Co., but the Chargers are in need of a star. A return to McConkey's 2024 form or a healthy season from Hampton behind a similarly fresh offensive line would help." Bill Barnwell, ESPN
In fairness, the scope of Barnwell's rankings don't include the additional blocking that Ingold, Kolar, and Njoku will bring to the team. But even if you remove that factor, it's hard not to see that the Chargers' wide receiver, tight end, and running back rooms have ample headroom to soar past this ranking in 2026.
Chargers might be missing a star, but each of their skill-position rooms should find great success in 2026
We can prognosticate all we want about how the offense will perform in 2026. But for Los Angeles, it all comes back to one central mandate— they need to prove it. It's hard to blame Barnwell, therefore, for keeping the Chargers as low as they are on his rankings.
But for those who know what many of these players are capable of, it seems like another example of Los Angeles' roster being frustratingly underrated.
Let's start with the running back room. Although Omarion Hampton missed large portions of his rookie season, he has the burst and the athleticism to be a true threat in McDaniel's outside-zone run scheme. If he can match the production we saw from him under Roman over the course of a whole season, we're looking (at least) at a 1,000-yard campaign for the second-year running back— and probably a lot more. Add in the change-of-pace abilities of Mitchell and the north-south abilities of Kimani Vidal, and the running back room is immediately one of the most well-rounded trios in the league.
The wide receiver room, meanwhile, has room for some serious breakout performances in 2026. McConkey was (stop me if you're sensing a theme here) limited by Roman's sub-par passing offense last season. Keenan Allen, who return to the Chargers for the 2025 campaign, also siphoned a significant share of targets away from McConkey. Under McDaniel, McConkey will be the primary YAC threat in the intermediate parts of the field, and his production should become much more consistent in 2026.
Add in the explosive play threats of both Johnston and second-year receiver Tre' Harris, plus the potential use of Brenen Thompson's blazing speed, and this wide receiver corps suddenly looks a lot stronger than the simple sum of its parts.
Although Kolar will primarily be used as an in-line blocker, the Chargers' combination of Njoku and Oronde Gadsden II as pass-catchers offers a versatile and explosive pairing to the offense as well.
In short, a simple analysis of the component parts of the Los Angeles offense doesn't do it justice. Not in the slightest.
But it will take a few games of seeing McDaniel's offense in action before these pieces can be truly evaluated on a league-wide scale.
Add us as a preferred source on Google