From the very beginning of the offseason, the Los Angeles Chargers have set the stage for one position battle to take the spotlight at OTAs and training camp— the competition for the starting left guard spot.
Although they went out and added Tyler Biadasz ahead of free agency, they clearly carried less urgency when it came to their guards. They didn't truly pursue any of the major names on the market, instead signing Cole Strange and Kayode Awosika. They also brought back Trevor Penning, whom they acquired at the trade deadline last season. They also added Jake Slaughter, Logan Taylor, and Alex Harkey in the 2026 NFL Draft.
From the time the Draft concluded, it seemd as though the battle would come down to Slaughter and Penning, while Awosika had an outside chance to make some noise during the offseason program. So far, it seems as though Awosika has taken an early lead in that competition.
As high-profile as that battle may be, at least for Chargers fans, there is another, sneakier roster competition taking place as we prepare for the third week of OTAs. It's unlikely Los Angeles will carry more than five of the seven edge rushers they currently have on the roster into 2026.
As Bud Dupree, Kyle Kennard, Nadame Tucker, and Garmon Randolph all vie for jobs this offseason, the Chargers' most important position battle is quickly starting to take shape.
The Chargers' position battle at outside linebacker carries more weight than you might think
Obviously, the battle at left guard is important in its own right. The Chargers finished 2025 with the second-most sacks allowed in the entire NFL. Their interior offensive line was, by most measures, the worst group in the league.
But McDaniel has, at least implicitly, expressed confidence in his ability to scheme around league-average guard talent. As long as the Chargers' competition yields a viable starter, things should be fine on that front.
The outside linebacker room could quickly take on a greater importance, especially if Awosika all but locks up the starting guard job by the end of OTAs.
Last season, the departure of Joey Bosa left Los Angeles hinging its pass rush on the services of Khalil Mack and Tuipulotu. When Mack went down with an arm injury in Week 2, they quickly realized the error of their ways. They dealt for Odafe Oweh of the Baltimore Ravens, and he quickly changed their fortunes. Jesse Minter was able to utilize that trio in creative ways to create ample opportunities for each pass rusher.
The addition of Akheem Mesidor should enable Chris O'Leary to replicate some of that. But a larger (and relatively obscured) problem in 2025 was the lack of a safety net for the Chargers at the position. Neither Dupree nor Kennard were consistently viable in the pass rush. Kennard was limited to just five games due to injury, and he played just 26% of defensive snaps even when he was available. Dupree played 41% of defensive snaps, but he totaled just two sacks and 16 combined tackles on the season.
The Chargers, therefore, had virtually no depth they could lean on beyond their starting trio.
In 2026, they likely need Tucker to make a push for the roster, either to supplant Dupree or Kennard or to push both players to reach heights they didn't last season.
O'Leary should, in many ways, be able to replicate the fluidity and the versatility that Jesse Minter found in the secondary over the past two seasons. But O'Leary also has a tendency towards blitzing that Minter does not possess, meaning that the Chargers defense in 2026 could be more dependent on their pass rushers' disruptive abilities.
There's certainly room for regression on Mack's end as he reaches age 35, and Mesidor is still an unknown quantity at the NFL level.
Los Angeles, therefore, needs to establish reliable depth behind Mack, Tuipulotu, and Mesidor. Out of the many ways they can position O'Leary for success in 2026, this underlying goal may be among the most important.
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