Chargers' Hot Seat: Significant Blame Lands at GM Joe Hortiz's Feet

The Chargers are searching for answers. They have started the season 0-3 and there is significant blame as well as questions about most of the team across all three units. Injuries are piling up quickly. The defense seems to be improving week over week and put up a victory worthy performance against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in week three. The offense has been a letdown.

The Chargers offense is the single biggest question mark on the entire team. How did the offseason expectations lead to the current performance? The interior offensive line is in shambles, again. The nearly every starter has seen some sort of regressing with the exception of Ladd McConkey who has been stellar but limited by injuries.

The design, scheme, implementation and coaching of the new offense is squarely on the shoulders of Mike McDaniel, whom Jim Harbaugh gave the keys to build the offense. Perhaps, Harbaugh's laissez-faire approach to the offense is to blame as well, syncing up the offense with a team strategy may have reduced the procedural errors and better ball security.

The most frustrating aspect of the offense is that after the 2025 season, where the Chargers allowed franchise quarterback Justin Herbert to take historic damage behind a crumbling offensive line, the 2026 line got worse.

Joe Hortiz's decision to let left guard Zion Johnson walk in free agency, in retrospect, may have been a mistake. Hortiz philosophically follows the Baltimore Ravens playbook and approach to the guard position and paying top of the market for guards is not part of that playbook.

Oct 21, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Chargers guard Zion Johnson (77) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

However, it's not the decision to let Johnson walk that is most egregious, it was not planning for a future without him. In the 2025 draft, the Chargers drafted one offensive lineman, a late sixth-round pick in Branson Taylor, who did not make the 53-man roster and spent the year on the practice squad.

Joe Hortiz brought in veteran Bradley Bozeman to anchor the line in 2024 and did not draft a single interior offensive lineman that could be developed. Bozeman was re-signed for the 2025 season, and despite effusive praise, Bozeman played at a forgettable level that was universally regarded as substandard and he retired at the end of the season.

The Chargers had no one on the roster to potentially develop and take over despite Bozeman's advanced playing years and Johnson's contract decision looming. Even the signing of free agent Mekhi Becton in 2025 came with risks regarding his history. Risks that lead to his contract being a two year deal but with an out after one.

This past offseason, Hortiz seemed hellbent on correcting this and drafted four offensive lineman to create much needed potential depth and players to develop. The problem though was the starting offensive line had to be rebuilt with the entire interior being replaced.

The first step and best signing of the offseason was landing center Tyler Biadasz. The Chargers then signed guard Cole Strange who was with Mike McDaniel most of 2025. Strange received a low-level starter's contract and was immediately anointed the starting right guard despite being a practice squad player before Miami signed him out of desperation in 2025.

For replacing Zion Johnson at left guard, the Chargers initially decided to re-sign Trevor Penning, who is widely regarded as a first-round bust, to compete for the starting role. They additionally signed veteran swing guard Kayode Awosika from the Detroit Lions and drafted center Jake Slaughter to potentially convert to guard despite serious concerns over his play strength and being a career center.

The Chargers coaching staff decided to have a battle royale between all of options and added in veteran swing tackle Trey Pipkins into the mix and Branson Taylor essentially played well enough to force himself into the conversation.

Chargers guard Branson Taylor after the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. — August 23, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers guard Branson Taylor (71) after the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The trouble with all of these signings and intentions is that the bet that was being made was that the signing of Tyler Biadasz paired with the scheme, loaded with quick passing plays, from Mike McDaniel would elevate subpar guards to play at an adequate level. When Tyler Biadasz went down with a season-ending injury in training camp, the house of cards may have collapsed with him.

Betting on journeymen, first-round busts, castaways and sixth-round picks, after watching Justin Herbert deal with league-worst protection in most categories, does not sound like a solid plan. Herbert, in 2025, took 54 sacks along with 129 quarterback hits and even with both tackles returning to the lineup in 2026, the line is objectively worse.

Some numbers on the Chargers O Line:

LT Rashawn Slater's 76% Pass Block Win Rate ranks 57th out of 66 qualified tackles in the NFL this season and is by far his lowest in a season through 3 games in his career (next closest is 82% through 3 games in 2023)

RT Joe Alt leads the…
— Kris Rhim (@krisrhim1) September 29, 2026

When Joe Hortiz and Jim Harbaugh arrived in Los Angeles, the cupboard was rather bare roster-wise. Tough decisions had to be made as the roster was retooled. They bet on their tackles elevating the interior of the offensive line in 2025, when Rashawn Slater went down, Joe Alt picked up the slack significantly. When Alt went down, the dam broke and disaster started haunting Justin Herbert behind the line of scrimmage.

Faulting the franchise for not being aggressive in the free agent market this past offseason is understandable given the $100 million in cap space that was available. But, not building the depth of the interior sooner and then banking on cheap dart throws to be elevated in a perfect situation is a recipe for disaster. That strategy is being realized in 2026.

Rookie Jake Slaughter was thrust into the starting lineup, he is not equipped nor experienced enough to elevate those around him. The loss of starting center Tyler Biadasz is a tough card to be dealt, but it becomes magnified when the guards have significant faults of their own.

No one on the offense is playing well to start 2026 but the offensive line taking a step in the wrong direction compared to 2025 is near criminal negligence. Unfortunately, the interior offensive line had several question marks entering the season and the fears have all been realized, Hortiz deserves his share of the blame for this particular issue, whether or not his seat begins to warm as the season continues remains to be seen.

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