LA Chargers O-Line: Brandon Thorn Details Massive Potential and Crucial Concerns

Film expert Brandon Thorn sees an elite ceiling for the LA Chargers' offensive line. Questions around Rashawn Slater and rookie Jake Slaughter raise alarms.

Dec 19, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Joe Alt (76) and the offense are introduced before playing against the Denver Broncos at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The Los Angeles Chargers will be opening training camp officially on July 28th. LA will enter camp with a 100 percent new offensive line compared to the group that took the field in Foxborough to face off against the Patriots in the 2025 Wildcard round of the playoffs.

The Chargers front office completely revamped the interior of the offensive line this offseason, with the left guard spot still open for competition entering training camp. The highly anticipated return of elite tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, both of whom were lost for the season in 2025 due to injury, elevates the group significantly.

General manager Joe Hortiz not only brought in new starters along the interior with Tyler Biadasz at center and Cole Strange at right guard, he and the front office brought in new and significant depth across the line. The Chargers spent four of their eight draft picks on offensive linemen while re-signing backups Trey Pipkins and Trevor Penning along with newcomer Kayode Awosika, who was running with the first team at left guard during organized team activities.

The depth along the offensive line proved to be detrimental to the 2025 Chargers as they were relying on spot starters and players normally reserved for break glass in case of emergency situations for significant snaps and roles following injuries. The team seems determined to have more depth and available options heading into 2026.

Renowned offensive line expert and evaluator Brandon Thorn sat down with host of Chargers Weekly Chris Hayre and discussed the Chargers offensive line additions and the 2026 season outlook.

LA's offensive line's potential ceiling according to Brandon Thorn

• Brandon Thorn knows offensive line play. He is one of the most respected offensive line film evaluators around football. Thorn initially describes the offensive scheme that new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel is bringing to the table. "This is one of the more friendly schemes in the league." Thorn said, "that is going to raise the floor of the offensive line."

"I think the sky is kind of the limit here in terms of what the line can be," Thorn says of the Chargers offensive line with the return of Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater paired in the new offensive scheme. The obvious caveat with any projection surrounding the Chargers' offensive line group is health.

Chris Hayre asks Thorn about the ceiling of the offensive line. Thorn replies, with slight hesitation regarding the health aspect, "I see this as a top ten unit in the NFL, and they could get in that top five range to be honest."

Reasons to be cautious

Oct 21, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Rashawn Slater (70) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The Chargers are excited to get Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater back from injury. However, Slater is returning from a major injury after rupturing his patellar tendon, an injury not along ago considered to be career-ending. Thorn knows Slater well from his work with OLine Masterminds in Texas where Slater has trained since the lost 2020 covid season. Thorn does address the injury and brings up the question of how long it may take him to fully recover from injury.

"It remains to be seen how quickly he can come back and what percentage of player he is year one back from that injury," Thorn said. "I think there's a pretty decent chance he's not quite himself, at least over the first half of the season or something like that."

Slater may need some time to get back to full health functionally and fully being the caliber of player he was prior to the injury. The benefit for Slater is the scheme will help his job easier with quick passes, and play action passes expected to be heavily part of game plans from Mike McDaniel.

The other word of warning Thorn discussed regarding the Chargers offensive line was the conversion of rookie lineman Jake Slaughter from college center to NFL guard. "It's a very difficult transition and there will probably be some rocky moments in pass protection," Thorn said, "I think that'll be mitigated more in this scheme than about any other."

The Chargers did bring in several players in Awosika, Penning and Slaughter to compete for the left guard spot. If the transition proves to be too much before the start of the season for Slaughter to win the job, Awosika and Penning should be able to hold down the spot. If Slaughter does win the job, fans may want to remember that some bumps along the way, specifically in pass protection are to be expected from Slaughter learning a new position.

The battle for left guard will be one to watch in camp. The Chargers have built out the depth better than in years past. The battles for the back end of the room throughout camp and the preseason games should be very competitive.