Biggest Overreaction From Chargers Minicamp

The Chargers might have a big problem on their hands going into training camp.

Los Angeles Chargers guard Kayode Awosika. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

One could write many overreactions from Los Angeles Chargers minicamp. 

Jim Harbaugh’s club is starting over on the offensive side of the ball around Justin Herbert. That’s one big point: Mike McDaniel is in town as the offensive savant capable of helping Herbert hit those immense ceilings he’s yet to grasp. 

The defense is starting over, too. The goal there, though, is continuity, after pulling Chris O’Leary back from the college ranks to serve as coordinator in the wake of the elite Jesse Minter finally landing a head-coaching job somewhere else. 

By far the biggest item to circle in red one it comes to overreactions, though, will feel quite a bit familiar to Chargers faithful: 

It’s all about the offensive line. 

NFL minicamp overreactions,  Chargers edition 

Jim Harbaugh | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

First, the good news: Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater are back. They even seem ahead of schedule, given their spring and minicamp workload. 

Now for the bad. 

New starting center Tyler Biadasz appears alone on an island when it comes to quality of play around him. 

At one guard spot, Cole Strange has been pretty much uncontested for a starting role since arriving. ,It’s a little concerning, considering he’s a former first-rounder who never really reached that height and registered a 54.9 Pro Football Focus grade last year, ranked 58th out of 81 guards. 

And at the other, the Chargers used a second-round pick on Jake Slaughter. Problem is, he was a college center and will attempt to make the transition to the pros while learning the guard spot. 

Hence Slaughter’s name not even showing up with the first-team offense during minicamp when this lineup went out on the field: 

• T: Rashawn Slater 
• LG: Kayode Awosika
• C: Tyler Biadasz
• RG: Cole Strange 
• RT: Joe Alt

Kayode Awosika is another free-agent arrival who fits the scheme but comes with some questionable background. He didn’t play enough snaps last year in Detroit to register in the rankings, but his 57.9 PFF grade sort of says it all. He was a depth piece in 2024, too, earning a 51.3 grade. 

There’s still plenty of time across training camp to iron this out. McDaniel got the guys he wants, scheme-wise. But this is a Chargers team that took the Mekhi Becton risk and stuck with Bradley Bozeman for far too long, too, so fans are right to worry a bit. 

And if it backfires and Slaughter can’t win a job? If Strange flops? There’s no good recourse for the Chargers, no good backup plan. That would leave the team with a shiny new coordinator and scheme, but some of the same old weaknesses yet again.

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