Chargers Should Still be After Most Underrated NFL Free Agent

The Los Angeles Chargers have fans feeling deja vu in NFL free agency when it comes to the offensive line in front of Justin Herbert.

Guard is, after all, still a big need. Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz went and signed new starting center Tyler Biadasz before free agency really got rolling, but then largely remained quiet about the guard spots.

The exception to that was the signing of Cole Strange, something of a veteran journeyman who certainly fits the scheme that new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel wants.

But it’s hard not to view Strange as a possible upgrade point, too, if possible. And that’s to say nothing of the still completely empty other guard spot.

There’s the NFL draft coming up, of course. But the Chargers being so predictable right in Round 1 and throughout the process probably isn’t the best idea.

The good news for the Chargers? Wave 2 of NFL free agency and beyond might just boast a sneaky starting option left.

Chargers should target Browns’ Wyatt Teller in NFL free agency

Cleveland Browns guard Wyatt Teller — Wyatt Teller | Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There are debates worth having about whether certain veteran guards left on the market will actually fit the athletic profile of what McDaniel wants.

But one thing the Chargers can’t debate? The importance of key depth. Just ask the team how things went last year on the edges when Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater went down.

That’s why a name like Wyatt Teller, formerly of the Cleveland Browns, remains in the discussion.

Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay recently made the argument that Teller remains one of the most underrated names on the market:

“Teller has played 6,600 offensive snaps across his seven seasons and should still have plenty of tread left on his tires. He's entering an age-32 season on the heels of allowing three sacks and 24 pressures on 765 snaps (per Pro Football Focus) in 2025, a slight downturn by his lofty standards but still respectable marks for a starting guard.”

This doesn’t necessarily need to be about locking down Teller as a starting guard. There’s an outside chance he doesn’t find that anywhere in the NFL these days.

But Teller fits the profile of smaller moves Hortiz likes to do. He’d be one heck of a backup and mentor for a possible first-round pick, too.

For a team that loves Jim Harbaugh’s “competitors welcome” schtick, getting Teller in the room and letting him at least make a competition of things sure feels right.

Granted, outsiders haven’t seen eye-to-eye with Hortiz’s timid ways in free agency most of the time so far. But Teller feels like a no-brainer the longer the market stays open.

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