Chargers Need to Take a Page Out of Bears' and Falcons' 2025 Offseason Playbooks

General manager Joe Hortiz has recently added a proven performer to the offensive line. Will the Chargers address the rest of this unit in the coming days?

Feb 24, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Los Angeles Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Last offseason, two teams that really stood out in terms of addressing specifics were the Chicago Bears and the Atlanta Falcons. Chicago rebuilt the interior of the club’s offensive line, while Atlanta pointed to fixing its pass rush.

Roughly a year ago, Bears’ GM Ryan Poles traded for guards Joe Thuney (Chiefs) and Jonah Jackson (Rams), and signed center Drew Dalman (now retired)) away from the Falcons.

The moves solidified Chicago’s offensive front and Ben Johnson’s line finished third in Pro Football Focus’ rankings for 2025, quite the jump from the previous season (24th).

Dec 21, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Atlanta Falcons linebacker Jalon Walker (11) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Now to the Falcons. The team has struggled to find a pass rush for too many years. In 2024, only the New England Patriots (28) finished with fewer sacks than Atlanta (31). Last April, the club used the 15th overall pick on University of Georgia linebackers Jalon Walker. Following a trade with the Los Angeles Rams, the Falcons used the 26th selection to grab James Pearce Jr.

The latter led the team with 10.5 sacks traps, while Walker was third on the club with 5.5 quarterback traps. All told, only the Denver Broncos (68) finished with more sacks this past season than the Falcons (57)—who established a new single-season franchise record in the process.

Chargers’ offensive line was a mess in 2025

In 2025, injuries to tackles Rashawn Slater—who missed the entire season—and Joe Alt were a huge reason that the Los Angeles Chargers’ offensive line was ranked 30th by Pro Football Focus. That and subpar play from guards Zion Johnson and Mekhi Becton and center Bradley Bozeman were issues as well.

While Alt and Slater are on the mend, Johnson is slated for free agency, Bozeman has retired, and Becton was cut loose after one season. Last week, Chargers’ general manager Joe Hortiz added an experienced pivot in Tyler Biadasz, cut loose by the Washington Commanders. The Bolts have plenty of salary-cap room, so…

Sep 21, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders center Tyler Biadasz (63) walks off the field after the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

How aggressive will Joe Hortiz be during free agency?

Three days ago in his most recent edition of “Albert Breer’s Malibag” on SI.com, he was asked if he thought the Chargers would be aggressive in pursuing Ravens’ three-time Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum? That seems to be a possible moot point now with the addition of Biadasz.

Sep 7, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns guard Joel Bitonio (75) at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

“I think the Chargers will be looking at a lot of options at the interior offensive line positions in general,” said Breer. “GM Joe Hortiz was part of drafting Linderbaum in Baltimore, and center is a very important position in Mike McDaniel’s offense. But I do think they’ll be looking at what makes the most sense for improving between the tackles in general, an equation that could include names like Alijah Vera-Tucker and Joel Bitonio.”

The quick signing of Biadasz would certainly confirm Breer’s thoughts about the center position. Perhaps we will soon see if Hortiz and the Chargers follow in the footsteps of the Bears and Falcons when it comes to fixing their o-line and pass rush, respectively, in one fell swoop?