Chargers Score Wild Super Bowl Prediction Before Free Agency, NFL Draft

The Los Angeles Chargers have started to win over national onlookers.

No wonder. Jim Harbaugh hiring Mike McDaniel to be Justin Herbert’s next offensive coordinator won a lot of people over.

A big chunk of the Chargers’ roster will return in 2026 and the shocking amount of cap space can fill the gaps of departures, if not upgrade other needy spots, too.

Still, one wouldn’t necessarily expect experts to start predicting a playoff win for the Chargers just yet, let alone an actual spring into competition for a Lombardi Trophy. It’s only February, after all.

Alas, some too-early predictions just can’t help but highlight what the Chargers have appeared to accomplish this offseason already.

Chargers to the Super Bowl? ESPN makes some bold predictions

ESPN insiders have started liking what they’ve seen from the Chargers, to the point of including them in Super Bowl projections.

One expert picked the Chargers to make the Super Bowl, alongside the Los Angeles Rams, but lose the SoFi Stadium showdown.

Seth Walder though, went all the way in on the Chargers:

“Chargers over Packers. Am I falling for the Chargers in the offseason, just like we all do every year? Sure. But this time will be different! The 2025 Chargers' biggest weakness -- the offensive line -- already has a built-in solution with their two excellent tackles (Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater) returning to health. Add McDaniel as offensive coordinator and I find myself truly believing.”

roll the tape pic.twitter.com/nFH1qXqpjx
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) February 12, 2026

To the Chargers’ credit, they’ve made the playoffs twice in a row during what could be classified as a transitional period under new head coach Jim Harbaugh. It's no small feat to do that with massive roster churn two years in a row, franchise quarterback established or not.

They’ve done this through shrewd cap management and personnel decisions overseen by general manager Joe Hortiz.

And Hortiz will need to keep it up to make this prediction come true. The cap space starts going away in a hurry with free agents like Khalil Mack and Odafe Oweh. It goes away quick, too, when thinking about the dire needs on the line in front of Justin Herbert.

Even so, it still feels like the Chargers remain on the rise in a big way. More projections like this, especially if they can pull off a strong free agency and draft, seem inevitable.

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