Chargers Roster Spotlights: Lander Barton, Freshman Phenom to Intriguing UDFA

Lander Barton, born on December 30, 2003, in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, played his high school ball At Brighton High School where he played both basketball and football, becoming first-team all-state two times in his football career.

Coming from an extremely athletic family that possesses Cody Barton and Jackson Barton, two athletes who are or were in the league, allowed for Lander to follow suit, earning a four-star recruiting status according to 247Sports.

Barton chose to stay close to home and commit to the Utah Utes, where he instantly contributed to the team as a breakout freshman athlete for the 2022 season. He earned Pac-12 Conference Freshman Defensive Player of the Year for his effort. 2023 saw Barton play in half the games, recording his first career interceptions, but his tackles for loss and sack totals saw a massive dip, even with fewer games played.

2024 and 2025 for Barton had him remain the starter for the Utes, but his impact was nothing like his freshman season. Barton was still a solid defender who made plays often in both the run and pass game, but was far from a slamdunk NFL prospect.

NFL Scout, Lance Zierlein, had Barton as a seventh-round/priority free agent level talent, noting, "Barton saw a slight downturn in production and consistency in 2025. He lacks ideal short-area quickness and agility for the NFL game but it’s good enough for backup consideration. He needs to play with better block slip and take-on to make his job easier. Barton’s handful of snaps and targets as a tight end might create some H-back roster flexibility to go with his linebacker label."

Chargers Lander Barton, LB Utah

Barton ended up going undrafted, even with his NFL bloodlines and extremely notable freshman season. He found himself picked up by the Los Angeles Chargers in undrafted free agency, now with an opportunity to make a name for himself in the NFL.

2025 Season Stats

13 Games
55 Tackles
3.5 Tackles for Loss
1.5 Sacks
1 Interception
1 Pass Deflection
6 Receptions
44 Yards
1 Receiving Touchdown

Measurables

Mockdraftable page is unavailable for Lander Barton. Below is his RAS card.

Lander Barton is a LB prospect in the 2026 draft class. He scored a 7.05 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 1021 out of 3460 LB from 1987 to 2026.https://t.co/BlkMrhSwy5 pic.twitter.com/KiJYyp2c3y
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 6, 2026

Contract Status

"Lander Barton signed a 3 year, $3,117,000 contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, including $17,000 signing bonus, $264,500 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $1,039,000. In 2026, Barton will earn a base salary of $885,000 and a signing bonus of $17,000, while carrying a cap hit of $890,666 and a dead cap value of $264,500." - Spotrac

Lander Barton's 2026 Season Outlook

The Los Angeles Chargers got some positive feedback for their signing of Barton, as an intriguing dart-throw at a talented LB with real collegiate experience. However, the roster is shaping up to be extremely close from names above Barton on the depth chart; his best chance at sticking around Los Angeles will be on the practice squad.

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