That’s a wrap on the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Chargers made eight total selections over the past three days, beginning with Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor at No. 22 overall in Round 1.
All in all, the Bolts used five picks on offensive players and three on defense.
Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz ,Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander held a press conference on Saturday afternoon to recap the draft.
Here are five takeaways from Hortiz, Harbaugh and Alexander:
A little more than three months ago, the Chargers entered the 2026 offseason with just three offensive linemen under contract.
A pair of those players — Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt — didn’t see the field for most or all of the season due to injury.
Yet as the 2026 NFL Draft came to a close Saturday afternoon, the Chargers put the finishing touches on revamping a room that appears dead set on protecting Justin Herbert at a higher level going forward.
The Chargers addressed the offensive line in free agency by adding Tyler Biadasz, Cole Strange and Kayode Awosika. Others such as Trey Pipkins III and Trevor Penning re-signed in free agency.
And then there was a focus to enhance that group in the draft, a plan that began with taking Florida’s Jake Slaughter in Round 2 and continued with three more offensive linemen — Travis Burke, Logan Taylor and Alex Harkey — on Day 3.
Of the eight draft picks the Chargers made in recent days, four ended up landing in the O-line room.
“Like I told you [Friday], one of you asked a question about linemen and I said there’s a lot of linemen we like in this draft still,” Hortiz said. “We take the best players available. It breeds competition.
“They were there, and they were the highest guys. We didn’t force, if anything we took three linemen then we took another one, because he’s the highest guy,” Hortiz added.
The Chargers traded up with the Texans to get Burke at No. 117, who is listed at 6-foot-9 and is 325 pounds. He most recently played at Memphis, where he started 11 games at right tackle in 2025.
The offensive lineman earned First-Team All-AAC honors after posting a season with an 98.0 pass-blocking efficiency and an 84.5 Pro Football Focus offense grade.
But it is Burke’s mentality that endeared him to the Chargers, as he is known for violent blocks that make highlight reels.
“That’s like scoring a touchdown or making a one-handed catch for me,” Burke said.
The Chargers front office lit up when talking about Burke’s play style and temperament on the field.
“Just a massive human being. Huge. Outstanding length. He’s tough, a really tough competitor. What stands out to me is the effort, the finishing ability, nastiness in terms of finishing plays,” Alexander said. “And he’s still got a ton of upside, you know what I mean? He’s only going to get better.
“That’s someone we felt really comfortable with at that point and it’s going to reinforce our offensive line, so we were really excited to get him where we got him,” Alexander said.
Hortiz said: “The physicality is fun, I saw some highlights after we picked him where he’s just bulldozing guys in the open field. Just a lot of talent and a lot of upside still to go.”
Harbaugh said: “Love the hustle. Not afraid to finish down the field, out past the hashes. Just a lot of good. Sometimes you get a favorite player and this was definitely one of mine in this draft.”
The Chargers then used a pair of sixth-round picks on Taylor (No. 202 overall) and Harkey (No. 206 overall).
While Taylor and Harkey each spent the majority or all of their respective college careers at tackle, Hortiz said both will compete at guard depth for the Chargers.
“Both big frame guys, athleticism, you watch them both and they’re physical,” Hortiz said. “There’s some plays that pop in my head with Alex, some kind of wow athletic plays when you’re watching him out in space.
“Then Logan, thinking about the finishing. He started his career at Virginia and worked at tackle, down to guard. A lot of starts in his career and just really like the mentality they both play the game,” Horitz added. “They’re both physical players, come off the ball, finish blocks, sturdy, big men.”
The Chargers will now turn their full focus to the 2026 offseason program, spring practices and training camp.
They will do so much with a supremely improved and deeper offensive line in front of Justin Herbert.
“It fires me up,” Harbaugh said.
Hortiz added: “Let’s take the best players and make the team as competitive and as good as we can make it.”
