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- Justin Herbert will once again be the centerpiece of the Chargers’ offense, but several young players could play valuable roles in helping the team find playoff success.
There’s a sense of urgency throughout the Chargers’ training facility in El Segundo.
“I’m just really fired up,” coach Jim Harbaugh said. “We got us a ball team.”
With Mike McDaniel leading a revamped offense and Chris O’Leary leading an already-solid defense, Harbaugh and second-year general manager Joe Hortiz have good reason for optimism.
Here is a look at the Chargers’ roster heading into Week 1:
Quarterbacks (2): Justin Herbert, Trey Lance
Herbert is learning a new system entering his seventh season in Los Angeles.
Despite throwing for 3,727 yards with 26 touchdowns in 2025, Herbert spent much of the offseason learning new footwork — now putting his left foot in front of his right in the shotgun — at the request of McDaniel.
“It’s about doing your job and having respect for your teammates,” Herbert said. “You want them to give 100%, so you better give 100% yourself.”
For the second straight season, Lance will back up Herbert.
Running backs (4): Omarion Hampton, Keaton Mitchell, Kimani Vidal, Alec Ingold
Hampton is a serious breakout candidate after rushing for 545 yards and four touchdowns in nine games during an injury-hampered rookie season.
Vidal returns after leading the Chargers with 643 rushing yards. Ingold comes in at fullback after playing four seasons under McDaniel in Miami. Mitchell has been limited recently but is on pace to suit up against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
Wide receivers (6): Quentin Johnston, Ladd McConkey, Brenen Thompson, Tre’ Harris, Derius Davis, KeAndre Lambert-Smith
McDaniel loves getting the ball to playmakers as quickly as possible. So, the Chargers are hopeful for career years from Johnston and McConkey.
Thompson, a rookie who ran the fastest 40-yard dash in the NFL scouting combine, has impressed with his speed and could be a sleeper contributor in space.
The Mike McDaniel-orchestrated offense is looking for a complete revival of the running game in 2026, and Omarion Hampton will be key to making that happen.
Tight ends (3): Charlie Kolar, Oronde Gadsden, David Njoku
The Chargers believe they have a three-headed monster.
“They’re all great dudes,” Njoku said. “Everyone has their own thing ... we complement each other. We just push each other to strive for greatness.”
Njoku enters Year 10 with 34 career receiving touchdowns; Gadsden enters Year 2 with three; Kolar enters Year 5 with four, but he could see more opportunities even if he’ll mostly be used as a blocker.
Offensive linemen (11): Travis Burke, Trevor Penning, Jacob Spomer, Kayode Awosika, Joe Alt, Trey Pipkins III, Jake Slaughter, Alex Harkey, Logan Taylor, Cole Strange, Rashawn Slater
Hortiz doesn’t want the Chargers, who devastatingly lost starting center Tyler Biadasz to a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury, to be as thin on the offensive line as they were in 2025.
“We’re just going to keep ‘em all and see what happens,” Hortiz said, noting Branson Taylor will return from the injured reserve at some point too.
Awosika appears to have won the Chargers’ lengthy left guard competition. But all eyes are on rookie Jake Slaughter, now the starting center with Biadasz sidelined. Slaughter played center at Florida.
Defensive linemen (5): Jamaree Caldwell, Teair Tart, Nick Barrett, Justin Eboigbe, Dalvin Tomlinson
Tart, who signed a three-year contract extension in January, is the anchor in the trenches after starting in 17 games last season.
“Real players, proven players,” Harbaugh said. “And young players that proved enough.”
Caldwell, a third-round pick in 2025, is one of the younger players that’s seemingly proved enough to be in line for a bigger role.
Edge rushers (4): Tuli Tuipulotu, Khalil Mack, Akheem Mesidor, Bud Dupree
The Chargers have an embarrassment of riches off the edges.
Mack once again decided to extend his prolific career, Tuipulotu is playing for a new contract after earning 13 sacks in 2025, and Dupree brings veteran depth. But the real thrill comes from the team’s 25-year-old rookie.
“I think it went well,” said Mesidor, the No. 22 pick in the draft, about his first training camp. “Just trying to perfect my craft, keep asking the older guys questions and get better every day.”
O’Leary hinted at Mack, Tuipulotu and Mesidor sharing the field at the same time — opposing quarterbacks should take note.
Linebackers (4): Daiyan Henley, Marlowe Wax, Del’Shawn Phillips, Troy Dye
Henley, who has collected 250 tackles, 4½ sacks and three interceptions over the past two seasons, has much on his plate as the unequivocal leader of the linebacker corps.
Like Tuipulotu, he’s pursuing a new contract, although Henley won’t have Denzel Perryman alongside him for the first four weeks after the 12th-year pro was placed on injured reserve because of an undisclosed ailment.
“We’ve spoken all camp about how deep that room is and how talented it is,” O’Leary said. “So now, it’s time to show that.”
Cornerbacks (5): Cam Hart, Donte Jackson, Tarheeb Still, Rodney Shelley, Deane Leonard
Still and Jackson are primed to lead a possible rotation at cornerback as they did a season ago.
Like Still, Hart could be in for third-year strides after a solid camp. Shelley joins center Spomer as the two undrafted free agents to make the initial 53-man roster.
Safeties (6): Derwin James Jr., Elijah Molden, Tony Jefferson, RJ Mickens, Kendall Williamson, Genesis Smith
James, a first-team All-Pro, returns as arguably the best defensive back in the NFL. His presence makes O’Leary’s defense that much easier to operate.
“[It’s] not every year you get [a] Derwin coming in as the highest-paid safety, and all he wants to do is give, give, give,” Jackson said.
The safety room overall has plenty of continuity from last season, as does the secondary as a whole. Smith had a strong training camp and is a rookie to watch.
Specialists (3): K Cameron Dicker, P JK Scott, LS Josh Harris
Dicker and Scott struggled during the preseason.
However, Hortiz believes they’ve earned the right to be judged on their regular-season production rather than low moments in tuneups.
Practice squad: Quarterback CJ Uiagalelei; linebackers Lander Barton, Andre Carter II, Junior Colson, Caleb Murphy and Nadame Tucker; running backs Gregory Desrosiers, Amar Johnson; tight ends Patrick Herbert and Evan Svoboda; receivers Gary Jennings and Theo Wease Jr.; center Josh Kaltenberger; cornerbacks Nikko Reed, Kaiir Elam; offensive tackle Laekin Vakalahi; defensive linemen Jordan Jefferson, Terry Webb.
