The Chargers’ third week of fall 2026 training camp has turned the left guard race into one of the more intriguing battles on the roster, and Branson Taylor is right in the middle of it.
What makes Taylor’s push stand out is how far he’s come in a short time. The second-year lineman was a sixth-round pick from Pitt in 2025, and last summer the Chargers tried him in different spots before he fell short of the 53-man roster. He spent the entire 2025 season on the practice squad, then got an elevation late in the year and started against the division champion Denver Broncos while starters rested before the playoffs.
That’s a long way from being an afterthought in the offseason. Taylor entered 2026 with plenty of competition around him after the Chargers added pieces in free agency and the draft under offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s new scheme, and he wasn’t part of the initial 53-man roster projection after OTAs. Now, he’s not only in the mix for the starting left guard job, he’s also showing enough flexibility to work at tackle.
The reason for the turnaround, as the Chargers see it, is simple: Taylor put in the work.
Jim Harbaugh pointed to that growth when asked before Saturday’s padded practice about Taylor getting first-team reps. “This offseason, just been a really incredible offseason,” Harbaugh said in reference to Taylor's growth, “In the training environment, saw it there first and then on the field in OTAs and in minicamp.”
Harbaugh also said the feedback from the training staff and executive director of player performance Ben Herbert kept reinforcing the same message. “I mean, the reports coming back from Ben Herbert and staff were like, Branson, wow! Leveling up.”
Justin Herbert had a similar read after Monday’s walkthrough, when he was asked about Taylor working with the first team. “Branson's put in a lot of great work this offseason, he showed up a different man,” Herbert said, “It's been fun to see and it's been cool for him to get the opportunities to run with the ones.”
For a former sixth-round pick to spend a year on the practice squad and then come back the next season pushing for a starting job, or at least a roster spot, is a notable rise. Taylor’s climb says plenty about his commitment, but it also reflects the environment around him.
Harbaugh’s culture has put a premium on work being noticed and rewarded, and Taylor’s case fits that perfectly. The Chargers’ staff, starting with Ben Herbert, saw the offseason effort and responded by giving him a real shot.
McDaniel made that philosophy clear before Justin Herbert’s comments. “I really want the starter to earn it.
I think the player will tell us. I think his teammates will tell us by the collective group execution,” McDaniel said.
“The best player for that position will be helping the whole group operate with great communication and decisiveness and style of play.”
That’s the backdrop for Taylor’s rise: a player who forced his way back into the conversation, and a Chargers setup under Harbaugh that seems built to notice it.
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