The Chargers’ defensive tackle room is taking shape, and it starts with a familiar name who just got paid. Teair Tart is back after landing a three-year extension this offseason, and he’s set up to be the anchor of the group again.
Last year, Tart was one of the team’s best run defenders, finishing with a 74.7 PFF run-defense grade. The expectation now is that his workload grows, with more movement across the line to tap into his pass-rushing ability.
Behind him, the Chargers added a veteran who could be in line for a reset year. Dalvin Tomlinson arrived on a one-year, $7.5 million deal after a down season with the Cardinals in 2025, but he fits as a strong bounce-back candidate under defensive line coach Mike Elston.
The youth in this room gives the Chargers some real options. Jamaree Caldwell, the 2025 third-round pick, had a productive rookie year by staying on the field for all 17 games. He held up well against the run too, posting a 67.2 PFF run-defense grade.
Justin Eboigbe is another piece worth watching. After a quiet rookie season, he broke out in 2025 with six sacks, and he enters Year 3 bringing the kind of pass-rush pop that stands out in a room built mostly around stopping the run.
The depth doesn’t stop there. Nick Barrett, a fifth-round pick out of South Carolina at No. 145 overall, adds another body to the mix. At 6-foot-3 and 327 pounds, he made his name as a run-stopper in college, finishing in the top 15 across the FBS with 25 run stops in 2025.
In Other News...
Chargers Suddenly Face A Massive Rashawn Slater Question In 2026
Rashawn Slater has already built the kind of rsum that usually settles a teams left tackle spot for years. Drafted 13th overall in 2021, he quickly developed into one of the Chargers most important players, earned Pro Bowl recognition and landed a major extension as the franchise bet on his long-term value.
Now the conversation has shifted from upside to availability, because Slaters recovery is the central 2026 question hanging over the offense. Los Angeles knows what he looks like when he is healthy and at his best, but it also knows how injuries have repeatedly interrupted that arc, from a torn bicep to the latest setback, and the Chargers are left waiting to see how much stability they can count on in front of their quarterback. [Read more 🡒]
Two Chargers Rookies Already Stand Out For All The Right Reasons
The Chargers came out of the 2026 NFL Draft with two rookies who seem built to matter right away, even if in very different ways. Brenen Thompson brings the kind of speed that can change the shape of a passing game and add value in the return game, while Akheem Mesidor arrives with the traits of an edge rusher who can fit into a veteran-heavy room and still carve out a role.
For a team trying to keep adding young, inexpensive help around its core, those are the kinds of picks that make sense on paper and on the practice field. Thompson and Mesidor both land in situations where their specific skills line up with obvious needs, which is why there is already a real buzz around what each could become once the regular season starts to answer the harder question. [Read more 🡒]
Mike McDaniel Faces A Huge Justin Herbert Test In Los Angeles
Mike McDaniels first look at the Chargers offense comes with a different kind of challenge than the one he built in Miami. There is no Tyreek Hill-type engine to tilt the field on its own, so the emphasis has to fall on a broader structure: a committed run game, motion, play-action and enough balance to keep defenses from keying on one answer. The idea is less about recreating the Dolphins speed show than layering together a system that can move in more than one direction.
Justin Herbert changes the baseline for all of it. His arm talent, size and ability to throw off-platform give McDaniel more to work with than a coordinator usually gets, which is why this version of the offense can be more adaptable instead of just faster. The interesting part now is how far that flexibility can go if the Chargers get consistent work from the players around Herbert, because the scheme can be diverse only if the roles on the outside hold up. [Read more 🡒]