Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers are heading into training camp with a lot of eyes on the offensive line, and one of Joe Hortiz’s free-agent additions is already drawing heat.
Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton pegged Cole Strange as Los Angeles’ biggest potential bust for the 2026 season, and he didn’t soften the message.
“During free agency, the Los Angeles Chargers lost a below-average guard, Zion Johnson, and signed another subpar guard, Cole Strange. The latter’s shaky pass protection may cost him his starting job this year.”
Moton pointed to Strange’s pass-blocking numbers as part of the concern.
“According to Pro Football Focus,” added Moton, “Strange allowed 21 pressures and two sacks over 451 pass-blocking snaps. In 2022, the New England Patriots overdrafted Strange in the first round.
This offseason, the Chargers overpaid him on a two-year, $13 million deal. He may hold on to his job only to keep fellow disappointing 2022 first-rounder Trevor Penning on the sideline.”
That’s a rough label for the 29th overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, but Strange’s NFL path has already been bumpy. The former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga lineman started all 17 games as a rookie.
Over the next two seasons, he appeared in just 13 games total, with 12 starts. New England declined his fifth-year option in April of 2025, then waived him four months later.
Strange finished last season with the Miami Dolphins, where he started the final 14 games for Mike McDaniel’s team. His 54.9 PFF grade was nearly the same as his rookie mark of 54.6 with the Patriots. Now he’s on his third team in as many years, and the skepticism around him is easy to understand.
The Chargers’ line was a mess in 2025. Injuries to tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt hit hard, and the team has also moved on from the three main interior starters from a year ago: Zion Johnson, center Bradley Bozeman, and right guard Mekhi Becton.
Hortiz tried to patch things up aggressively. Along with Strange, he spent four of his eight draft picks on offensive linemen. That group is led by second-round pick Jake Slaughter out of Florida, who is making the move from center to guard.
With that much turnover, Harbaugh’s team can’t afford another shaky season up front. Strange will get his chance to prove he’s more than a short-term fix when camp opens.
In Other News...
Chargers Camp Will Test Whether This Offseason Fixed The Biggest Problems
When the Chargers open training camp on July 28, the offseason overhaul will finally move from theory to evaluation. New offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel and defensive coordinator Chris O'Leary were brought in to help clean up the teams biggest problem areas, and camp will quickly show whether those changes have real traction. The offensive line shuffle has a clear battleground at left guard, while Justin Herberts work under McDaniel will be watched closely as the staff tries to reshape the passing game around a quicker rhythm.
On the other side of the ball, O'Learys approach is expected to bring a different look up front and alter how the Chargers deploy some of their best defensive pieces. There are still questions in the cornerback room, too, which means general manager Joe Hortiz may not be done tinkering if the younger options do not answer the bell. For a roster that spent the offseason trying to patch obvious holes, camp is less about getting reps and more about finding out which fixes actually hold up. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Suddenly Have A Real Chance To Unlock Justin Herbert
The Chargers enter the season with a different kind of optimism around Justin Herbert, and it starts up front. After spending the offseason reshaping the offensive line, the team has tried to give Herbert a cleaner pocket and a more stable platform than he has had in recent years, a move that fits the broader sense that Los Angeles is trying to make its offense more functional and less dependent on improvisation.
Bleacher Reports latest NFL Power Rankings slot the Chargers in the middle of the top tier, with the defense viewed as steady and the offense carrying the bigger upside swing. The bigger question now is whether those changes are enough to push Los Angeles from being a team that has hovered near contention into one that can finally break through in the AFC West, where the Chargers have spent too long chasing the division lead instead of owning it. [Read more 🡒]