Justin Herbert is one of four Chargers who landed on ESPN’s predicted top 100 players for the 2026 season, and the group gives a pretty clear snapshot of why Los Angeles is drawing so much attention.
Herbert checked in at No. 32, rising three spots from ESPN’s 2025 ranking. Safety Derwin James Jr. came in at No. 51, tackle Joe Alt landed at No. 86, and tackle Rashawn Slater rounded out the Chargers contingent at No. 95.
ESPN’s Kris Rhim pointed to Herbert’s season and the changes around him in explaining the ranking: "Herbert set career highs in interceptions and quarterback hits, he gets a new offensive coordinator, Mike McDaniel, whose stated goal is to make life easier for his quarterback. With McDaniel, one of the league's most respected offensive minds, it would be no surprise if Herbert has a career-year," ESPN's Kris Rhim wrote.
Herbert is heading into Year 7, still squarely in his prime, and the traits that made him a franchise quarterback in the first place are still there: the big arm, the size, the kind of physical tools teams build around.
Alt and Slater matter just as much to the bigger picture on offense. When Los Angeles was without them for a significant stretch, Herbert took a beating and finished with a career-high 54 sacks.
If the Chargers can keep both tackles on the field, that offense should be in a much better place when the playoffs arrive.
James brings a different kind of value. At 30, he remains the kind of versatile safety who can line up just about anywhere and disrupt an offense in a hurry. He’s viewed as arguably the best at his position, and the Chargers lean on that flexibility every week.
ESPN’s list only reinforces the same point: if the Chargers are going to live up to the buzz around them in 2026, these four players are going to be at the center of it.
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