The Chargers are one preseason win into August, but a few jobs are still very much up for grabs as they get ready for Thursday’s matchup with the 49ers. After opening with a win over the Texans, Los Angeles still has three spots that need more clarity: left guard, defensive end depth, and swing tackle.
Left guard is the most obvious unfinished battle. On this week’s unofficial depth chart, Kayode Awosika, Branson Taylor, and Jake Slaughter were all listed as starters, which says plenty about where things stand.
Nobody has separated yet. That fits what happened in the opener, when Awosika, Taylor, and Slaughter each got work and each had moments.
The Chargers could give all three more snaps against San Francisco, and that would make Thursday worth watching closely. Slaughter has another layer to his case, too, since he is also the backup center.
Even if he doesn’t win the guard job, he still looks like a useful interior piece.
Another name to track is rookie defensive end Akheem Mesidor. He’s listed as the second-string defensive end this week, and the Chargers still have to decide whether he needs more preseason action or is ready to move forward.
Against the Texans, Mesidor played only nine snaps, but he made them count with a pass rush grade of 74.6 according to Pro Football Focus. He didn’t land on the stat sheet, but his technique stood out and pointed to a player who could become a solid part of the Chargers’ pass rush unit in 2026.
The question now is whether nine snaps were enough. Thursday’s joint practice with the 49ers will give him more live reps, and if Los Angeles wants a better read, he could see the field in the game as well.
The other big decision sits at swing tackle, where Trey Pipkins III is under the microscope again. That spot matters because Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater both missed a major chunk of last season, and Slater is still working his way back toward 100 percent heading into Week 2 of the preseason. Pipkins was forced into action in 2025 because of those injuries, and the results were rough: four sacks allowed, 27 pressures, seven penalties, and a run-blocking grade of 42.7, which ranked No. 89 among 89 offensive tackles according to PFF.
That opens the door for other options. Rookie tackle Travis Burke and Branson Taylor are both in the mix, even if neither has much NFL experience.
Both were solid in the preseason opener, and Burke in particular brings an interesting profile at 6-9 and 315 pounds. He was steady at Memphis last season, allowing three sacks, 13 pressures, six penalties, and posting a run-blocking grade of 84.2, which ranked No. 10 among 632 offensive tackles per PFF.
His first preseason showing was encouraging, and if he can keep that up, he’ll force the conversation.
As the Chargers move through the week, the real storyline is simple: who gets more work, and who takes advantage of it. The answers at left guard, defensive end, and swing tackle could become a lot clearer by Thursday.
In Other News...
Chargers Leave Ugly Loss With Two Bigger Problems Than The Score
The Chargers preseason loss to the 49ers was messy enough on the scoreboard, but the bigger concern came from everything around it. Penalties, missed assignments and an offense that never found much rhythm made it a rough night for a team still trying to set its tone under Jim Harbaugh, and the coach did not hide from the fact that the details were not good enough.
Tyler Biadaszs left ACL injury only adds to the unease, because the center spot now has to be reworked on the fly. Rookie Jake Slaughter is expected to slide into the starting job, while Harbaugh also has an unsettled backup quarterback battle still hanging over the roster, leaving the Chargers with more to sort out than a lopsided preseason score. [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Roster Battle Took A Harsh Turn In Preseason Loss
The preseason trip against the 49ers was less about the final score than the Chargers ongoing roster audit, and several players made cases for themselves in live action. Junior Colson stood out on defense with an interception and multiple tackles, Devin Grant also came away with a pick, and Gregory Desrosiers led the running backs in rushing yards, all of it the kind of production that can matter when coaches start narrowing down jobs.
Not every audition went smoothly, though, and Devonte Ross had a rough moment when a muffed punt undercut his chance to build momentum. In a game designed to sort out the back end of the roster, those kinds of mistakes can linger just as long as the highlights, which is why the Chargers will likely spend as much time studying the errors as the takeaways from a night that brought clarity to some spots and more pressure to others. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Leave Chargers Game With A Bigger Concern Than The Score
A preseason game can fade quickly once the result is in the books, and Sundays matchup in Los Angeles felt like one of those nights for the 49ers. They left with a win over the Chargers, but the bigger concern was the list of players who were banged up along the way, including offensive lineman Austen Pleasants, cornerback Renardo Green and linebacker Nick Martin, all of whom exited with injuries.
Kyle Shanahan said Pleasants knee injury is not an ACL tear, while Green and Martin are still waiting on more imaging after hamstring issues. Left guard Robert Jones is also dealing with an unspecified injury that could affect his availability for the next game, giving San Francisco plenty to monitor even as the preseason calendar keeps moving. [Read more 🡒]