Khalil Mack Is Closing In On Chargers Defensive Royalty

Khalil Mack is on the brink of ascending the Chargers' all-time sack leaderboard, with a chance to leave his mark alongside franchise legends.

The Los Angeles Chargers are headed into their final offseason break before training camp opens July 28, and when they get back to work, Khalil Mack will be chasing more than just a postseason breakthrough.

Mack is set to begin the 2026 season in his fifth year with the Chargers, the longest stop of his career, after re-signing with the team. That alone puts him in rare territory. But there’s another milestone hanging out there for the veteran edge rusher: Chargers franchise sack history.

Mack already has 113 career sacks across his time with the Oakland Raiders, Chicago Bears and Chargers, which places him tied for 29th all-time in NFL history in the official stats, a list that tracks from 1982 to the present. In Los Angeles, he sits 11th on the franchise sack chart with 36.5.

That total has him right on the doorstep of the top 10. Chris Mims and Burt Grossman are next, and Mack needs just 1.5 sacks to catch them both.

After that comes Shawne Merriman, who holds eighth place with 43.5 sacks. That means Mack would need to get to 43.5 to move past one of the most feared pass rushers in Chargers history.

The numbers make the climb look doable, but recent seasons show why it won’t come easy. Mack posted 5.5 sacks in 2025 while missing several games with a dislocated elbow.

The year before, he had six sacks. In 2023, though, he exploded for a career-high 17.

To tie Merriman, he’ll need to get to seven sacks.

Farther up the list is another Chargers icon: Junior Seau. The late linebacker sits sixth all-time in franchise sacks with 47, just ahead of Raylee Johnson at 46. If Mack wants to reach Seau, he’ll need 11 sacks in 2026.

How often Mack gets those chances will depend in part on how new defensive coordinator Chris O'Leary uses him. That part is still unknown.

What is clear is that Mack’s place in Chargers history is already secure beyond the numbers. Still, this season gives him a shot to keep climbing the sack leaderboard and add a few more legends to the list he’s chasing.

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