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The Los Angeles Chargers walked into the offseason with one question to answer: how to protect Justin Herbert better.
With their franchise star sacked 54 times, which was the third-most in football last season, the Chargers went about fixing the offensive line.
Yes, having Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater back will help, but L.A. also added Cole Strange and three-time Pro Bowl center Tyler Biadasz.
Not to mention their draft haul, which CBS Sports' Bryan DeArdo states, saw the franchise do something it hasn't done in nearly a decade.
"During free agency, the Chargers acquired center Tyler Biadasz and right guard Cole Strange,” DeArdo wrote. “In the draft, Los Angeles acquired another projected starter on the offensive line in left guard Jake Slaughter, the first interior lineman selected by the Chargers within the first two days of the draft since Joe Hortiz became the team's general manager in 2024.
“The Chargers also acquired right tackle Travis Burke and guard Logan Taylor, making it the first time that Los Angeles drafted three offensive linemen since 2017."
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Chargers do enough to protect Herbert?
At face value, yes, and we heard Jim Harbaugh speak at the NFL owners meeting about how Mike McDaniel's scheme would also help Herbert, with not as many pure passing drop-back situations.
The addition of Biadasz is a touch underrated in my opinion, plus Slaughter could be slated to be a starter sooner rather than later.
But let's not kid ourselves. The Chargers need Alt and Slater to be fully healthy all season, and that is a tall order, but not impossible. Depth was a big issue for the Chargers last season, and they've now added it.
Time will tell if that's enough to keep Herbert from getting blown up on a regular basis.
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