2026 Los Angeles Chargers Team Preview
In his two seasons with the Chargers, Jim Harbaugh made the
postseason with 11 -6 records, only to lose in the first round of the
playoffs. Despite repeated success last year, Los Angeles wasn’t a
better team due to regression on both sides of the ball, along with poor
pass blocking and demise in quarterback play over the second half of
the year. The Chargers outscored their opponents by 28 points,
compared to 101 in 2024 and -52 before Harbaugh arrived.
Over six head coaching seasons in the NFL, Harbaugh has never had
a losing season while leading his teams to five postseason berths. He
has a 66-31-1 record (5-5 in the playoffs), with a loss to the Baltimore
Ravens in the 2012 Super Bowl. From 2015 to 2023, Harbaugh served
as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, culminating in a National
Championship in 2023.
Los Angeles brought in Mike McDaniel to run their offense after he lost
the Miami Dolphins’ head coaching job. His teams went 35 -33 across
four years in Miami with two losses in the postseason. McDaniel started
his NFL coaching career in 2005 with the Denver Broncos as a coaching
intern. Over the next 15 years, he worked his way up to offensive
coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers in 2021. McDaniel takes over
an offense that finished 20th in points scored (368) and 10th in offensive
yards (6,020).
The Chargers also made a change at defensive coordinator by bringing
in Chris O’Leary. He worked as the safeties coach for Los Angeles in
2024 before taking a coaching job at Western Michigan (defensive
coordinator/safeties coach). O’Leary enters this year at age 34. The
Chargers allowed 340 points last season, ranking them ninth in the NFL.
Their defense gave up 5,105 combined yards (third -lowest total in the
league).
Offense
Teams RATT YDS Run% ATT YDS Pass% Plays Yards
Los Angeles C hargers 466 2067 0.450 569 3953 0.550 1035 6020
Offensive Run/Pass Splits
Last year, the Chargers ran the ball 45.0% of the time, which was down
slightly from 2024 (47.6%). They gained 227 more combined yards than
the previous season (5,793), but scored 34 fewer points. Los Angeles
ranked 12th in rushing yards (2,067), with 10 r ushing touchdowns and
14 runs of 20 yards or more. They averaged 27.4 carries per game.
Their pass attack finished 15th in yards (3,953) while delivering 26
touchdowns and 14 interceptions. The Chargers’ offensive line gave up
60 sacks (2nd most in the NFL). Los Angeles threw the ball 33.5 times
per game, with a 64.5% completion rate. They ga ined 7.0 yards per
attempt, with 45 competitions gaining 20 yards or more.
Quarterbacks
QB Justin Herbert, LAC
Justin Herbert projects for 4034 passing yards, 25 passing TDs, and 8 INTs, with 339 rushing yards and 3 rushing TDs adding fantasy value for the Los Angeles Chargers. This is a projection-derived draft blurb and requires player-ID and team validation before CMS import.
QB Trey Lance, LAC
Trey Lance projects for 182 passing yards, 1.3 passing TDs, and 0 INTs, with 22 rushing yards and 0 rushing TDs adding fantasy value for the Los Angeles Chargers. This is a projection-derived draft blurb and requires player-ID and team validation before CMS import.
RB Omarion Hampton, LAC
Omarion Hampton projects for 245 carries for 1079 yards and 9 TDs, plus 47 catches for 323 yards and 2 TDs in the Los Angeles Chargers offense. This projection-derived outlook should be reviewed against the depth chart, ADP context, and player-ID match report before CMS import.
RB Jaret Patterson, LAC
Jaret Patterson projects for limited stat volume in the current projection set in the Los Angeles Chargers offense. This projection-derived outlook should be reviewed against the depth chart, ADP context, and player-ID match report before CMS import.
RB Keaton Mitchell, LAC
Keaton Mitchell projects for 48 carries for 231 yards and 1 TDs, plus 5 catches for 36 yards and 0 TDs in the Los Angeles Chargers offense. This projection-derived outlook should be reviewed against the depth chart, ADP context, and player-ID match report before CMS import.
RB Kimani Vidal, LAC
Kimani Vidal projects for 66 carries for 276 yards and 2 TDs, plus 10 catches for 70 yards and 0 TDs in the Los Angeles Chargers offense. This projection-derived outlook should be reviewed against the depth chart, ADP context, and player-ID match report before CMS import.
WR Ladd McConkey, LAC
Ladd McConkey projects for 83 catches for 1043 yards and 6 TDs in the Los Angeles Chargers offense. This projection-derived outlook should be reviewed against the depth chart, ADP context, and player-ID match report before CMS import.
WR Quentin Johnston, LAC
Quentin Johnston projects for 59 catches for 790 yards and 7 TDs in the Los Angeles Chargers offense. This projection-derived outlook should be reviewed against the depth chart, ADP context, and player-ID match report before CMS import.
WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith, LAC
Keandre Lambert-Smith projects for 10 catches for 121 yards and 1 TDs in the Los Angeles Chargers offense. This projection-derived outlook should be reviewed against the depth chart, ADP context, and player-ID match report before CMS import.
WR Brenen Thompson, LAC
Brenen Thompson projects for 4 catches for 68 yards and 0 TDs in the Los Angeles Chargers offense. This projection-derived outlook should be reviewed against the depth chart, ADP context, and player-ID match report before CMS import.
WR Tre' Harris, LAC
Tre' Harris projects for 2 carries for 645 yards and 0 TDs, plus 47 catches for 645 yards and 3 TDs in the Los Angeles Chargers offense. This projection-derived outlook should be reviewed against the depth chart, ADP context, and player-ID match report before CMS import.
TE David Njoku, LAC
David Njoku projects for 29 catches for 0 yards and 2.2 TDs in the Los Angeles Chargers offense. This projection-derived outlook should be reviewed against the depth chart, ADP context, and player-ID match report before CMS import.
TE Oronde Gadsden II, LAC
Oronde Gadsden II projects for 68 catches for 0 yards and 5 TDs in the Los Angeles Chargers offense. This projection-derived outlook should be reviewed against the depth chart, ADP context, and player-ID match report before CMS import.