The Los Angeles Chargers are having the worst start to their season since 2017 when they started 0-4. They have been plagued by injuries, miscues, procedural penalties, ball security and generally looking lost at times. One of the main projected issues the Chargers entered the season with was the interior of their offensive line, the same question that has haunted the roster for multiple years.

The Chargers offensive line suffered catastrophic injuries and failures in the 2025 season. Quarterback Justin Herbert was pressured, hit and sacked at historically bad rates. Why can the Chargers not figure this out? How is this still a problem?

To be fair to the current front office, this has been a problem organizationally for years, Philip Rivers dealt with the same issues but his abilities as a field general masked many of the deficiencies. The lack of investment in the offensive line predated the current front office and coaching staff.

The question that must be raised now is how, in the third year of head coach Jim Harbaugh and general manager Joe Hortiz' tenure, has this issue seemingly been made worse? We have to examine and scrutinize the philosophy Hortiz learned under as he rose through the ranks of the Baltimore Ravens.

Hortiz entered the NFL as a personnel assistant with the Baltimore Ravens in 1998 and spent his entire career climbing through the organization under then general manager Ozzie Newsome and eventually Eric DeCosta. Hortiz' background was heavily tied to college scouting from being a scout starting in 2001 to being the director of college scouting in 2009 through the 2018 season.

The Ravens during much of this time shared a similar issue to the current Chargers, they struggled to get the interior of the offensive line solidified. The Ravens did have a perennial All-Pro at right guard for much of 2010's with Marshall Yanda locking down the right side. But, the left guard spot was a revolving door after they chose to let Pro-Bowler Ben Grubbs leave in free agency after 2011.

The Ravens guard play has been subject to comparable scrutiny in the past five years to that of the Chargers. Under general manager Eric DeCosta, who was Ozzie Newsome's successor, the Ravens have been plagued by subpar guard play. The Ravens have let capable starters walk while relying on scheme and quarterback play to overcome cheap options as replacements including late day-three picks, undrafted free agents and tackle-to-guard conversion attempts.

If that philosophy and approach sounds familiar, it should for Chargers fans. The Ravens and Chargers are operating under nearly identical philosophies. It is clear that Hortiz and DeCosta are both operating under the premise that interior offensive linemen are low-replacement-value assets.

2024 was Hortiz' first year at the helm of the Chargers front office. Cap restraints may have forced the issue but the Chargers opted to sign cheap veteran Bradley Bozeman to play center and attempt a tackle-to-guard conversion from Trey Pipkins. In 2025, Hortiz took a minor swing on free agent guard Mekhi Becton in the second wave of free agency.

The timing of Becton's signing and the way the contract was structured made it clear that it was a one year gamble. The trouble with Becton was the history he carried with him and the Chargers did not spend meaningful draft capital on depth and only a late day-three pick on college offensive tackle Branson Taylor, whom failed to make the 53-man roster in 2025.

This season the Chargers opted against re-signing capable starter Zion Johnson and let him walk in free agency. They signed and re-signed several low-cost options at guard and bet on center Tyler Biadasz and the new scheme elevating the group. Much like what happened to the Ravens in 2017, when they bet on Marshall Yanda anchoring the interior, when the capable veteran got hurt, the unit struggled.

There are two separate issues that could benefit from adjustment. The first would be to simply pay for professional and capable starters. The second would be to draft near plug and play offensive lineman no later than the third round.

The Chargers and Hortiz seem to have adjusted slightly by drafting Jake Slaughter in the second round but betting on him making the conversion to guard from center was always a risk. Cole Strange at right guard was intended to be a capable starter on a cheaper starting contract, but with his history in the league, he was a risk as well.

The intent seems to be risk-taking with the guard spots in an attempt try to find replacement-level solutions at a discount while the positions around them will elevate their play as a unit. As the Chargers experienced in 2025, relying on positions to elevate the others can go sideways if one of the players gets hurt and catastrophic if two of them are out.

The Chargers are currently dealing with the ramifications of this process. When Tyler Biadasz went down for the season in training camp, the first player they were counting on to elevate the rest was now gone. The problem then became that the guards were not unquestioned capable starters on their own and now were sandwiched next to a rookie center.

Former NFL scout John Middlekauff is now a podcaster and joins Colin Cowherd on his podcast. Recently he mentioned the Chargers interior offensive line performance and noted that he had a someone who works in NFL personnel tell him that the interior of the Chargers offensive line looked like practice squad rejects. That type of play is just unacceptable when they could have been more aggressive in the offseason trying to address it.

At some point, the Chargers have to bite the bullet and pay for unquestioned capable starters to break the cycle. The philosophy of draft and develop can work when the foundation has been set but the Chargers are still searching for that foundation. Overreliance on scheme and other positions has simply not been effective.