Hortiz guarded draft plans, but lingering questions about offensive line strategy and player development demand deeper analysis.
I know that I already wrote about yesterday's pre-NFL Draft press conference with Joe Hortiz yesterday. That was focused on him doing his best to squash the rumors that the Los Angeles Chargers were shopping WR Quentin Johnston around in a trade. We'll skip that part today.
I woke up this morning this morning still thinking about the press conference and then I read Daniel Popper's article titled "What we learned from Chargers GM Joe Hortiz’s pre-draft news conference". Then I watched bits and pieces of the press conference itself. You can watch it here (the NFL does not allow embedding of any of their YouTube videos).
What I have taken away from this press conference is that Joe Hortiz didn't say much that wasn't blatantly obvious to anyone who pays attention to the team. Let's go through Popper's recap and react to it.
We wrote last month that the Chargers’ free-agency period was a big bet on new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel. Hortiz echoed that sentiment Thursday, saying that free agency was “absolutely” geared toward building the offense in McDaniel’s vision.
“When you change offensive scheme and philosophy, you find players that fit what they want to do,” Hortiz said.
If we hadn't already been aware of this, I think Chargers fans would be freaking out right now at the idea of Cole Strange being the team's starting right guard.
“I don’t believe in just going out and having a shopping spree,” Hortiz said. “I think free agency is for targeted (signings). You target players that can help what you want to do. That’s how you approach it. You make smart investments in good players.”
He later added: “I just believe in building through the draft, and I believe in paying the players that you know. That’s how I was raised.”
This is, to me personally, appalling.
This is the way that someone like Andy Reid might operate with the Kansas City Chiefs. He brought the Chiefs to the Super Bowl in five-out-of-six seasons and won three of them. He also helped draft and develop Patrick Mahomes, maybe the greatest QB we've ever seen.
Andy Reid can do whatever he wants. He'll have that job for as long as he wants it. He also probably needs to build through the draft to make up for Mahomes' giant salary.
Joe Hortiz is not Andy Reid. He does not have his job for as long as he wants it, at least not yet. He needs success to get there and he probably needs that success to arrive before Justin Herbert's salary begins to resemble Mahomes'.
Hortiz said Thursday that the Chargers “could go out and play a game tomorrow if needed.”
When asked who would start at left guard in that hypothetical game, Hortiz first mentioned Penning.
Again, I feel like I need to ask, does Joe Hortiz understand that last year's Chargers team did not win the Super Bowl? Does he understand that, since he took over the team, that have lost in the Wild Card round in the NFL Playoffs in back-to-back years despite having Super Bowl aspirations?
I understand he's trying to be coy here and not give anything away as far as his offseason plan, but it's pretty insulting to talk like Trevor Penning at left guard doesn't cause many of the same issues that sunk last year's team. The goal is to be better in 2026.
“We’re not done on the offensive line,” Hortiz said Thursday. “I can promise that.”
Okay, so they're drafting an offensive lineman. Fine. We knew that.
“I think the draft is really deep with edges,” Hortiz said, “and then there’s some guys that are still out there on the street that might be available after the draft.”
Earlier, when Joe Hortiz said he believes is "paying the players that you know" and not going on a shopping spree in free agency, I'd be curious to know why that didn't extend to Odafe Oweh. This is probably the reason.
The Chargers obviously believe that they can replace Oweh's role in the defense, where he was arguably the team's most (or, at least, 2nd most) effective pass rusher, through the draft and free agency. That is a gamble. This is a bet.
Should the Chargers pass rush take a step back in 2026, everyone will be pointing to the Chargers letting Oweh walk (instead of putting some sort of franchise or transition tag on him) as the reason. That's the downside of potentially losing this bet. It also could cost Joe his job.
“We have some flexibility post-draft to still be spenders, to still be trade participants,” Hortiz said.
The trade component of this is interesting. The Chargers are positioned to take on a pretty big veteran cap number on the trade market. An intriguing name that could be available is New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
When asked directly about Lawrence, Hortiz said, “I typically don’t like talking about players on other teams. You guys know that. I’ll say he’s a great player, and I’ll leave it at that.”
Cool, man! This is good stuff! Hortiz should absolutely be thinking of the Chargers' cap space as a weapon that he can use to greatly improve the team in one offseason. If he doesn't want to go the route of free agency because he believes in the lost art of relationship-building, a trade for a big-money player like Dexter Lawrence is the perfect way to do it.
It helps that Lawrence fits a bunch of needs that the Chargers have on their roster, too. Hopefully, this is a move that can happen during (or before) the NFL Draft so that the Chargers don't get stuck between deciding to draft a defensive lineman or not.
Hortiz said both players are “ahead of schedule” in their rehab processes. He added that Slater and Alt will “be involved in some capacity” during spring practices. The Chargers open their offseason program Monday.
“There’s no need to rush it,” Hortiz said. “So let them come back, let them be healthy, and the target is for the start of training camp.”
This is the closest thing we got to "news" in this "news conference" and it just mimics what Jim Harbaugh has been saying for weeks. Still, good to have it confirmed!
At cornerback, Hortiz said the Chargers “really want to find outside corners.” James plays nickel. Tarheeb Still can play nickel. So can Nikko Reed, an undrafted free agent last year. More competition and depth on the outside makes sense.
Again, kinda news-y! The Chargers want to improve their outside cornerbacks. That probably means via the draft since Joe doesn't really believe in free agency. However, there are still some really good options on the free agent market.
Hortiz said the Chargers are “really excited about the guys” in the receiver room. That includes Johnston, Ladd McConkey, Tre’ Harris and KeAndre Lambert-Smith.
“We got the draft,” Hortiz added. “We’ll go through the draft, see how it is and then see what happens out of the draft and then continue discussions. There are a number of guys out there that are still available, so I wouldn’t say the room is complete.”
Jauan Jennings, Deebo Samuel and Tyreek Hill are unsigned veteran receivers with scheme familiarity. Hortiz also did not rule out a reunion with Keenan Allen.
I know I'm not an NFL general manager, but I have a difficult time understanding how Joe can (in the same press conference) say that:
- He hasn't engaged in any sort of trade talks involving Quentin Johnston
- He hasn't made a decision on whether to opt-in for Johnston's fifth-year option (the deadline is May 1)
- The team's WR room is not complete
- The team might still bring back free agent WR Keenan Allen
I don't know that all of these things can be true at the same time without a giant, crucial piece of information being purposefully left out (example: the Chargers have plans to sign Tyreek Hill). I tend to think that one, or more, of these points are not completely true.
After all, as NFL GMs love to call this time of year, it is lying season.