Following the Los Angeles Chargers' preseason opener against the Houston Texans, head coach Jim Harbaugh had high praise for rookie offensive tackle Travis Burke.
The Los Angeles Chargers appear to be in a great spot after the first week of the preseason, as they defeated the Houston Texans 27-7 and saw several players across the entire roster make plays throughout the game.
The offensive line specifically had a solid performance with rookie offensive tackle Travis Burke being one of the biggest bright spots.
On that note, during Saturday's media availability, Chargers' head coach Jim Harbaugh talked about Burke's performance and had some high praise for the rookie.
"I thought he played thought he gave a great effort. I thought he was uh great hustle. He was played the probably the most plays maybe of anybody. Can't think of anybody who played more plays than he did," Harbaugh said.
This is a great sign for Burke, especially because he is entering his rookie season and there is no doubt that he will experience his fair share of adversity, but having people like Harbaugh backing him up is a huge confidence boost.
Looking at what Harbaugh said, the effort piece of this shows a tremendous amount of maturity from Burke, but also that he is ready for the NFL, as the Chargers played him quite a bit against the Texans, which should be very beneficial for Burke if he sees significant snaps in the regular season.
Standing at 6-9 and 315 pounds, Burke brings a lot of size and, in that respect, is very similar to the Chargers' starting right tackle Joe Alt. Like Burke, Alt has a great frame, as he stands at 6-8 and 322 pounds. After being drafted in April, it seems that Burke has a great opportunity to learn from Alt and, for now, serve as a great depth piece along the offensive line.
Speaking of depth, on the Chargers' first unofficial depth chart for the 2026 season, they listed Burke as the third-string right tackle with Alt starting and Trey Pipkins III serving as the backup.
Last season, Alt missed significant time with a high ankle sprain on his right ankle, which then forced Pipkins to step in as the starter.
As the starter, Pipkins struggled the entire season, with an overall grade of 47.2 (No. 84 among 89 OTs), according to Pro Football Focus. Additionally, Pipkins received a pass-blocking grade of 58 (No. 69 among 89 OTs) and a run-blocking grade of 42.7 (No. 89 among 89 OTs), while allowing four sacks, 27 pressures, and tallying seven penalties.
With the injuries the Chargers had last season, Pipkins was one of the better options, but heading into 2026, Los Angeles may want to take a deeper look at Burke to be Alt's backup at right tackle after a strong 2025 campaign with the Memphis Tigers.
In Burke's senior season with Memphis, he recorded an overall grade of 84.5 (No. 11 among 632 OTs), a run-blocking grade of 81.5 (No. 34 among 632 OTs), and a pass-blocking grade of 84.2 (No. 10 among 632 OTs), per Pro Football Focus. Looking deeper at Burke's pass blocking, he allowed three sacks, 13 pressures, and recorded six penalties.
While Burke does still have to acclimate to the NFL level, his 2025 campaign with Memphis looks solid as he can be effective in pass protection and can pave lanes for the running backs in the run game, which could be very valuable for the Chargers and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel.
One thing that Burke does need to clean up is his penalties, and after his first NFL preseason game, it looks like he is learning a lot from the coaches and the veterans, which should help him to continue building better habits.
So, as the preseason progresses, it will be very intriguing to see if Burke can continue progressing and climb the depth chart to become the backup behind Alt, or if Pipkins will maintain the spot and use his NFL experience to beat out Burke.
