Jim Harbaugh Says Left Guard Battle Is Still Ongoing

The Los Angeles Chargers have made the moves necessary to name the initial 53-man roster, but there are still some other decisions that have to be made.

One of those decisions includes naming a starting left guard, which is something that head coach Jim Harbaugh said is still not finalized during Monday's media availability.

"I would say it's really two. Yodi and Trey Pipkins and I'm you know I'm not so sure that nothing precludes us from playing them both, you know. So that's a possibility too. But great option there," Harbaugh said. 

As Harbaugh talked about, there are two players really competing for the starting left guard spot in the form of Kayode Awosika and Trey Pipkins III. 

This is interesting to monitor as this battle has changed a bit throughout camp and the preseason.

Initially, rookie Jake Slaughter and second-year player Branson Taylor were also competing for the starting left guard spot. However, with Tyler Buiadasz out for the season, Slaughter is now the starting center, and Taylor has been placed on IR and will miss the first four games. So, it seems that Awosika and Pipkins are the two better options who could earn the starting nod at left guard.

The most interesting part about Harbaugh's response was the fact that he said they could possibly play both players, and nothing is stopping the Chargers from doing that. While that is true, with the Chargers playing 32 different offensive line combinations last season, that may be something Harbaugh should aim to avoid if he can.

When looking at Awosika and Pipkins they have both had their ups and downs throughout their careers, but with a good amount of NFL experience and being in Mike McDaniel's offense, it is possible that whoever wins the job could have a career year.

With the battle still yet to be decided it may be worth taking a look at both Awosika's and Pipkin's performance last so season.

Starting with Awosika, he played a minor role for the Detroit Lions in 2025, as he played just 287 snaps. In those 287 snaps, Awosika recorded an overall grade of 57.9, a pass-blocking grade of 52.5, and a run-blocking grade of 60.5, according to Pro Football Focus.

Looking deeper into the statistics, Awosika allowed three sacks, 10 pressures, and recorded one penalty.

Overall, Awosika was a solid rotational player for the Lions, but as someone who could become the starter at left guard, he must provide quarterback Justin Herbert consistent protection, otherwise, the Chargers could be in some trouble.

On the other hand, Pipkins served a major role for the Chargers last season as he played 606 snaps due to both Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater being out for most of the season.

During Pipkins' 2025 campaign, he recorded a 47.2 overall PFF grade (No. 84 among 89 OTs), a pass-blocking grade of 58 (No. 69 among 89 OTs), and a run-blocking grade of 42.7 (No. 89 among 89 OTs), per PFF. On other blocking metrics, Pipkins had some struggles as he allowed 27 pressures, four sacks, and tallied seven penalties.

It is important to note that Pipkins was playing tackle in 2025, but inconsistent performance throughout the season is something that must change and moving inside to guard will not fix the struggles unless Pipkins has significantly improved.

So, as the Chargers continue to evaluate the left guard battle between Awosika and Pipkins, it will be interesting to see if one of them wins the job before the regular season starts, or if this competition between Awosika and Pipkins gets decided at some point during the season.