It's time for everyone's favorite post-NFL Draft game, "Can any of these guys win a starting job?"

Before I dive into the Los Angeles Chargers draft class, I will just say that I don't intend to evaluate the 18 undrafted free agents that the team signed. If any of them eventually earn a starting job, that's incredible, but it's not happening by Week 1.

Chargers 2026 Draft Class
Akheem Mesidor, Edge
Jake Slaughter, OL
Brenen Thompson, WR
Travis Burke, OT
Genesis Smith, S
Nick Barrett, DT
Logan Taylor, OG
Alex Harkey, OL

Before I get into assessing each individual player, I wanted to point out something that is funny and maybe interesting. 

On Chargers.com, they have the draft class listed out like this:

Do you see what I see?

Jake Slaughter, who played center at the University of Florida but was announced as a guard by the Chargers when they made the selection, is listed simply as an offensive lineman. Where on the offense line does he play? Who knows!

Even sillier than that is Alex Harkey, who is the lone player listed without a position at all. The University of Oregon offensive line was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award last season, given to the best offensive line in college football, with Harkey starting 14 games at right tackle.

However, because he's built like a large human being and not a monster from outer space, it is assumed that Harkey's NFL future is at guard instead of tackle. I'm not sure why the team didn't just list both him and Slaughter as guards, or at least be consistent and label them both as "offensive linemen", but it's worth mentioning.

It would take an injury, and probably multiple injuries, for Mesidor to be anything more than a backup at the edge in Week 1. That being said, he'll get plenty of snaps in passing downs and a chance to rack up sacks early.

Mesidor was selected to replace the impact of Odafe Oweh and to create a plan for a post-Khalil Mack Chargers defense. He doesn't need to start in Week 1.

I believe the team has already publicly said that Slaughter will have a chance to win the starting left guard spot heading into the season. That makes him the likeliest of any of these rookies to be a Week 1 starter.

Some people are going to find it strange that the Chargers drafted a center and gave him a chance to immediately become the team's starter at left guard, I find it stranger that they're handing Cole Strange the starting job at right guard, but all that will matter is the results.

I initially hated this pick before Mike McDaniel's fervor turned me around on it, but I still don't think he starts in Week 1. Similar to Mesidor, Thompson was drafted for a part-time role now (stretch the field) and so that the team is prepared for changes (Quentin Johnston walking into free agency) in the future.

If Travis Burke (a low-risk, high-upside project pick) is starting at offensive tackle for the Chargers in Week 1, the team has some really big issues to deal with. That would mean that Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt are unable to suit up and that none of the other backup options are better. That would be bad!

This one might surprise you, but I think Elijah Molden needs to be at least a tiny bit worried about losing his spot to Genesis Smith. 

Part of that is because Molden was pretty bad last season. Another part is because I think Smith is one or two tweaks away from being a much better player than he was at the University of Arizona.

The most important shift in Smith's game, and the thing to pay attention to, would be his pad-level when tackling. Watching even a minute of his game tape and you'll see a tall, upright player who tries to bring offensive players down by the shoulders or chest instead of getting into their legs. It resulted in a ton of broken tackles, which all but nullified Smith's ability to read a running play and get to the ball.

The defensive coaches are not going to stand for that kind of tackling. They will spend a lot of time and energy in mini camp and training camp working to get Smith to get his lower in his stance when going for tackles. If he takes quickly to the coaching, there's no reason he can't fly up to the top of the free safety depth chart.

We're reaching the six rounders, three of them for the Chargers, and these guys are about as likely to be a Week 1 starter as are the undrafted free agents. 

Defensive line depth was a need, so Barrett will get snaps as a part of the regular rotation, but I wouldn't consider him a starting option.

Barrett's strength is clogging up the middle of the line, which can be useful against run-heavy offenses, and he could steal some snaps away from Justin Eboigbe and Dalvin Tomlinson in those situations.

I don't know how else to put this: Logan Taylor is an ideal backup offensive lineman. 

Taylor started games at LT, LG, RG and RT at Boston College, where he was also a team captain. He has all of the IQ and skill to make the right move almost every play, which means he's never going to give up a free run at the QB, but (kind of like Genesis Smith, actually) his pad level stays high and he lacks power at the point of attack. 

While Taylor is rarely going to clear a lane himself, he's going to do a good job of redirecting defenders to where he wants them to be, which is a very valuable thing to have in a player that could potentially play at any spot along the line. It's also why he's unlikely to be an NFL starter, and why he won't be one by Week 1.

I still don't totally get picking Taylor and Harkey so close together. It's almost as though the team decided to do it just to increase the odds that one of their late round offensive linemen would pan out, as if there were no other players or positions that warranted this final pick.

If I'm being honest, I like Harkey a lot. His weaknesses seem to be directly related to the responsibilities of a guard in a zone-blocking scheme, so he'll need some time to find his place in Mike McDaniel's offense.

All in all, the Chargers are hoping that what they got by drafted these four offensive linemen is an immediate starter at guard (Slaughter), a future starter at tackle (Burke), a future starter at guard (Harkey) and a Swiss Army knife of a backup lineman (Taylor). They probably won't hit on all of them, but that's why you grab four!