A dominant pass rusher who dominated under the new defensive coordinator, could he be the Chargers' next edge rush solution despite a late-round projection?
I've been a chunk of this offseason focused on what the Los Angeles Chargers are going to do at edge rusher with both Odafe Oweh and Khalil Mack headed into unrestricted free agency.
If they don't intend on bringing back both, it would make sense for the team to potentially use one of their picks in the 2026 NFL Draft to fill the hole. And I think I know who they'll be targeting.
I was doing some digging into Chris O'Leary, the new defensive coordinator for the Chargers, and it led me to wonder if there might be anyone from O'Leary's Western Michigan defense that projects to being an NFL prospect.
I'm of the belief that coaches like to bring at least one player with them from their last job to their new job to be an evangelist for the system. That will probably be less of an issue here, since O'Leary already has close relationships in the locker room after being the Chargers safeties coach in 2024, but I thought it was worth checking anyway.
It turns out, there is exactly one player that fits that bill and he happens to be an edge rusher. In fact, in one year of playing for Western Michigan (with Chris O'Leary as his defensive coordinator), Nadame Tucker tied for the FBS lead with 14.5 sacks. He also earned MAC Defensive Player of the Year and the Vern Smith Leadership Award as the conference's MVP, and picked up second-team All-American recognition.
The 2025 Western Michigan Broncos were good, propelled by Chris O'Leary's defensive coaching and Nadame Tucker's play. I imagine those two wouldn't mind working together again.
Even after an impressive showing at the NFL Scouting Combine, where he wowed NFL general managers with an impressive 40 time and broad jump, the highest I've seen Tucker picked in any full mock draft is the 4th round. That makes sense, though, because Tucker is everything that you don't really want from a prospect.
Nadame Tucker is old for an NFL rookie, he'll be 26-years old before the season begins. He's also not a physical specimen, he doesn't have particularly long arms or particularly large hands. There are also a lot of questions about why he never seemed to be able to get on the field in three years at Houston. What he has is a one-year resume at Western Michigan where he was arguably one of the very best pass rushers, playing under Chris O'Leary.
Whether that factors into the Chargers plans in any way, I suppose we'll find out.