The Los Angeles Chargers addressed one of their biggest team needs on the weekend, signing guard Mekhi Becton to a 2 year, $20M deal.
The Chargers interior offensive line was a sore spot for most of the 2024 NFL campaign. Despite boasting two dominant tackles in Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, LA’s rushing attack was inconsistent due to subpar play between their two bookend stars.
In terms of the advanced analytics, their interior line graded amongst the worst in the NFL in run block win rate. Centre Bradley Bozeman (160th), left guard Zion Johnson (165th) and right guard Trey Pipkins III (188th) all ranked well below the league average for starters.
Bringing in the towering 6’7″ 363lb Becton will go a long way towards shoring up both their run game and pass protection for Los Angeles. Becton signed a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the Eagles last offseason following four years with the Jets, where he was originally drafted in 2020 to play tackle. In switching over to guard, the 25 year old rejuvenated his career after essentially being written off by New York.
According to reports, Becton plans to continue to play guard out west, meaning that the Chargers could release Pipkins, and save $6.75 million in the process.
With the team also bringing in former Steelers RB Najee Harris last week on a 1 year deal, LA’s run game should have a drastically different look in 2025. The Chargers ranked 17th overall in rushing yards per game with 110.7 yards per contest, and 24th in the NFL with 4.1 YPC. Those figures put them just barely ahead of teams like Carolina, and Tennessee, and seemed very “un-Harbaugh-like” in terms of on field production given the coach’s propensity to lean on the run game at Michigan.
General manager Joe Hortiz told reporters at the combine that the team will be experimenting with left guard Johnson at centre in 2025. And the team also re-signed Bozeman, so there appears to be some depth available in the middle of the team’s O-Line.
There remain several notable offensive linemen still on the free agent market, and with roughly $30M in cap space remaining, LA could look to fill their left guard spot either with a veteran addition (former Bear Teven Jenkins has been linked to the team over the last few days), or draft a blue chip prospect later this spring.
The Chargers will select 22nd overall in a few weeks, and will likely take a long hard look at former Harbaugh disciple Colston Loveland at tight end. But if he’s off the board by the time LA gets put on the clock, Alabama’s Tyler Booker could be an intriguing fit to create one of the more dominant offensive lines in the league.
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.