Predicting the Chargers' Day 2 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft

The Chargers upgraded their edge rusher room with the selection of Akheem Mesidor. Heading into Day 2, Los Angeles still has a few positions to address, namely guard.

With that said, here is my best guess at what general manager Joe Hortiz could do with their second and third round selections.

Round 2, Pick 55: OL Emmanuel Pregnon, Oregon

The Mesidor pick showed that the Chargers aren't afraid to take older players, likely because they believe their window to win is now. So I would expect Pregnon, who has played 39 games at left guard at USC and Oregon over the last three seasons, to be more on the radar than someone like Iowa's Gennings Dunker, who would be moving to guard for the first time. Pregnon is a bigger, slower guard who may not fit perfectly into Mike McDaniel's offensive scheme, but his weight-room numbers (655-pound squat and 465-pound bench) and durability will be appealing to Jim Harbaugh as a culture fit. The Athletic's Dane Brugler has compared Pregnon to Bills guard O'Cyrus Torrence, who went 60th overall in 2023 due to concerns over his fit in a zone scheme, but he's developed into a starter for a Buffalo squad that ran zone concepts 44 percent of the time in 2025. Pregnon could be on a similar path.

Round 3, Pick 95 (via Patriots): CB Chandler Rivers, Duke

After addressing their two primary needs, LA could look to find a trade back in the third round. Pittsburgh, New England, and Baltimore make sense as partners, as all three are flush with picks (the Steelers have 12, while the other two have 11). Here, I have the Chargers trading the 86th pick for 95, 171, and 247 to fill in their missing fifth and seventh round selections. Rivers has strong character feedback from NFL teams, as reported by The Athletic's Dane Brugler, and his instincts in both man and zone coverage on the outside or in the slot are appealing traits. The Chargers value instincts and experience on the boundary at corner, which makes Rivers a natural fit despite his 5'9" size (LA doesn't place as much of an emphasis on size at the position).