Joe Alt only played left tackle at Notre Dame, but the Chargers have a Pro Bowler protecting Justin Herbert‘s blind side. They are not moving Rashawn Slater, with SI.com’s Albert Breer indicating the No. 5 overall pick is set to compete for the team’s right tackle job.
All 33 of Alt’s Fighting Irish starts came at left tackle, and his father — John, a 1984 Chiefs first-round pick — operated as a left tackle for 13 NFL seasons. Alt is set to move to the spot Trey Pipkins has manned for the past two seasons. The Chargers have Pipkins tied to a three-year, $21.75MM deal; his $6.25MM 2024 base salary is guaranteed.
Jim Harbaugh called Pipkins “one of our best five” linemen and expects the multiyear starter to still have a place along the Bolts’ starting offensive front. This would appear to challenge incumbent right guard Jamaree Salyer, who slid from Slater left tackle replacement to starting guard in Brandon Staley‘s final season. Pipkins “could very well” move to right guard this offseason, per The Athletic’s Daniel Popper.
“I think he’s one of our five best right now, and that’s not going to change,” Harbaugh said of Pipkins. “I’ve been extremely impressed with Trey, and he also has that kind of freaky athleticism and also building the strength and power to match that athleticism. I would predict that there’s a spot in the starting five for Trey Pipkins.”
A 2019 third-round pick out of Division II Sioux Falls, Pipkins has started 41 games — including 31 over the past two seasons. The Chargers had not seen much right tackle stability in the years before Pipkins won the job in 2022. Pro Football Focus graded Pipkins 50th among tackles last season, though moving to guard at this stage of his career would figure to be a challenge. Pipkins, 27, has never played a snap at guard in five pro seasons.
Georgia’s starting left tackle during the first of its back-to-back national championship seasons (2021), Salyer filled in for an injured Slater for much of the 2022 season. The sixth-round pick did not fare especially well upon moving inside last year, grading as one of PFF’s worst run-blocking guards. Jordan McFadden could also be an option at right guard, per Popper. The Chargers chose McFadden in the 2023 fifth round. McFadden started two games as a rookie.
With Harbaugh adding he would “play five tackles” if he could, the Bolts certainly seem prepared to gauge Pipkins’ value as a guard. The Chargers are almost definitely set to ask two of their top three tackles — Alt and Pipkins — to switch positions, as Slater stays put. With Alt the Chargers’ highest-drafted O-lineman since Russ Washington in 1968 and the team having Pipkins on a $7.25MM-per-year contract, this will be a situation to monitor ahead of Harbaugh’s first season back in the NFL.
Should try Pipkens, McFadden at C
Slater, Sawyer, Pipkens/McFadden/Bozeman, Johnson, Alt
If Alt struggles for a minute to transition to the right side in his first preseason, remember that the same thing happened to Sewell and it’s no reason to overreact.
@Oooof its most likely going to happen with alt, never played rt even though hortiz said he did, I believe it was tight end on the right side. Problem would be solved if they moved slater to the right side impending free agent, and injury risk played rt in college. Have pipkins/salyer battle for the guard spot.
I’m pretty confident the plan is to lock up Slater and build the offense around Herbert and a top flight bookend of tackles. Slater had one lost season to injury, but he played 100% of the team’s offensive snaps last year. I think Alt will be just fine at RT.
@Oooof I swear he got hurt his rookie but your right. Hortiz has said he likes free agents leaving for comp picks seems like that has happened this year. Slater might be a different story. Probably need a running back next year if harbaugh wants to ground n pound. Not saying alt is going to suck since he was graded higher than Sewell, but I expect him to struggle. Why not switch them.
I figure it’s easier to switch the guy who has to make an adjustment anyway (to the pro game) than to force two guys to make a big adjustment.
And I’m sure Hortiz likes comp picks as a Ravens guy, but that doesn’t mean you let an elite left tackle go. Those guys are harder to replace than the sorts of guys Baltimore usually let go, like second tier pass rushers.
@Oooof yeah good point slater has already adjusted, I guess you bite the bullet for half a season potentially. Hortiz has been transparent with his plans and your right probably won’t let slater go. Just middling guys to the bottom of the roster you can replace in the draft or June cuts.
This pick was a total head scratcher. I get it, a great team starts in the trenches but the Chargers already have a young stud left tackle. They are going to regret not taking Malik Nabers. The kid had a chain with “Leek” on it. You can’t tell me he isn’t ready to ball out on the league. Meanwhile, the Chargers drafted a future all pro left tackle to play right tackle. He would’ve been a beast on Tennessee.
I also would have had a very hard time passing up on Nabers, but I think the difference in value between left and right tackle is very overstated. Right tackles face the other team’s best pass rusher pretty often. And I understand the logic of a second round receiver being a much better investment than a second round tackle.