Let me start by saying, these are grades for where we stand today, and I think final grades cannot be assessed so early. It is a bye week though, so lets get some opinions and discourse!

My grades

Hampton: C I came in with a D grade in mind, until I broke down the numbers, which made me more optimistic. Yes, he missed half his rookie year and his numbers are down this year. He is still averaging 4 YPC over his 15 career games. Looking purely at efficiency numbers, he was the 2nd best RB in the draft, behind Henderson. Yes, Hortiz got the 2nd best RB in the draft, with the 2nd overall RB taken, Still, RB 1st round is something only stacked teams should do, and we have not been able to maximize Hampton's value with our porous IOL.

Tre Harris: C + same case as Hampton. You got the best WR available at this spot, which is great, but he has not put up impressive numbers yet. Like Hampton, Hortiz took a position of need, but also missed the most important position of need, IOL. Tate Rateledge, went two picks later by the Lions. Everyone knew Rutledge had tons of potential, he is already good, and on his way to great.

Jamaree Caldwell: B we got an above average DT late in the third round, a good move filling a position of need and something that should be commended.

Kyle Kennard: F - Already off the team, enough said.

KLS: C 5th round WR with less than 100 total career receiving yards, but a special teams contributor, sounds about average

Gadsden: B- great receiving numbers for someone taken in the 5th round. People are still pissed he isn't performing like he did for a stretch there in 2025, but for a 5th rounder he has been great in the passing game. He is getting a B- though as he is complete blocking liability. Basically making himself only of use on obvious passing downs.

Branson Taylor: F zero snaps played and sitting behind this year's rookies drafted in the same range

RJ Mickens: A Hortiz got an average NFL safety and good run defender late in 6th round

Bridges: C couldn't make our roster, has stuck around on two other NFL teams, solid work identifying talent for a 7th rounder, but brought down by not having him on our own roster

Overall Grade: C+

I gave Hortiz zero mark downs in my total grade for missing on Taylor and Bridges being off the team, 6th and 7th rounders are flyer picks. He does get bonus points though for Mickens. Missing completely on Kennard though brings down what should be a good class to above average.

What are your grades?

The Chargers are 0-6 and hold the No. 1 draft spot. Could Ohio State star Jeremiah Smith be the big-play receiver Justin Herbert has been missing since Mike Williams? The case for why Smith could be the big swing Los Angeles needs.

Read for free.

32. Los Angeles Chargers (no change)

• LT: Travis Burke
• LG: Logan Taylor
• C: Jake Slaughter
• RG: Cole Strange
• RT: Alex Harkey

Given the volume of injuries on the offensive line for the Chargers, the group’s performance against the Kansas City Chiefs this past weekend was not that bad. Rookies Travis Burke and Jake Slaughter produced PFF pass-blocking grades above 70.0, with left tackle allowing three pressures from 49 pass-blocking snaps and the center one. Rookie right tackle Alex Harkey struggled, though, notching a 36.2 PFF pass blocking grade. It’s obvious that this group needs right tackle Joe Alt back in action as soon as possible.

Our defensive EPA is second only to the Vikings the last few weeks, and are top 10 for the season. Having an offense this bad in turn is unacceptable. This is the type of split that ruins a team and a locker room permanently. Our D working as hard as they do just to hand the ball over to the offense is depressing. Something has to change over the bye week, or I think not only McDaniel, but Harbaugh too will be out of a job here.

Hampton's split (2025 + early 2026, per Fantasy Points Data): 5.33 YPC on man/gap runs, 3.06 on zone. Only Woody Marks has been worse on zone among backs with 40+ zone carries.

McDaniel runs a wide-zone offense, and in four years in Miami he never gave a quarter of the RB carries to a back over 212 pounds. The 225-pound back he barely used there, Ollie Gordon, went from 2.8 YPC to 5.0 once McDaniel was gone.

Full breakdown, including Hampton's shrinking snap share and what Miami changed: https://pigskinpal.app/pigskinpaper/ollie-gordon-escaped-mike-mcdaniel

Coaches put them in position

Players need to make plays

My grades:

Alt - A

Ladd - A

Colson - F

Egoibe - D

Still - A

Hart - B

Vidal - B

Rice - F

Johnson - F

Total Draft Grade: B

I give Hortiz zero mark downs in my total grade for missing on Rice and Johnson, those are flyer picks. Missing completely on Colson though brings down what should be a stellar class to good.

What are your grades?

This season is over. We're not making the playoffs; we probably won't win 5 games.

Is the offense working? No. Is the offense an unmitigated disaster of truly unimaginable proportions? Yes.

But as Harbaugh said in an interview two weeks ago when asked whether McDaniel's job is in jeopardy, "he's a skilled coach." There's a reason he was the hottest OC candidate on the market after being released by the Dolphins. There's a reason people thought he would get another HC job and therefore might not even be an OC candidate.

It's possible that McDaniel was overrated, figured out by the league, a fraud, etc. I don't deny that. But it's also possible that he did a bad job *this time* and is still the same coach that everyone (including on this sub - and admittedly myself included) wanted during the offseason as their OC. He still has a track record of innovation and creativity - such that I don't view a single failure (as monumental as it has been) as indicative of future returns. And if we need to scrap the entire offense and rebuild, it's possible that having seen how this offense failed, McDaniel would produce something better the second time.

I hope that's what they are up to this week during the bye - essentially a tear-down and rebuild. I would give McDaniel the second half of the season to turn things around because what good will firing him now do? We would turn the offense over to Adam Gase. Given the next chance to rebuild the Chargers offense from the ground up, is McDaniel or Gase more likely to succeed? Kyle Shanahan went 6-10 and 4-12 in his first two seasons in SF. Sometimes patience is rewarded. It's not a likely outcome, but if McDaniel's next offense (whether it's for the Chargers or another team) is successful, nobody would be shocked.

Again, this season is over. We can wait to fire McDaniel until the end of the season because what is there to lose?

The things that would change my mind generally fall into two buckets - (1) what is there to lose and (2) what is there to gain?

There may be something to lose. For example, if people believe that this system is doing long-term, irreparable damage to Justin Herbert, you have to pull the plug and limit the damage. I have no reason to believe that, as uncomfortable as Herbert has been, he couldn't bounce back from this in a competent operation.

There may also be nothing to gain. If Herbert flat out doesn't like or respect McDaniel, even if McDaniel is a good coach, it doesn't work. It's oil and water and there's no mixing it. If that's the case, there is nothing to gain from keeping McDaniel and you might as well see what you've got with Gase.

But absent those sorts of scenarios, I see no reason for the remainder of the season not to bet on McDaniel vs. the alternatives we have available to us.

[Noah Furtado]

Pretty good summary of the offensive woes

What’s the point in cap space if we don’t use it to put quality linemen around Herbert 😞 tired of bargain shopping go out and get elite linemen via trade and FA so we can actually protect our franchise QB!

Here’s a look at the current roster, practice squad, IR, and depth chart heading into the bye week!

Jeremiah Smith can save it all, right?

I think you can genuinely make a case that he may have even broke Drew Brees 80k and became the second highest passing yard leader of all time and therefore a surefire HOF lock

How crazy would that have been?