That's a wrap on the 2026 NFL Draft.

The Chargers made eight total selections over the past three days, beginning with Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor at No. 22 overall in Round 1.

All in all, the Bolts used five picks on offensive players and three on defense.

Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz ,Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh and Chargers assistant general manager Chad Alexander held a press conference on Saturday afternoon to recap the draft.

Here are five takeaways from Hortiz, Harbaugh and Alexander:

1. All in on the O-line

A little more than three months ago, the Chargers entered the 2026 offseason with just three offensive linemen under contract.

A pair of those players — Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt — didn't see the field for most or all of the season due to injury.

Yet as the 2026 NFL Draft came to a close Saturday afternoon, the Chargers put the finishing touches on revamping a room that appears dead set on protecting Justin Herbert at a higher level going forward.

The Chargers addressed the offensive line in free agency by adding Tyler Biadasz, Cole Strange and Kayode Awosika. Others such as Trey Pipkins III and Trevor Penning re-signed in free agency.

And then there was a focus to enhance that group in the draft, a plan that began with taking Florida's Jake Slaughter in Round 2 and continued with three more offensive linemen — Travis Burke, Logan Taylor and Alex Harkey — on Day 3.

Of the eight draft picks the Chargers made in recent days, four ended up landing in the O-line room.

"Like I told you [Friday], one of you asked a question about linemen and I said there's a lot of linemen we like in this draft still," Hortiz said. "We take the best players available. It breeds competition.

"They were there, and they were the highest guys. We didn't force, if anything we took three linemen then we took another one, because he's the highest guy," Hortiz added.

The Chargers traded up with the Texans to get Burke at No. 117, who is listed at 6-foot-9 and is 325 pounds. He most recently played at Memphis, where he started 11 games at right tackle in 2025.

The offensive lineman earned First-Team All-AAC honors after posting a season with an 98.0 pass-blocking efficiency and an 84.5 Pro Football Focus offense grade.

But it is Burke's mentality that endeared him to the Chargers, as he is known for violent blocks that make highlight reels.

"That's like scoring a touchdown or making a one-handed catch for me," Burke said.

The Chargers front office lit up when talking about Burke's play style and temperament on the field.

"Just a massive human being. Huge. Outstanding length. He's tough, a really tough competitor. What stands out to me is the effort, the finishing ability, nastiness in terms of finishing plays," Alexander said. "And he's still got a ton of upside, you know what I mean? He's only going to get better.

"That's someone we felt really comfortable with at that point and it's going to reinforce our offensive line, so we were really excited to get him where we got him," Alexander said.

Hortiz said: "The physicality is fun, I saw some highlights after we picked him where he's just bulldozing guys in the open field. Just a lot of talent and a lot of upside still to go."

Harbaugh said: "Love the hustle. Not afraid to finish down the field, out past the hashes. Just a lot of good. Sometimes you get a favorite player and this was definitely one of mine in this draft."

The Chargers then used a pair of sixth-round picks on Taylor (No. 202 overall) and Harkey (No. 206 overall).

While Taylor and Harkey each spent the majority or all of their respective college careers at tackle, Hortiz said both will compete at guard depth for the Chargers.

"Both big frame guys, athleticism, you watch them both and they're physical," Hortiz said. "There's some plays that pop in my head with Alex, some kind of wow athletic plays when you're watching him out in space.

"Then Logan, thinking about the finishing. He started his career at Virginia and worked at tackle, down to guard. A lot of starts in his career and just really like the mentality they both play the game," Horitz added. "They're both physical players, come off the ball, finish blocks, sturdy, big men."

The Chargers will now turn their full focus to the 2026 offseason program, spring practices and training camp.

They will do so much with a supremely improved and deeper offensive line in front of Justin Herbert.

"It fires me up," Harbaugh said.

Hortiz added: "Let's take the best players and make the team as competitive and as good as we can make it."

2. Brenen Thompson is fast

The Bolts infused their offense with elite speed Saturday by taking Mississippi State wide receiver Brenen Thompson with the 105th overall pick in Round 4.

It would be the first of three total picks the Chargers made in the fourth round, but Hortiz made it clear Thompson was a target as Day 3 began.

"He was No. 1 [on our list]. Frankly, our trade back at 86 [on Friday], he would've been in the mix at 86," Hortiz said. "To go back, get two more picks and get the guy we could've easily talent there is really exciting.

"Just a dynamic, explosive playmaker that Mike [McDaniel] loved, the scouts loved," Hortiz added.

Thompson blazed ran the fastest 40-yard dash of the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine at 4.26 seconds, and that speed showed up on tape as he led the SEC with 1,054 receiving yards.

"The speed jumps out on film, ability to track the ball downfield is really elite and ability to take the ball on the run and gone," Hortiz said. "Really explosive playmaker that we think really adds and opens up this offense."

While Thompson is listed at 5-foot-9 and 164 pounds, Hortiz said the wide receiver's weight is higher than that right now.

"He's been compared to DeSean [Jackson]," Hortiz said. "Tyreek [Hill's] thicker than him coming out, but that similar size, height, speed combination. But Tyreek was a bigger guy, D-Jack was definitely leaner."

Of note, the Chargers said Thompson could factor into the mix as a returner on special teams right away.

"We'll definitely throw him back there," Hortiz said.

3. Smith on the back end

The Chargers third and final pick of Round 4 was Arizona safety Genesis Smith, who was selected at No. 131 overall.

Smith earned Third-Team All-Big 12 honors for the first time in his collegiate career after racking up 77 total tackles, eight passes defensed, 3.0 tackles for loss, one interception and a team-leading three forced fumbles in 12 starts.

"Versatile. Explosive. That's a 42.5-inch vertical guy," Alexander said. "Can help us on special teams. He's going to help us in a lot of ways."

Hortiz added: "Rangy safety, instincts, sees it quick, reads the quarterback well. And aggressive downhill, long and athletic. They played him all over, there's more backend stuff but you see him down as the rover and is physical filling the alley. Is not afraid to tackle."

Hortiz then paused after that answer, knowing that a question about Smith's tackling ability was on the way.

While the 21-year-old did miss some attempts in college, Hortiz said it wasn't because of a lack of effort. Plus, Hortiz said Chargers Defensive Coordinator Chris O'Leary (a former safeties coach) and current Chargers safeties coach Adam Fuller should help Smith improve that aspect of his game.

"Tackling can be improved if the want-to is there, and the want-to is definitely there. You look at him, he comes up and has a good number of tackles on film," Hortiz said. "All safeties miss tackles, and we talked about this in draft meetings, there were safeties ahead of him that missed tackles but they're still good football players.

"You clean up the technique, clean up the angles, the leverage. If they don't have a willingness then you have a problem. He has the willingness," Hortiz continued.

He later added: "I've been around some really good safeties in my career that weren't really good tacklers their first year in the league. And they've done pretty good."

Harbaugh noted that Smith could potentially get on the field in nickel packages alongside Elijah Molden to ensure that Derwin James can be utilized in the box.

"He's another one of the five when we're in nickel who can get Derwin, who is really good at tackling, closer to the line of scrimmage. That's a great pick," Harbaugh said of Smith.

4. An ascending D-tackle

Much like offensive line, the Chargers were a bit thin along the defensive trenches earlier this offseason.

Sure, Jamaree Caldwell and Justin Eboigbe were under contract, but the Chargers aided that room in a big way by re-signing Teair Tart before free agency began. The Bolts then added veteran Dalvin Tomlinson in free agency to get more beef in the room.

That trend continued Saturday with the selection of South Carolina defensive tackle Nick Barrett in the fifth round at No. 145 overall.

Hortiz said Saturday that the Chargers feel Barrett is "the type of player we feel like can get better and develop into a starter."

The 22-year-old Barrett is listed at 6-foot-3 and 312 pounds. He was a five-year player for South Carolina and is coming off a productive season in 2025 where he started 12 games and notched 2.0 sacks, 6.0 tackles for loss and 42 total tackles.

"Another physical player. Technically sound and plays the game the way we play it: square, uses his hands well, got good instinct, block recognition, locate the ball, effort to it," Hortiz said.

He later added: "He's one of our blue star players. A lot to like with him."

Barrett said on his virtual media availability with reporters that he had to "re-brand myself" in recent years, which included dropping weight and increasing his stamina.

"It shows he puts the work in. This is a guy that plays with a lot of effort, a lot of strain," Alexander said. "He plays with contact balance, is really hard to move.

"Despite losing the weight, he still plays really sturdy in there," Alexander added. "He's got Charger mentality. That's what we call it. He really does."

5. A look at the roster

All in all, the Chargers added to five different position groups during the draft: edge rusher, offensive line, wide receiver, safety and defensive tackle.

Some obvious positions such as quarterback or running back were unlikely to be address, but Hortiz did get asked about the cornerback group.

The Bolts are led by veteran Donte Jackson along with Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart. Others in that group include Deane Leonard, Nikko Reed and Eric Rogers.

"We feel good about the room. Won't say we won't add, like I tell you guys, the roster is not set until we set it to 53, free agency extends all the way through the season," Hortiz said. "Always open, whenever we can make the team better, we'll do it.

"I wouldn't say we're done there, but I wouldn't say we're shopping aggressively either," Hortiz added.

Hortiz said he thought the Chargers might take a cornerback in either Round 4 or 5, but "then it just cleared out. When we were up, corners just weren't high enough before the run came and then they evaporated."

As the Chargers roster now stands at 75 players, not including undrafted free agents, Hortiz spent some time Saturday expressing his gratitude to the entire organization for their efforts for what will hopefully be another stellar draft class.

"It's fun to sit up there for three days and make the picks, but you have to reflect on what's gone into it. Just really proud of everyone's efforts," Hortiz said.