Chargers Training Camp is on the horizon.
The Bolts will hold more than a dozen open practices at The Bolt and will also practice twice at the University of San Diego in early August.
What are the top storylines and position battles to watch later this month?
Chargers.com will take a look at each position group leading up to training camp. The edge rusher group is up next.
Who's on the roster?
Khalil Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu, Akheem Mesidor, Bud Dupree, Kyle Kennard, Nadame Tucker and Garmon Randolph
Camp Outlook
The Bolts edge rusher room features plenty of superstar names, players looking to break through and a heralded first-round rookie.
That means there will be no shortage of storylines surrounding this group, which is led by a future Hall of Famer in Khalil Mack, who is back for Year 13 overall and his fifth season with the Bolts.
As he has the past two offseasons, Mack signed a one-year deal with the Chargers in free agency.
"Ultimately, this is where me and my family want to be this year," Mack said. "Playing high-level football and knowing this group of guys — I said that last year and the year before — but knowing this group of guys we have in this locker room, I couldn't really see being anywhere else."
As the 2026 season approaches, Mack is no longer the most prominent name in the group as Tuli Tuipulotu has cemented himself as a star in the league.
Tuipulotu, recently ranked at No. 86 on the NFL Top 100 List, had a monster 2025 season that saw him rack up 13.0 sacks — the sixth-most in the NFL — to go along with 20.0 tackles for loss, which tied for the fourth-most in the league.
Tuipulotu, a 2023 second-round pick, is eligible for a contract extension but said last month his focus is on the team heading into camp.
"I just let my agent, let the guys handle that," Tuipulotu said. "I'm just trying to be here with the team and be close with the guys."
The Bolts also boosted the overall upside in their room this offseason when they selected Akheem Mesidor with the No. 22 pick in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Mesidor led Miami with 17.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks in 2025 and added a team-high four forced fumbles. His sack total led the entire ACC, while his tackles for loss ranked No. 2 in the conference.
Mack said last month that he's excited to see what Mesidor can do as a rookie.
"There's a lot of intangibles there, man. I'm excited to see him with the pads on," Mack said about Mesidor.
The rest of the edge rusher group features intriguing names such as Bud Dupree, Kyle Kennard and Nadame Tucker, while Garmon Randolph is back after spending the 2025 season on the practice squad.
Dupree was the Chargers fourth edge rusher in 2015 and is entering his 12th season in the league while Kennard played sparingly on defense (80 snaps) as a rookie after being a fourth-round pick.
Tucker, meanwhile, is an undrafted free agent who tied for the Division I lead with 14.5 sacks in 2025 at Western Michigan, where Chargers Defensive Coordinator Chris O'Leary held the same title.
Overall, the Bolts edge rusher group features talent, depth and potential heading into camp.
"I like this group a lot," Mack said.
Player to Watch: Akheem Mesidor
Some rookies enter the NFL needing at least a year or two to develop.
That likely won't be the case with Mesidor, the former Miami standout who is 25 years old and already has an array of pro-ready moves in his pass-rush bag.
"His pass rush technique," O'Leary said about what stands out about Mesidor. "You talk about how he uses his hands, the leverage he plays with, how he attacks different tackles in different ways, his timing, his get-off, how he can move into the interior in his pass rush.
"For me, that's what stands out. He's an exceptional pass rusher," O'Leary added.
Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh noted: "He's a man. He's polished and ready to roll."
We'll soon find out how Mesidor looks in pads (and likely preseason games), but the real focus will be on how he fares as the Bolts third edge rusher in his rookie season.
The Chargers defense thrived in recent seasons with three capable pass rushers, most notably in 2025 when they had Mack, Tuipulotu and Odafe Oweh on the field together.
Immediately after the draft, Harbaugh and Chargers outside linebackers coach Dylan Roney both said they envisioned endless possibilities of another three-headed attack, especially with Mesidor's ability to rush from the inside given his history as a defensive tackle.
"Just thinking of, not even pairing, but tripling him with K-Mack and Tuli," Harbaugh said. "That's fire, as the young people would say."
Roney added: "Just excitement. My mind just started going immediately to all the ways we can use him, all the things it opens up for us as a defense, having more edge rushers that are great pass rushers. Just gives us more opportunities to put them in different positions. My mind immediately went to scheme and all the fun ways we'll be able to use these guys."
Key Question: Who earns 4th edge rusher spot?
There will be plenty of competitions throughout the Chargers roster in camp.
But the most fierce one could come at edge rusher as multiple players battle for what could be a single roster spot.
We know that Mack, Tuipulotu and Mesidor will be the Bolts top three options this season, but O'Leary's defense will also need a fourth (and perhaps a fifth) guy to help spell that trio and also help out on special teams.
That likely leaves Dupree, Kennard and Tucker to fight for the right to stay after camp.
"I get excited about competition," O'Leary said. "It's going to be fun ... may the best man win."
Dupree is the veteran of the group with 61.0 career sacks, but he only had 2.0 last year while playing in 16 games with five starts.
Kennard, as mentioned above, hardly played as a rookie and was inactive for the majority of the season. Of the 80 defensive snaps he did play, 44 came in Week 18 when the Chargers rested their starters.
Mack said earlier this offseason that Kennard showed up with a renewed mindset for spring practices.
"There's a hunger there. I can just tell. The level of focus and detail," Mack said.
Tucker, meanwhile, is perhaps the most compelling name of the group given his recent journey.
Tucker played JUCO ball before spending three seasons at Houston. He then transferred to Western Michigan for his final season and popped off under O'Leary's tutelage.
"They're going to get to get a guy that's looking to make plays. I'm trying to take the ball away and be disruptive in the backfield, help my team win," Tucker said about himself at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine.
"Really I just stayed persistent and kept believing in myself. I started playing football late, so I knew I was a project," Tucker added. "I went JUCO, I took the long route, so I knew I was a project and I've always been working for a very long time. I wouldn't say it clicked, but I was just waiting for an opportunity."
While Tucker flashed a bit in the offseason program, O'Leary said last month that training camp is a time when the edge rusher could really turn some heads.
"His skillset his unique, he's a really good pass rusher," O'Leary said. "He's strong and I think the think you can't quantify sometimes is somebody's power, their strength and their power at the point of attack.
"I think when we put the pads on, that's going to stand out," O'Leary said.
