The Chargers put the finishing touches on an eight-player draft class on Saturday. After quickly getting to work in the undrafted market, the Chargers announced 18 new rookie additions Sunday. Here is the list:
- Noah Avinger, S (Utah)
- Lander Barton, LB (Utah)
- Jerand Bradley, TE (Kansas State)
- Sincere Brown, WR (Colorado)
- Jahmeer Carter, DL (Virginia)
- Gregory Desrosiers, RB (Memphis)
- Devin Grant, S (Syracuse)
- Jacobian Guillory, DL (Louisiana State)
- Niles King, OLB (San Diego State)
- Devonte Ross, WR (Penn State)
- Rodney Shelley, CB (Georgia Tech)
- Avery Smith, CB (Toledo)
- Jacob Spomer, C (Fresno State)
- Evan Svoboda, TE (Wyoming)
- Nadame Tucker, OLB (Western Michigan)
- Terry Webb, DL (Southern Methodist)
- Jeremiah Wilson, CB (Florida State)
- Isaiah World, T (Oregon)
Dane Brugler of The Athletic ranked four of these players among his 300 best prospects entering the draft. At No. 181, Smith was highest on the pre-draft list. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound Smith played four years at Toledo, where he was in the same secondary as Eagles 2024 first-round cornerback Quinyon Mitchell and Browns 2026 second-round safety Emmanuel McNeill-Warren for various periods. Smith made second-team All-MAC in each of his final two seasons with the Rockets. He combined for 100 tackles, 25 passes defensed and three interceptions in that 26-game span. While Smith mostly lined up on the outside in college, Brugler expects him to work as a nickel corner if he makes it to the NFL.
The Chargers can take their time with World (No. 199), a four-year college starter who is recovering from a serious injury. After spending four years at Nevada, World transferred to Oregon ahead of the 2025 campaign. He went on to earn second-team All-Big Ten honors as the Ducks’ left tackle, but the 6-8, 318-pounder’s season ended in brutal fashion. World tore his left ACL in a loss to Indiana in the College Football Playoff in January. The injury took a sledgehammer to World’s draft stock, but he now in position to develop behind the Chargers’ elite tackle duo of Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt.
Tucker (No. 236) is reuniting with new Chargers defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary, who held the same position at Western Michigan in 2025. Their one-year partnership at the college level could not have gone any better. Tucker posted jaw-dropping numbers (21 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks) en route to MAC Defensive Player of the Year honors. While Tucker was excellent at WMU, he mustered just 1.5 tackles for loss and went without a sack at Houston in 13 games from 2022-24. Also a former junior college player, Tucker will already be 26 when the season starts. Nevertheless, “his high-effort pass rush can earn him a subpackage role” in the pros, Brugler writes. Tucker will earn a guaranteed $287,500 on his undrafted deal, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2.
Barton, 286th in Brugler’s rankings, joined the Chargers on a $264,500 guaranteed (via Wilson). The former Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year (2022) recorded 208 tackles, 17 TFL, eight sacks and five INTs over 46 games and 34 starts at Utah. Some teams regard the 6-4, 233-pound as a potential tight end convert, per Brugler, but the Chargers announced him as a linebacker. He is the brother of Titans linebacker Cody Barton and free agent offensive tackle Jackson Barton.
It’s *LSU and *SMU, not “Louisiana State” and “Southern Methodist”
The Chargers drafted a 25 year old pass rusher in the first round, then in Tucker managed to bring in an even older rookie pass rusher. (Nice UDFA signing, still.)