We're one week from the 2025 NFL Draft.

Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz and assistant general manager Chad Alexander held their annual pre-draft press conference Thursday at The Bolt.

Check out the Chargers Draft Hub for news and analysis of every pick next week.

Here are five takeaways from Hortiz and Alexander:

1. Deepest 2025 position groups

The Chargers hold the No. 22 overall pick, but the hay is mostly in the barn for Hortiz, Alexander and the rest of the Bolts front office.

Hortiz said Thursday that the heavy lifting has been done by scouts and coaches, meaning the final few days will be spent re-checking things and going over some last-minute details on certain prospects.

"Feel good where our board is at. If the draft was tomorrow, we could draft," Hortiz said.

But which positions groups could the Chargers have their eye on next week?

Hortiz was asked which position groups stand out as the deepest in the 2025 draft class.

"D-line and running back, and I'd say tight end, corner. There's a lot of corners up there on the board we like. Those are probably the four that stand out," Hortiz said. "And that's not to say that other positions aren't deep. But they're the ones that, if you just pull up ESPN, everyone will talk about.

"Certainly the edges are strong and the D-line as a whole. But I feel like there's players that all positions in all rounds that we'll be able to find," Hortiz added.

The most-recent Chargers Mock Draft Tracker featured 16 total projections, with more than half focusing in on tight end or defensive tackle.

So then, how will the Chargers approach the four position groups Hortiz mentioned?

Is Round 1 the way to go? Or do they wait and try and get value on Day 2 or later?

"The important thing, even if you know a class is deep at a certain position, is to still stack the players the right way," Hortiz said. "Then it just depends on the situation, really. If he's sticking out, if that player in your rankings is way above the next guy, then you just take him. If you have two picks close together then it's, 'OK, we've got more depth behind us at this position.'

Hortiz later added: "That's a good question because there's a strategy to it. You also don't want to get greedy, right? Like, 'Oh, we can get somebody later.' Well, you can think that way and then a run could happen at that position and you're like, 'Well, that didn't work.' So just take the best player, especially if they are sticking out."

Hortiz did not mention running back but was later asked about that position toward the end of his press conference.

"When it comes to Najee [Harris], we want someone that can compliment him and work with him and maybe carry a lot of the same traits he has," Hortiz said.

2. Fired up for Year 2

A year ago, Hortiz was only roughly three months on the job before he dove headfirst into his first draft as a GM.

The results were a boon as Joe Alt, Ladd McConkey, Tarheeb Still and Cam Hart all became either bonafide stars or solid starters in Year 1.

With the Chargers slated to pick 17 spots lower than No. 5 from a year ago, Hortiz quipped that his phone hasn't been ringing as much of late.

"Picking five, you get a lot more calls than picking 22, I can promise you that," Hortiz said. "Make no mistake about it, I like picking where we're picking and I'd rather pick even further down. That's the plan.

"We're going to try to pick as late as we can every year. But at five, you definitely get more calls," Hortiz added. "This year, it's more of the teams in front of us, behind us, they're all making calls. 'Hey, you looking to move up? You're looking to move back?' That happens. You end up talking to all 32 teams throughout the couple weeks that lead up to the draft."

Hortiz said Thursday that with multiple quarterbacks going early last year, the Chargers were able to select Alt, who was among the highest-overall graded players on their board.

And while that is unlike to happen next week, Hortiz's focus is to get their draft board set and be ready to take the best player available in Round 1.

"Obviously, there's a very small probability that we're going to get the best player on our board at 22, but that's okay. We're still going to get a great player," Hortiz said. "Our job as scouts and coaches organizationally, is to get the board right and the stack right so the highest player on our list is the right player for us.

"We got to get that guy, so let's get this stack set up. That goes throughout the draft," Hortiz added.

Something to keep in mind: Hortiz has previous experience at No. 22 overall from his time with Baltimore.

The Ravens held the No. 22 pick in both 2018 and 2019 but traded down to No. 25 in both years. Baltimore also selected at No. 22 overall in 2023 and drafted wide receiver Zay Flowers.

Hortiz said he has somewhat of an idea for how the draft could shake out in the early-20 range.

"I think the experience of picking in the 20s in Baltimore lets you know this is the cluster of players you're probably going to be getting," Hortiz said. "Obviously when you trade back, you have to have someone calling you to trade up. I've seen Eric [DeCosta] and Ozzie [Newsome] trade back and I've seen how they handle it.

"We will have a plan in place for every call that comes in. If a call comes in that, 'Hey, this is what it'll take, this is what we're willing to go back for.' Being in those positions, watching the way we've done it in Baltimore will help me and gives me a good baseline for what to follow," Hortiz added.

3. Current state of the O-line

Hortiz didn't just touch on draft topics Thursday. He also dove into the Chargers current roster and how the group sits with the bulk of free agency complete.

The Chargers offensive line, as usual, was a topic of conversation.

To recap, the Chargers added Mekhi Becton in free agency, a move that brings a 6-foot-7, 363-pound presence at right guard.

The Bolts also signed Andre James, who was recently the Raiders starting center, while Bradley Bozeman returned in free agency after starting every game at center in 2024.

Much like Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said last month, Hortiz likes the flexibility that the Chargers have on the interior.

Rashawn Slater and Alt will man the tackle spots but with Zion Johnson pivoting from left guard to center, there could be competition at his old spot.

"I feel like we got better up until this point. We still have the draft ahead of us, but we got better," Hortiz said. "I love Brad, been with him for five of his years in the NFL and did a great job for us last year.

"Zion is working at center as well, Bradley has played left guard. Andre has played guard, Zion has played guard, but he's working at center and [Trey Pipkins III] has shown he can play guard and tackle," Hortiz added. "I think it creates a great competitive environment and really strengthens us as a whole."

Hortiz later clarified that while James has only played center in his career, he has spent time at guard in practice.

"He's worked at guard in his career. It's something him and I talked about," Hortiz said. "Obviously, he's been a center primarily, but it's not something he's foreign to and unwilling to do.

"Again, you just let him go out there and compete. They're all great dudes, they're all great teammates," Hortiz added. "They're going to add to the fiber of the O-line. That's what you want. You want a good strong unit that works together."

4. A peek at Top 30 visits

As mentioned above, the Chargers have essentially done all of their homework ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.

That includes hosting players on Top 30 visits, which gives the team a chance to meet with a player and get to know them in their own facility.

The Bolts, and every other NFL team, can schedule up to 30 of this visits (hence the name). Hortiz on Thursday explained how and why the Chargers maximize their visits.

"We use it for a lot of different reasons. People try to figure out what teams use it for, is it a smokescreen? I want to get to know some players. There's some players I want to get to know," Hortiz said. "There's some players, I didn't meet [them] at the Senior Bowl, I didn't meet him at the East-West, I didn't meet him at the Combine because you only get 45 interviews at the Combine.

"There's some players that I haven't had the chance to talk to. I just want to meet them, I want to shake his hand, talk to him, get a feel for him, let Chad get a chance to talk to him, our coaches," Hortiz continued.

"Then there's other reason, we may have some questions on them, maybe we didn't have enough time with him at the Senior Bowl or at the Combine where we wanted to dig deeper into some questions we had or maybe a medical reasons," Hortiz added. "All different reasons, there's no one reason. Some teams talk about, I hear it, some teams bring a bunch of guys that they're not interested in. We bring in guys we want to get to know a little bit better."

Alexander followed up with a detailed answer of his own.

"A lot of these guys have remarkable stories and our scouts do a great job of getting the background information. They do a great job of going in, talking to sources," Alexander said. "And a lot of times when they're talking about these players in the meetings, it really sparks our interest and we really want to get to know more about the players, or we might have questions about other things.

"So we bring them in, get a chance to talk to them in a little bit more of a relaxed environment than the Combine or the Senior Bowl or All-star games and stuff like that. It's really cool to be able to talk to them," Alexander added.

Does that mean the Chargers will draft a player they bring in? No.

And it's worth noting that the Bolts did not host Alt on a visit last year because they already felt overly comfortable with him.

"It's a fun process. They come in, they go to dinner, they relax a little bit. We're not looking to grill them and put them under the spotlight," Hortiz said. "We want to get to know the guy, so we get to take them out to dinner, our coaches get to hang out with him at dinner.

"Our personnel assistants get to hang out with him at dinner, and then we get to bring them in the office and show them around, let them spend time with everyone in the organization. It's great," Hortiz added.

5. Excited for Day 3

The first two days of the draft will certainly draw most of the media attention next week.

Besides holding the 22nd pick, the Bolts also have Pick Nos. 55 and 86 on Day 2.

The Chargers also hold a whopping seven picks on Day 3, a haul that includes four picks in the sixth round.

Hortiz said the mindset inside the building is to try and find some hidden gems.

"I just think it's an opportunity late in the draft to really try to hit on great opportunities, like great sleepers finds in the draft," Hortiz said. "Day 3 is when, and I'll say this again on Friday night, Day 3 is when the scouts get really excited. And the coaches too, because they've looked at all these players.

"You sit there and you're looking at what's left on the board and you really say, 'OK, who do you guys love?' So that's when you see the conviction come out," Hortiz added. "To have four 6th-round picks, that's going to be fun. We get to find guys who we've got conviction on. It can be any position, you know? And so that's the beauty of it. I'm looking forward to that."