The NFL free agency period is just over a week away from getting started.
But with teams gathered in Indianapolis this week for the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, the Chargers are focusing on balancing free agency in one hand and the draft in the other.
With $66 million in cap space available for the Chargers and the No. 22 overall pick in the first round, the team will have plenty of options of how to fill out the roster.
But when it comes to the draft, Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz made it clear the goal is to leave with best possible player on their board when they're on the clock.
"We're going to take the best player available when it comes to drafting," Hortiz said on Tuesday.
When asked about prioritizing positional value, Hortiz believes it's a delicate balance.
"You do and you don't. Certainly, there's a value to every position and some positions make more than others so they may carry a little bit more value," Hortiz said. "But you don't push a player up the board because that value is more."
Chargers Assistant General Manager Chad Alexander dove deeper on the topic earlier this week.
Appearing on the Chargers Weekly podcast with Matt "Money" Smith and Chris Hayre, Alexander was asked about balancing the value in different positions, especially at No. 22 which could present a variety of options when the Bolts are on the clock.
"You always want to draft with an eye to the future, and you don't want to get too caught up on we need to draft on need," Alexander said. "'We need these certain positions so we have to go after these certain positions.'
"You just want to take the best player available, regardless," Alexander added. "The highest player on your board."
Having this process is something Alexander says has proven to give results throughout his career, as it gives the team a chance to further strengthen a part of the team in the present and future.
"Nine times out of 10, the way I see it and throughout my career, those are the players that work out the best," Alexander said. "When you have a general consensus, everyone across the board likes him, regardless of the position."
Alexander later added: "You always want to take the highest player available, with in mind players you've already selected and players you might have as strengths on your team and on your roster."
Hortiz gave some more insight on the process between free agency and the draft on the podcast as well, adding that while there is a relation between the two, the ultimate goal is to try and get the best player available.
"It can [correlate with the draft]. That's knowing the draft," Hortiz said on the podcast. "The way we do it, we meet on the draft then we stack free agent meetings afterwards.
"If we got a position on the board that we feel is thin and it marries up with a position that's deeper in free agency, yeah you can maybe put a little bit more effort into signing that position in free agency to help give you some flexibility in the draft versus saying, 'Hey, we got to take [this],'" Hortiz continued.
"That's what you don't want, you don't want to be stuck in the draft saying, 'We have to take X,'" Hortiz added. "You use free agency to fill out, build the roster, get a gap and then it allows you to hit the draft like, 'We have this player, we signed him,' but it's not going to stop you from going to get a rookie at the same position."
