{"id":97400,"date":"2026-07-18T19:41:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T02:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/?p=97400"},"modified":"2026-07-18T22:20:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T05:20:13","slug":"bolt-action-7-18-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/?p=97400","title":{"rendered":"Bolt Action: 7\/18\/2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Chargers don’t have to worry about the quarterback position. Justin Herbert is back as QB1 for the sixth consecutive year. (Photo by Duane Barker). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Tim Peterson <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chargers don’t have to worry about their quarterback coming into the 2026 campaign. While many teams wonder if they have the right guy or if a recent draft pick will pan out, the Chargers know they are set. <\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

For the sixth consecutive season Justin Herbert is the LA Chargers undisputed starter, QB1 if you will. There is no question and no competition in the room. Last year Herbert threw for 3,727 yards and 26 touchdowns with 13 picks. He also ran for 498 yards and two scores. Although Head Coach Jim Harbaugh may not necessarily like Herbert running the ball, he does have the ability to pull it down, get out of the pocket and take off. Herbert is the guy – a Top 10 quarterback. No questions asked. As long as he stays healthy all is good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chargers success may hinge on other things. At receiver Ladd McConkey is the number one target. But who is number two? Can Quentin Johnston finally put it all together? Johnston showed signs last year and was the team’s third leading receiver in yardage but still needs to have a break-out season. With Keenan Allen still unsigned he will need to step up. Also will second-year receiver Tre’ Harris emerge? He had 30 catches last year but the Chargers may need more production from him and give Herbert more options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At running back Omarion Hampton, a second-year man, is expected to be the main man this year. Last year he was good, but not great because he was hit by the injury bug. He rushed for 545 yards but only played in nine games. The Chargers still have Kimani Vidal but he is considered more of a plug-in player, not an every-down guy. The Chargers acquired Keaton Mitchell, who was with the Baltimore Ravens last year but has had injuries in the past and is unproven. The Chargers are relying on Hampton to have an injury-free season and to provide stability in the running attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Oronde Gadsden anchored the tight end room last season by hauling in 49 catches for 664 yards. The Chargers added David Njoku and Charlie Kolar to the mix replacing Will Dissly and Tyler Conklin. Gadsden is solid. Njoku and Kolar are good. The only question is how the targets will be divided among the three. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chargers should be set up front with the additions to the offensive line. Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt are both returning from injuries and they brought in center Tyler Biadasz and right guard Cole Strange. They also added veteran Kayode Awosika and rookie Jake Slaughter, who will compete for the starting left guard spot. Again if everybody is healthy the O-Line should not be a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe the biggest addition is the hiring of offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel who will be tasked to bring all of this together. McDaniel, who has the reputation of a genius, could take the Chargers’ offense to new heights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since McDaniel won’t have to worry about his quarterback it will give him plenty of time to work on all the other positions and make sure all of his ducks are in a row. If he can push all of the right buttons it could be a special year for the Chargers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tim Peterson can be reached at tim.midvalleysports@gmail.com or on Twitter (X) @tspeterson40. Facebook-Tim Peterson. <\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Tim Peterson The Chargers don’t have to worry about their quarterback coming into the 2026 campaign. While many teams wonder if they have the right guy or if a recent draft pick will pan out, the Chargers know they are set.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories-news-notes-around-professional-football"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=97400"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97407,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97400\/revisions\/97407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=97400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=97400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=97400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}