Chargers' Joe Alt shut down Maxx Crosby, hailed as top-10 rookie

It looks like the Chargers have found a franchise pillar with 2024 draft pick.

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The Los Angeles Chargers took a safe bet when they selected Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt with the fifth pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. When Alt puts on the pads, he makes everyone look a lot smaller, as his 6-foot-8, 322lb frame towers over nearly everyone.

Alt has been exactly who the Chargers needed, as having a great protector of quarterback Justin Herbert is how this team will be successful. CBS Sports writer Ryan Wilson did a quick ranking of the 2024 draft and believes that Alt could have gone even higher than fifth.

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Alt suffered an MCL injury in Week 3 against the Steelers and T.J. Watt, but he's already answered any questions about whether first-year coach Jim Harbaugh made the right decision to a) draft an offensive lineman, and b) move that offensive lineman to a new position.

GRADE: A

- Ryan Wilson, CBS Sports

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Alt hasn't been afraid of the challenge. In 80 pass block opportunities, the rookie has given up just two sacks while allowing just three pressures. And as Wilson pointed out, NextGen Stats charted him with 11 one-on-one situations against Maxx Crosby in his Week 1 debut—allowing zero pressures. The first way a new head coach can get things right with a new franchise is by nailing the draft.

It seems that Jim Harbaugh can go ahead and mark his first pick in Los Angeles as a home run selection.