After watching the Brandon Staley regime go from interesting to promising to downright disastrous, with the team failing to mesh with the head coach so much that during his third season at the helm, the defensive specialist was released mid-season in favor of Giff Smith getting a crack with the clipboard, the Los Angeles Chargers are riding high after signing Jim Harbaugh to run the show, who famously hasn't lost a game since 2022.

Step number one in getting the team back on track? Adding some young, hungry stars to the rosters who can form a strong core to help Justin Herbert heading into the future, including a supersized monster of a man and an intriguing pass-catching option who may be WR1 before the end of his rookie season.

These rookies could be players for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024.

Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Joe Alt (76) wears a Guardian helmet cap during organized team activities at Hoag Performance Center.
May 29, 2024; Costa Mesa, CA, USA; Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Joe Alt (76) wears a Guardian helmet cap during organized team activities at Hoag Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

2. Joe Alt will push Trey Pipkins III at RT

In quite possibly the most obvious pusher of all time, Trey Pipkins III had to know that the writing was on the wall when the Chargers made Joe Alt the seventh overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, as the pride of Notre Dame wasn't going to spend a year or two on the bench learning his trade before making his way into the starting lineup.

Widely considered not only the best offensive tackle prospect in the 2024 NFL draft but one of the best players, period, regardless of the position, Alt is a monster of a man, standing 6-foot-8, 315 pounds, with a strong lower body and enough burst to be a mover in both the run and pass game as a scheme-agnostic prospect. Alt came from a football family and backed up his strong pedigree with a fantastic career at Notre Dame, where he more than made up for his legend with game tape worthy of being a top-10 pick.

Now sure, Alt doesn't have experience playing on the right side of the line, as he was a left tackle through and through for the Fighting Irish, but considering Rashawn Slater is a very good talent on the left side and the draftee is simply too large to kick it inside to begin his career at guard, Pipkins is the logical player to lose his spot on the line and slot into a swing tackle reserve for the remainder of his three-year, $21.75 million contract.

1. Ladd McConkey will push Quentin Johnston for WR1

As crazy as it may be to say, considering he was one of the worst first-round rookie wide receivers the NFL has seen in some time, Quentin Johnston finds himself the Chargers' unlikely WR1 heading into 2024, with the most prominent players in front of him, Mike Williams and Keenan Allen, leaving for the greener pastures of the New York Jets and Chicago Bears via a release and trade respectively.

Now, could Johnston turn things around and become a true number-one receiver in the NFL in Year 2, figuring out a way to capitalize on his toolsy traits to become a force of nature in Greg Roman's offense? Sure, Johnston was compared to Deebo Samuel coming out of TCU for a reason, and while plenty of players have failed to live up to those lofty expectations at the NFL level, that doesn't mean the 19th overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft can't buck that trend.

Still, even if Johnston does become a viable starter for the Chargers in 2024, that doesn't mean he's going to be the team's best wide receiver, as that honor could very well belong to Ladd McConkey, the 34th overall pick out of Georgia that LA actually traded up to acquire at the top of the second round.

Standing 6-foot, 186 pounds, McConkey is built like a modern-day WR1, possessing very good speed with his 4.39 40, the savvy to run great routes against man and zone, and has a nose for the endzone, where he ended up 18 times during his three seasons in Athens. He can play inside and out, run deep down the field as a go-route specialist, or feast on underneath routes and may ultimately lead the team in receptions as a rookie, even if he doesn't ultimately have the most yards on the team for one reason or another.

What will McConkey's role look like this fall? Only time will tell, but considering the level of competition around him and the uncertainty regarding how the offense will look in Harbaugh's first season with the team, it's safe to say McConkey should be a priority in your next fantasy draft, as he might just be the NFL's next big rookie success story.