Chargers' Joe Hortiz falls overlooked in GM power rankings...for now

Quietly, Los Angeles Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz has put on quite the show over the last year or so while rebuilding the team alongside head coach Jim Harbaugh. 

Hortiz took one of the league’s most notable roster rebuilds and poor cap situations and helped immediately produce a playoff appearance during a debut campaign marred by mild expectations. 

Despite this, Hortiz only sits 15th in new general manager rankings from NBC Sports' Patrick Daugherty: 

“Slow and steady. That might not win the race in Patrick Mahomes’ AFC West, but it was enough to get the Chargers back in the running last season. Jim Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz opted for more of the same this spring, making nine draft picks for the second consecutive year and once again approaching free agency like the goal was to shore up the middle of the roster rather than shake up the top. This is the rare team where development appears to be the focus, not quick fixes or chasing big names on the trade or free agent markets. The belief is that only the soundest fundamentals and deepest overall core can take on the world’s best coach and quarterback tandem in Mahomes and Andy Reid. It’s a sound, serious bet, if not necessarily an attention-grabbing one as a forgotten franchise with a nascent fanbase. Harbaugh and Hortiz are building it. We’ll see what comes as the fight to dislodge Mahomes only ever seems to get more difficult.”

Granted, 15th isn’t terrible, but it feels a little like underselling the job Hortiz has done so far with the Chargers. 

From the very beginning, Hortiz made tough calls like moving on from franchise mainstays such as Keenan Allen. He and the scouting department found starters in free agency on cheap deals like Poona Ford and even in the fifth round of the draft with names like Tarheeb Still. He also made the trade up to find No. 1 wideout Ladd McConkey. 

This offseason, the Chargers haven’t matched some of the big expectations that came with boasting droves of cap space. But the moves have once again been measured and upgraded the roster, all while retaining a top ranking in free cap space when looking ahead to 2026. 

There’s a long-term plan in place around Justin Herbert and if the first year of the rebuild was any sign, Hortiz should keep climbing rankings such as these in the future.