Pro Football Focus predicts high Los Angeles Chargers draft pick will have a breakout season in 2025

Offensive tackle Joe Alt rewarded the Los Angeles Chargers for spending their No. 5 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on him by having a very good rookie year.

Alt started 16 out of 18 games (including the postseason) and was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. Those starts all came at right tackle, despite him playing exclusively on the left side throughout his collegiate career at Notre Dame.

That grabbed the attention of the folks at Pro Football Focus. While naming six offensive linemen they believe are poised to have breakout seasons in 2025, Alt was their top choice.

From PFF: "Last year’s fifth overall pick proved very quickly that he belongs on the NFL stage. His 75.9 PFF overall grade was a top-25 mark among qualified offensive tackles and led all rookie tackles by a wide margin. It's even more impressive since Alt played right tackle, a position he didn’t take a single snap at in college. By the end of the season, Alt was already the eighth-best right tackle in the NFL by PFF overall grade. If he ever needs to fill in for Rashawn Slater on the other side, he is perfectly capable. In fact, he played left tackle in Week 18 against Las Vegas and earned an 83.7 PFF pass-blocking grade, his highest in any game last season. What’s most interesting about Alt is that his solid first-year performance is reminiscent of his freshman year at Notre Dame. Alt proved as a true freshman that he was on a path to stardom at Notre Dame. Over the next two seasons, he was the best offensive tackle in college football, sporting a 93.1 PFF overall grade across 1,600 snaps. Another year at his new position could vault Alt into the ranks of the NFL's elite tackles.

Considering how successful his rookie year was, if Alt improves even more in 2025, he will be considered one of the elite offensive tackles in the league. His pairing with Rashawn Slater gives the Chargers an excellent pair or bookend tackles. If for some reason Los Angeles decides not to give Slater a contract extension, Alt could move over to the left side down the line.