LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Chargers drafted nine players at five positions with the parallel goals of immediate help in 2024 and further depth for seasons to come.

One of the spots they didn't address — because they didn't need to — was quarterback, where Justin Herbert is entering the fifth season of a career off to a record-setting start.

However, the Chargers did, in fact, draft someone who has played the position.

"I was a bigger quarterback," Joe Alt explained, causing laughter throughout his introductory news conference Friday. "Let's be real, I ran the ball most of the time."

Alt, all 6-foot-9 and 321 pounds of him, was the team's first-round pick, selected fifth overall and projected to take over at right tackle. His quarterbacking days ended back in high school in Minnesota.

His addition, plus the Day 2 selections of wide receiver Ladd McConkey and linebacker Junior Colson, highlighted the first Chargers draft for general manager Joe Hortiz and coach Jim Harbaugh.

"I'm really excited the way it went, especially [when] you look at our first pick," said Hortiz, who then talked about Alt being the best tackle available. "And then the opportunity to take the players we took each time, we were just excited to take every one. I really believe we made our team better."

Hortiz and Harbaugh addressed obvious needs, while sticking to selections with both production and potential mostly from major programs. The Chargers' picks came from Notre Dame, Georgia, Michigan, Alabama, USC, Maryland and Troy.

There were no head-scratching decisions or glaring reaches that could be immediately questioned. The Chargers pretty much followed a path that was easy to understand.

"It was outstanding," assistant general manager Chad Alexander said. "You could tell by how happy everyone was at the end … everyone's high-fiving and just really pumped up and excited about the result."

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