Joe Alt has been a special player at Totino-Grace High School, at Notre Dame, and is now one for the LA Chargers.
Jim Harbaugh said the night of the 2024 NFL Draft, when the Chargers took Alt fifth overall instead of a wide receiver, “Offensive linemen, we look at as weapons.”
Well, Harbaugh has asked his weapon to make the switch over to left tackle after the Chargers recently lost extended left tackle Rashawn Slater to a torn patella tendon, which Harbaugh compared to a “gut punch right to the solar plexus,” but believes in his new left tackle.
"He's one of our top guys, elite player on the team," Harbaugh said of Alt.. "Great player. He's been ascending as much as anybody on the team. People ask me, 'Who's the most improved guy?' It could be Joe Alt, and he was really good last year.”
Harbaugh, offensive coordinator Greg Roman, and Sandra Bullock know that the left tackle is the most important player on the offensive line because he protects the blindside of the quarterback.
Roman thinks Alt has made the transition look easy.
“I think it's been pretty seamless, really, as seamless as I've seen,” Roman said. “Really excited about Joe and the year he's about to have.”
When asked about the transition back to his natural position, Alt said it wasn’t like riding a bike—it was a challenge.
“If you're a right-handed guy, you lead off of your left foot,” Alt explained. “At right tackle, that's your explosive leg and you go back over to the left side, like I just did, you're trying to train your right leg to be explosive. Out of your kick, out of your stance and stuff. So it's really a lot of reps and getting your body physically ready to explode off a different leg than it's used to.”
Alt was the best left tackle in the country at Notre Dame. His size, athleticism, and IQ made him a slam dunk selection.
Kyle Robertson-Imagn Images
Sep 3, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Zach Harrison (9) and Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Tyleik Williams (91) rush against Notre Dame Fighting Irish offensive lineman Joe Alt (76) in the fourth quarter at Ohio Stadium.
The Chargers already had a left tackle, so when there was chatter about them selecting him, Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph knew Alt would be ready come the start of the NFL season.
“As soon as it happened, he was probably like, ‘oh shit, I got to learn this,’” Rudolph said. “Here's the new challenge, and roll up your sleeves and get to work at it. That's just him.”
Rudolph coached Alt in his final season at Notre Dame and spoke often about the kind of competitor and person he is.
He recalled moments when they were in meeting rooms for a while and he decided to give his unit a break. When he announced it was break time, players headed toward the exit to gather themselves. Alt was still in the room and wanted to chat with his coach.
“I thought it was always a nice way to get a break, to just build, sit down, talk about life,” Alt said. “I think you get caught up in a season, all it is is football and you never really get to hear how someone's doing, what's going on at home, whatever's going on. So it's always a good time for me to kind of just step back away from football and then re-lock back in.”
Before jumping on the call, Rudolph was told by a member of Notre Dame PR that Alt was named a captain in his second season in the NFL.
“That doesn't surprise me in the least,” Rudolph said. “He's a leader from day one.”
Rudolph remembered the final game of Alt’s college career, against Stanford. Instead of mailing it in, the left tackle had the game of his life, according to his former offensive line coach.
“His challenge was always to be the best him,” Rudolph recalled. “It wasn't like, ‘Oh, I got to tune it up for this,’ or ‘do that for here,’ like he was always running that race. I think that kind of always stood out to me.”
During Notre Dame’s bye week, Rudolph, along with assistant offensive line coach Rob Delaney, sat down to watch Alt play when the Chargers traveled to face the Cleveland Browns in Week 9.
They were both impressed with what they saw.
“We pulled up some film and pulled up some cut ups of the point of attack stuff,” Rudolph said. “It was awesome, like it was fun just to see him cut it loose and play and get comfortable in a new spot. I was really proud of him.”
Alt was very impressive in his rookie year at a new position. He finished with a 94.3 percent pass-block win rate, according to ESPN. He also allowed a 6.9 percent pressure rate (8th lowest), according to Next Gen Stats.
"I think Joe, you're going to see a hands-down All-Pro this year," Roman said in June. "I can see it right now. Last year, what was he, 20 years old? He was like Clifford the Big Red Dog, he's figuring things out. Now, I can tell he's really worked hard this offseason. He's like 330 pounds, he's kind of getting into that man strength."
Harbaugh and Roman have been very high on Alt since the Chargers drafted him. Harbaugh has said he is on track for a “Hall of Fame type of career” and Roman has said he can get to the same “stratosphere” of Hall of Famer Jonathan Ogden.
Ric Tapia - The Sporting Tribune
Joe Alt #76 of the Los Angeles Chargers blocks during mandatory minicamp at The Bolt on June 12, 2025 in El Segundo, California.
Alt will be the starting left tackle on Friday night in São Paulo, Brazil, when the Chargers face the Kansas City Chiefs.
It actually won’t be his first time starting at left tackle in the NFL. In Week 18 last season, Slater had a knee issue an hour before the game, so Alt had to make the switch.
“When you get a short notice like that, I think just go with it,” Alt explained. “You really can't really think about it, there's no time to try to work on things. You just go out there and try your best to compete and battle. I think that's kind of what my mindset was going into that game.”
He posted an 83.7 pass-blocking grade against the Raiders, according to PFF. He didn’t allow a sack and, without knowing it, got meaningful snaps.
“It definitely did,” Alt said. “Just knowing that I did it recently, and had game experience now going into that game in my first season here. So I think just working through that game, and being able to have film of what I did last year, and how to improve it, I think helped a ton.”
The Chargers are going to count on him to be the anchor of the offensive line with Slater out. He will need to keep his quarterback clean, open holes for running backs, and lead.
There are question marks about everyone on the offensive line except Alt, because he has been every bit of the player they took fifth overall—if not more.
“I definitely feel as we're approaching, getting closer and closer, just the energy, the focus, everything just starts to rise and intensify,” Alt said.