The Harbaugh brothers have swung a trade.
It's a big one. And a good one for the Chargers.
The Chargers on Tuesday announced that they have acquired edge rusher Odafe Oweh and a 2027 seventh-round pick in a trade the Ravens in exchange for safety Alohi Gilman and a 2026 fifth-round pick. The completion of the deal is pending physicals.
There's a lot to unpack here, so let's get into it, beginning with who the Bolts brought in.
Oweh brings much-needed edge depth to the Chargers for both the short and (potentially) the long term.
He was a 2021 first-round pick by the Ravens when Chargers General Manager Joe Hortiz was Baltimore's Director of Player Personnel. Corey Krawiec, the Chargers Director of Player Personnel Strategy, was also with the Ravens in 2021 as the team's Manager, Player Evaluation and Analytics.
In short, Oweh is a player the Chargers front office knows well. And you have to assume that Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh surely got some solid intel from his brother, John, on Baltimore's end.
Oweh was a steady player with 13.0 sacks in his first three seasons in the league before taking a leap with a 10.0-sack season in 2024.
While Oweh hasn't recorded a sack yet in 2024, he will bring depth and experience up front and should factor into the defensive rotation as soon as he's up to speed.
The Chargers know what they have in Khalil Mack, a future Hall of Famer who is eligible to return from Injured Reserve next week. And Tuli Tuipulotu has taken a clear leap in his first full-season as a starter and is likely a long-term piece of the defense.
But the rest of the edge group hadn't lived up to their potential yet as Bud Dupree, Caleb Murphy and Kyle Kennard have tallied just 0.5 sacks and one quarterback hit (both by Murphy) in 12 total games between them.
Oweh has tallied a Pro Football Focus pass-rush grade of 72.3 so far in 2025, a number that is 30th among edge rushers with at least 75 attempts. For what it's worth, that's a higher grade that Tuipulotu has recorded so the hope is that Oweh brings some juice to help the Chargers defense get to opposing quarterbacks.
And when Mack returns, it's not hard to envision Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter rolling out Mack, Tuipulotu and Oweh in certain packages.
It's worth noting that Oweh is slated to be a free agent in 2026, but perhaps Hortiz and Co. made this deal with the intention of possibly signing him in the offseason if things work out.
But credit Hortiz and his staff for potentially looking ahead — Mack is also slated to be a free agent in 2026 — and bringing in a player who could be a key long-term piece for the Bolts defense.