Josh Kaltenberger was one of the Chargers’ UDFA signings from their 2025! He survived the season with the Bolts and will fight for his place once again in 2026.
Let’s get to know this young center in our next 90-in-90 series profile!
The Basics
Height: 6’6
Weight: 308 pounds
College: Purdue/Maryland
Experience: 1
Kaltenberger is a Pennsylvania native who starred for Seneca Valley High School. He was rated a three-star prospect by ESPN and the eighth-ranked center prospect in the nation.
In his first year at Purdue,
Kaltenberger took a redshirt before earning playing time in all 13 games the following year. During the 2022 season, Kaltenberger played in every game and earned his first career starts during the team’s final three games.
Unfortunately Kaltenberger did not win the starting job outright in 2023, instead seeing just four starts during the year while playing in every game. After the season, he chose to transfer to transfer to Maryland for his final year of eligibility.
For the first time in his career, Kaltenberger won the starting job and played in all 12 games at pivot for the Terrapins.
Following the 2025 NFL Draft, Kaltenberger signed as a UDFA with the Chargers. As a rookie, he spent the season on the practice squad as the team’s third-string center.
The Good
Kaltenberger brings great size for the center position at 6’6 and 308 pounds. He also showed notable athleticism during his pre-draft process with a 9.72 RAS (relative athletic score) which put him well into the “elite” range (9.00+ RAS).
In former offensive coordinator Greg Roman’s offense, Kaltenberger was not a great fit. The change to Mike McDaniel’s offense that values athletic lineman who can get out into space and run could be just what Kaltenberger needed to increase his chances of sticking around for another year and potentially working his way up to backup center in the future.
The Bad
Kaltenberger lacks the functional strength needed to survive in the middle of the trenches against NFL-caliber nose tackles. Het gets worked way more than he does the working.
2026 Outlook
The Chargers drafted Jake Slaughter in the second round to play both guard and be the likely center of the future. With Andre James no longer on the team, Kaltenberger remains the team’s third-string center entering the 2026 season. As I mentioned above, the new offense fits Kaltenberger much, much better and without added competition being brought in this year at center, Kaltenberger should have one of the easier paths to remaining with the Chargers for another year on the practice squad.
