The Thunder Down Under Chargers Podcast

#BoltUp! The regular season is FINALLY here! Today on Thunder Down Under Chargers, we gear up for Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals, dive into the #TDUMailbag, and put our reputations on the line with rapid-fire "Buy, Sell, Hold" season predictions. What we cover today: #TDUMailbag: Answering your burning questions ahead of kickoff. Wk 1 Cardinals Preview: Key matchups, tactical breakdown, and what it will take to start 1-0. Buy, Sell, Hold!: Bold predictions on division winners, individual awards, and overall record. Hit subscribe so you never miss an episode of the Thunder Down Under Chargers Podcast!

#BoltUp! The initial 53-man roster is SET! Today on Thunder Down Under Chargers, we break down Joe Hortiz's roster construction, analye the surprise cuts and trades, and grade every position group ahead of the 2026 season. What we cover today: 53-Man Roster Reactions: Initial takes, the biggest cut/hold surprise, fringe player trades for draft capital, and who is primed for a bigger role than expected. Roster Confidence Meter: We tier every single position group into Ready to Contend, Good Enough, Developing, or Needs Help. Final Offense & Defense Grades: Giving our final letter grade and one-word verdict for the entire unit. Hit subscribe so you never miss an episode of the Thunder Down Under Chargers Podcast!

#BoltUp! We are joined today by special guest Sam Monson from Check The Mic! Sam breaks down why he was the lone NFL MVP voter for Justin Herbert in 2025, his outlook on the Chargers’ 2026 season, and overarching NFL trends to watch. Plus, we put Sam to the test with our famous TDU Aussie Quiz. Hit subscribe so you never miss an episode of Thunder Down Under Chargers!

#BoltUp! Join us today as we break down the Chargers’ barely competitive Week 2 Preseason loss over the San Francisco 49ers! What we cover today: Injury Strikes! How the season-ending loss of Center Tyler Biadasz impacts the Chargers’ season prospects? Preseason Wk 2 Recap: Standouts & Takeaways from the Chargers' loss vs. 49ers. Hit subscribe so you never miss an episode of the Thunder Down Under Chargers Podcast!

#BoltUp! Join us today as we break down the Chargers’ dominant Week 1 Preseason win over the Houston Texans! What we cover today: Preseason Wk 1 Recap: Standouts & takeaways from the Chargers' win vs. Texans. Hit subscribe so you never miss an episode of Thunder Down Under Chargers!

#BoltUp! Preseason football is finally back as the Chargers prepare to take on the Houston Texans. But before kickoff, we're taking a deep dive into the 2026 schedule to explain why the Bolts are set to SWEEP the entire AFC East. From dethroning the Patriots, to handling the Bills, Dolphins and Jets, we deliver a comprehensive breakdown of how the Chargers stack up against the East. What we cover today: Training Camp Takeaways: Latest news, roster trends, and player reports. Texans vs. Chargers: What to look for in the preseason opener. The AFC East Sweep: Our game-by-game breakdown and predictions. Hit subscribe so you never miss an episode of Thunder Down Under Chargers!

Training Camp is in full flight (or as Harbaugh likes to call it, glide mode). With the first padded practice over in San Diego, it is time to take stock of the week’s action and share our biggest Charger takeaways on TDU. We then move onto our first 2026 Opponent Series segment of the offseason, breaking down the NFC West and the challenges presented by this fearsome division. Don't miss it!

ESPN Chargers reporter Kris Rhim joins the Thunder Down Under Chargers Podcast to discuss Justin Herbert, Jim Harbaugh and the biggest storylines ahead of Los Angeles Chargers training camp. We welcomed ESPN’s Chargers beat reporter, Kris Rhim, onto the show today to chat about the Bolts’ offseason and everything fans can expect to see at training camp! We shared our takes and also bombarded Kris with the kinds of hard-hitting questions he’s more accustomed to asking than answering! And, of course, we challenged Kris to our famous TDU Aussie Quiz. Don't miss it!

The Charger players have been working hard at OTAs and Mandatory Minicamp. But have the TDU boys been grinding too during their time off? Or have they been busy following their popstar wives on a global musical tour? Find out today as we bring you our Biggest Chargers Offseason Takeaways to kickstart Season 5 of TDU. Is the Bolt’s Interior OL still a problem? Are McDaniel and Herbert fully in synch (with their footwork and their minds)? Now that the picture is almost complete, how do we grade Joe Hortiz’s roster building efforts? We discuss it all #BoltFam. Don't miss it!

The 2026 NFL Draft is in the books and the Chargers welcomed 8 new players into the #BoltFam! There were even some trades! Join us today as we break down each player, hand out our draft grades, and present our Draft Edition of “Knife or Spoon”, sharing some winners & losers from around the NFL after a fantastic weekend of action. Don't miss it

With 4 days until the 2026 NFL Draft, we’ve invited “Mr Xs&Os” himself, Ryan Watkins from The Powderkeg Podcast, back on the show for the Chargers’ Ultimate 2026 Draft Guide. Together, Ryan and Al share their views on this class based on 1,000+ hours of All-22 tape evaluation, working through all of the key position groups and the prospects they think best fit the Chargers’ needs. Will there be fierce disagreement between these two, headstrong and passionate, tape dawgs? Listen to find out #BoltFam!

With only a little more than a week until the 2026 NFL Draft, we run through some different Mock Draft exercises for the #TDUCrew forecasting different possible outcomes for the Chargers this year. Does it matter which position gets taken in Round 1? What does a draft with a ‘trade’ look like? Join us to find out

It’s 3 weeks until the 2026 NFL Draft and what better time to welcome Guilty as Charged’s Steven and Tyler back on Thunder Down Under Chargers! Together we discuss all the recent team news before undertaking a critical off-season exercise: Setting the Chargers’ Big Board! What discussions would GM Joe Hortiz, Assistant GM Chad Alexander and their scouts be having behind closed doors? Which draft prospects are the best fits for the Bolts? What strategy should be applied on Draft Day? We discuss it all so listen to find out!

For a third consecutive free agency, the Chargers have had a deathly quiet start to proceedings and fans have seriously had enough! Armed with the most cap space in the NFL, GM Joe Hortiz has adopted a cautious, targeted approach, staying true to his Baltimore origins. Big names like Odafe Oweh and Zion Johnson have departed. Lesser-known names like Keaton Mitchell, Charlie Kolar, Alec Ingold and Cole Strange have arrived. Are these shrewd football decisions by the Bolts’ top man or is it simply parsimonious tosh?! Is he the best or is he the worst GM in the League?! In this binary era of football discourse and analysis, is it possible to be anything in between? We discuss it all on TDU. Don’t miss it!

TDU IS BACK IN TOWN! After a restful break, we return to the airwaves to discuss all the recent Chargers news and the team’s 2026 offseason plan. Oh yes, Hortiz has made his first big move of free agency this morning signing a new starting Center, former Commander Tyler Biadasz, to a 3yr, $30m deal. But there are still so many questions left to answer. Is some Mega Trade on the horizon? Which free agents (internal or external) will Hortiz prioritise applying the most cap space in the NFL towards? We address it all on our first show of TDU Season 5. Don’t miss it!

It’s been only three weeks since the Chargers lost in the Wild Card Round but so much has happened! Some of it bittersweet (Coach Minter becoming the new Ravens HC) and some of it incredibly exciting: yes, that’s right #TDUCrew, former Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel will be calling the plays for Justin Herbert in 2026 as his new Offensive Coordinator! Today on TDU we go LIVE with our buddies from the PowderKeg Podcast to discuss all the recent team news, share our 2025 Season Takeaways, and enjoy a lightning round of Q&A about the offseason ahead. Oh Chargers, every year you break our spirits, but then you go and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELVES in the offseason and suck us right back in! Don’t miss it!

So, the Chargers lost in the Wild Card Round and Justin Herbert played his worst game of the season. Does that sound familiar, #BoltFam? This is the grim reality now facing the team after its 16-3 loss to New England following which OC Greg Roman and OL Coach Mike Devlin were fired: DC Jesse Minter is almost certainly leaving the team to be a Head Coach somewhere else next season; Justin Herbert is 0-3 in the Playoffs; and he will be asked to learn a 5th offensive system under a new Offensive Coordinator in 2026 (whoever that is). Never have there been more moving parts for us to piece together. Join us today on TDU as we try to make sense of this Wild Card Round Disaster. Don’t miss it!

The Chargers’ 2025 regular season concluded on Sunday with a “meaningless” game against the Broncos at Mile High, Denver. Most of the team’s important starters were rested ahead of the playoffs, but Harbaugh’s men nevertheless battled manfully – led by QB2 Trey Lance. After a while, the disparity between the Broncos’ starters and Bolts’ back-ups became too great, and the Broncos secured victory 19-3 (also claiming the AFC’s #1 overall seed in the process). Now, Wild Card Round beckons. The moment is almost here. And it is to New England, Massachusetts, that Justin Herbert, Derwin James, Khalil Mack, and the rest of the team will travel, desperate to make amends for their early playoff exit in Season 2024. Of course, Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye will have other ideas, eager to cement their status as a new, rising AFC powerhouse. Today, we discuss it all on TDU and answer some listener questions from the #TDUMailbag. This is your ideal prelude to the big game #BoltFam. Don’t miss it! **Apologies for Jack's internet in this episode!

The Texans snapped the Chargers four game win streak in Wk 17 and, with the 20-16 loss, the AFC West Title is now officially out of reach for Jim Harbaugh’s men. A slow start on Defense left the team in a 14-0 hole and, despite some Justin Herbert heroics in the second half, 5 sacks from the Houston Defense was enough to secure a narrow victory. With a playoff spot confirmed and only Wild Card seeding left to be settled, how should the Bolts approach their Wk 18 trip to Denver? Join us as we recap Sunday’s action and work through the different scenarios. Don’t miss it!

Christmas is just around the corner and the #BoltFam can REJOICE following a comfortable 34-17 win by the team in Dallas, the Chargers’ fourth consecutive victory. With a Broncos loss in Wk 16 and the AFC West well and truly alive, join us on TDU today as we recap the Bolts’ trip to Jerrah World, read through Santa’s Naughty and Nice List for Season 2025, and share our score predictions for a big Wk 17 match-up against the Texans. Don’t miss it!