Jim Harbaugh evaluates Joe Alt's performance vs. Joey Bosa

Jim Harbaugh liked what he saw from Joe Alt when he took on Joey Bosa during training camp. The Los Angeles Chargers head coach spoke to reporters last week and was asked about Alt going up against Bosa during a pass-rush drill at practice.

“Acquitted himself well,” Harbaugh said about Alt. “The defense, yeah, you’re going to be better than us right now,” Harbaugh said of Alt’s first one-on-one reps. “Joey Bosa’s going to be better. But I thought Joe Alt acquitted himself well.”

It was an interesting matchup since Alt was the first offensive lineman taken in this year’s draft and Bosa is one of the top pass-rushers in the NFL. For Bosa, he comes into the 2024 season with a lot of optimism. While speaking to reporters last month, the four-time Pro Bowler shared his excitement for Harbaugh being the new head coach of the Chargers.

“I’m super excited, every year I’m excited,” Bosa said, per the Chargers’ official website. “The beginning of every year there’s a lot of hope and excitement going into each season. You never know how it’s going to play out. When you get a guy like Coach Harbaugh, that has been there and won at a bunch of place, you know that he’s not testing it out for the first time,” Bosa continued. “He has a strategy that he knows that works and I think it’s easy to buy in when you have a guy like that.

“Winning a National Championship, going to a Super Bowl, wherever he’s been he’s been really successful,” Bosa added. “So to have a guy that comes in, lays the plan out for you and there’s no guessing, it feels nice.”

Joe Alt reacts to facing Joey Bosa in practice

Alt is expected to solidify the offensive line this year. For that to happen, he will continue to go up against teammates like Bosa, Khalil Mack and Bud Dupree to make him better.

“I’m very lucky to go up against some of the best edge rushers in the game, being able to go against them every single day and being able to improve my skills against the best,” Alt said. “For me, it’s just trying to improve a bit every single day against them.”

The Chargers will kick off the regular season on Sept. 8 when they host the Las Vegas Raiders. Their first preseason game will be this Saturday when they host the Seattle Seahawks.