LA Chargers select Joe Alt in first round of 2024 NFL Draft

Former Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt is off the board in the 2024 NFL Draft. He was selected by the LA Chargers with the fifth overall pick in the first round.

Alt began his football career as a tight end before eventually transitioning to offensive tackle, playing defensive end and basketball as well in high school as a decorated and exceptional multi-sport athlete with impressive skill for his size.

As a member of the Class of 2021, Alt was a four-star recruit out of Minneapolis (Minn.) Totino-Grace, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 6 overall prospect in the state, the No. 31 offensive tackle in the class and the No. 364 overall prospect in the class.

He would go to start in 33 of his 38 game appearances during his three-year career with the Fighting Irish as he showed constant improvement which paved the way for one of the nation’s best rushing attacks over the last couple seasons, as Kyren Williams and Audric Estime each posted some crazy individual seasons with the help of Alt’s blocking in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Joe Alt

Alt has long been seen as a can’t-miss offensive line prospect. Reliable tackles are about as hard to come by as any position in the NFL, and almost all of the good ones were drafted in the first or second round and rarely leave their team. In that sense, Alt is a likely generational tackle for an NFL team, a guy who will come in and deliver right away with the very real possibility of holding down the position for the next decade.

If that’s the case, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein believes whichever team lands him is getting a great kid and terrific prospect. He wrote this brief review of Alt’s game prior to the draft:

“Long-limbed team captain with NFL-quality tackle play coursing through his veins. Alt plays a disciplined brand of football, avoiding penalties and working with fluid transitions from entry to sustain to finish as a run blocker. Alt is a capable drive blocker with the foot quickness to play onto the second level. He struggles to bend enough to compensate for his height and ends up playing with waist-bending and forward lean that can hamper his anchor against bull-rushers.

“Alt has quick hands and outstanding arm extension, promoting his ability to sustain blocks and redirect pass-rushers. He’s a good technician who carries himself with confidence from snap to snap. Alt clearly has the talent to become a Day 1 starter on the left side, but he’ll need to clean up his habit of leaning forward, or he could be in for some bumpy action early on.”

A lot to like, and some stuff to clean up, as with most prospects.