Bolts From The Blue
The older brother of Oregon star Matayo Uiagalelei is currently a UDFA with the Chargers.
Could the Chargers reunite a pair of brothers a year from now?
In a way-too-early 2026 NFL mock draft, Sports Illustrated’s Richie Bradshaw believes the Bolts will end up grabbing one of the class’ top edge rushers, and he also happens to have a brother who just signed with the Chargers as part of their 2025 UDFA class.
With the 19th pick (meaning the Bolts are believed to be a playoff team next season), Bradshaw has the Chargers selecting Oregon pass rusher Matayo Uiagalelei, the brother of former Clemson and Florida State quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei.
D.J. is already a hoss of a quarterback at 6’5 and 250 pounds, but his brother is even larger at 6’6 and over 270 pounds.
Matayo was a five-star prospect coming out of high school by 247Sports as the No. 19 player in the country. ESPN also had him as a four-star, the No. 65 player in his class, and a top-10 pass rusher.
As a freshman, Uiagalelei played in 13 of the Ducks’ 14 games with no starts. He managed a pair of sacks and three tackles for loss while playing in a rotational role. In 2024, Matayo broke out in his first year as a starter with 13 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, one interception, two pass breakups, and two forced fumbles. For his efforts, he was named First-Team All-Big Ten by the media and a second-team member by conference coaches.
With 2025 potentially Khalil Mack’s last season with the Chargers (or even his last before retirement), the Bolts need to find a way to keep their pass rush humming for the foreseeable future. The selection of South Carolina’s Kyle Kennard in the fourth round this past April will help, but I expect he’ll need at least a year or so to get fully acclimated to the pros while continuing to build his body for a potential three-down role.
If Uiagalelei continues to produce and take his game up another notch as a true junior — he’s also going to be just 20 next season — then I don’t see why he couldn’t solidify his positioning as a future first-round pick.
