2 weeks Ago
We made it. It is draft day. The first round begins Thursday night at 5 p.
m. PT. Here are some final thoughts on the Los Angeles Chargers’ plans and options.
1. This Chargers draft is more wide open than any I have covered in my six years on the beat. That is particularly the case in the first round.
The Chargers hold the No. 22 pick. I can make a strong case for seven different positions at this spot.
Advertisement They could certainly take a tight end if Penn State’s Tyler Warren or Michigan’s Colston Loveland falls. They could take a receiver, with possibilities including Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan, Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka or Texas’ Matthew Golden. They could take a defensive tackle, such as Oregon’s Derrick Harmon, Ole Miss’ Walter Nolen or Michigan’s Kenneth Grant.
They could take an interior offensive lineman like Alabama’s Tyler Booker or North Dakota State’s Grey Zabel. I think running back is on the table, specifically with North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton. The Chargers do not have a viable No.
2 option behind free-agent signing Najee Harris. The Chargers need a fourth edge rusher and a long-term plan for life after Khalil Mack and Bud Dupree. Marshall’s Mike Green, Georgia’s Mykel Williams or Boston College’s Donovan Ezeiruaku would not surprise me.
Even cornerback is a potential outcome. Coach Jim Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter could reunite with Michigan’s Will Johnson. Texas’ Jahdae Barron is the type of versatile defensive back — with snaps in college at corner, safety, nickel and dime — that would be very attractive in Minter’s defensive scheme.
So much depends on two unknowns: how the Chargers have these players ranked and how the board falls come Thursday night. General manager Joe Hortiz created flexibility this offseason by investing across all position groups through re-signings and free agent additions. That is a very good thing for team-building.
It is a bad thing for trying to predict the future. 2. As I look through the depth chart , I keep coming back to one missing ingredient: offensive playmaking.
They have one excellent, ascending piece in receiver Ladd McConkey. But who else among the skill position players can be a defined matchup advantage on a week-to-week basis? The Chargers do not have that type of player in the running back room. Harris is tough and durable but more of a doubles hitter than a home-run threat.
They do not have that player in the tight end room between Will Dissly and Tyler Conklin. They do not have that player behind McConkey at receiver. Advertisement Hortiz said at his pre-draft news conference that the Chargers are in position to “let the board come” to them and “take the best player.
” I can absolutely see this approach leading the Chargers to an offensive playmaker — Loveland, McMillan, Egbuka, Hampton or even Golden. It is a bit more difficult to project Golden as a fit with McConkey, who operates most often and effectively out of the slot. Golden’s size — 5-foot-11, 191 pounds — could be a factor in whether he can play on the outside in the NFL.
Still, Golden made plenty of plays in college outside the numbers. He has good long speed, and more importantly, he has the body control and ball skills to be an impact player in contested catch situations. 3.
McMillan is one of the most fascinating players in this draft, and it feels like his range of outcomes is pretty vast. I love his tape. I think his skills will translate to the next level — specifically his ability to use his 6-foot-4 frame to shield defenders and make strong catches at full extension away from his body.
The issue is his long speed. There are, rather peculiarly, a lot of conflicting reports about what McMillan actually ran in his 40 time. I have heard it was closer to 4.
60 and potentially as high as 4.62. That testing number would be a non-starter for some teams, and it could mean McMillan is available at 22 for the Chargers.
It is absolutely a data point to consider, but I saw enough on film to be comfortable with the Chargers taking McMillan at 22. I think he will be able to win in the NFL because of his size and ball skills. I think he will be a mismatch advantage.
And it is easy to envision him fitting alongside McConkey and being a three-level target for quarterback Justin Herbert. 4. There is a ton of smoke surrounding the Chargers and Grant, which is understandable.
Grant played for Harbaugh and Minter at Michigan, including during the national championship run in 2023. He is massive and long and extremely athletic for his size. The Chargers are lacking on the interior of their defensive line after losing Poona Ford and Morgan Fox in free agency.
Grant would come in with familiarity in the scheme and immediately improve the Chargers run defense — or the run wall, as Harbaugh likes to put it. Advertisement I just have a hard time wrapping my mind around Grant being the best player available for the Chargers at 22. Based on the film, I like both Harmon and Nolen better as prospects.
Grant is stout and disruptive as a run defender, but he just does not make enough of an impact as a pass rusher. And it feels risky to use the No. 22 pick on a player who might be limited to first and second downs.
Harmon led all FBS defensive tackles in pressures last season with 55. Nolen’s pass rush flashes are elite and worth a first-round pick. Harbaugh and Minter are intimately familiar with Grant.
Perhaps they see more pass rush upside than what is evident on film. 5. If the Chargers miss out on Warren or Loveland in the first round, there are some really intriguing options on Day 2.
LSU’s Mason Taylor is very well-rounded prospect with size, athleticism, polished blocking and reliable hands. He probably does not make it to pick 55 in the second round, so I think the Chargers would have to trade up to be in the mix for him. The two more realistic names I would throw out: Miami’s Elijah Arroyo and Oregon’s Terrance Ferguson.
The Chargers really need a field-stretching element in this room that can attack down the seams. Arroyo and Ferguson both have that. Arroyo is raw, but the athleticism jumps off the film, and he has an impressive breakaway gear in the final phase of vertical routes.
Ferguson has excellent ball skills and hand-eye coordination. He is an explosive yards-after-the-catch threat on crossing routes, and he can attack vertically on seams, benders and wheel routes with his 83rd percentile 40-yard dash and 90th percentile 10-yard split. Both Arroyo and Ferguson have great size at over 6-foot-5.
6. As I have alluded to, I think the Chargers must come away from this draft with a running back. They drafted Kimani Vidal in the sixth round last year, but when he got a chance to play as a rookie, he was not nearly developed enough in pass protection.
There needs to be some competition behind Harris for the No. 2 spot. What I believe the Chargers need is an explosive option to complement Harris’ more bruising skill set.
Some guys I like in this mold: Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson, Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson, UCF’s RJ Harvey, Virginia Tech’s Bhayshul Tuten, Texas’ Jaydon Blue and SMU’s Brashard Smith. (Photo of Tetairoa McMillan: Christian Petersen / Getty Images).
