LA Chargers: Quarterbacks to draft if Tyrod Taylor starts in 2020
By Jason Reed
The LA Chargers are in a new era at the quarterback position and the answer to the quarterback search might have been in LA this entire time.
For the first time since 2005, someone without the last name Rivers on the back of their jersey is going to be under center for the LA Chargers. This has made this current offseason one of the most important in recent team history, as what the front office does will determine the shape of the future.
Fans are speculating whether the Chargers will spend big in free agency and bring in a big name or if the team will use the sixth-overall pick for the team’s franchise quarterback.
One alternative, which head coach Anthony Lynn alluded to earlier in the offseason, is the Chargers using Tyrod Taylor as the starter in 2020. It might not be the most popular decision, but it definitely would be the most “Chargers” move, as it would be the most vanilla.
The perks of Taylor is that he is an experienced quarterback that has led a team to the playoffs and he does not turn the ball over much, if at all. That is huge for a team that turned the ball over far too often last season.
Another huge reason why the Chargers may look to turn to Taylor this season is because he is a bridge-gap option. There is a reason why the team signed him to a two-year deal prior to the 2019 season, after all, and perhaps that was to be a one-year quarterback option to help ease the team into a new era.
This could mean that the Chargers really like a quarterback that they can take without the sixth-overall pick, which opens the door for the team to either trade down in the draft and pick up more capital or draft an elite prospect early on.
Patrick Mahomes sat behind Alex Smith for a season and Lamar Jackson sat behind Joe Flacco until it became a necessity for him to start. Granted, they were both first-round picks, but the Chargers very well could be looking to do the same thing.
If that is the gameplan, for Taylor to be a one-year bridge quarterback and the Chargers want to give a drafted quarterback a year to develop, then here are three quarterbacks that could be targeted.