LA Chargers stick with Jordan Love in April 2020 Mock Draft
As the draft quickly approaches, the LA Chargers find their future signal-caller with Jordan Love in the April 2020 mock draft. How does the rest of it fill out?
Generally speaking, not a lot has changed since my last mock draft. That was the first draft I completed since after the combine and player interviews. While there were major risers last time, everything has mostly settled into place for now.
Of course, draft speculation and reporting will heat up considerably over the next three weeks. While the LA Chargers play things very close to the chest, it wouldn’t surprise me to hear certain picks from other teams become official via reporting. The dominoes could fall into place even before draft week.
Has free agency changed things for the Chargers? Possibly. The signings of Chris Harris, Linval Joseph, and Bryan Bulaga may change how urgent the Chargers address certain positions of need in early rounds. Even with the Bulaga and Harris signings though, it still feels like the Chargers could still be aggressive in going after cornerbacks and offensive tackles.
Completing the mock draft was done through The Draft Network’s mock draft machine. The main needs for the Chargers, in order of importance, included quarterback, offensive line, cornerback, wide receiver, linebacker, running back, tight end, and interior defensive line.
Round 1, Pick 6: QB Jordan Love, Utah State
The first pick from my March draft stays the same. It feels like the selection of Jordan Love to the Chargers gets likelier by the day. More mock drafts make the connection. The Chargers have only met with Love and Justin Herbert.
One of the common responses to my March mock draft was that six was an overdraft for Love ultimately. On paper, that may be true, but quarterbacks always go higher than expected because of the inflated value of the position. Remember the 2018 draft when five quarterbacks went top 10. That probably won’t happen this year, but Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Herbert, and Love all have a very good shot of going within the top 10 picks.
My personal pick at six would be Isaiah Simmons. As it currently stands though, the sixth pick is really down to Herbert and Love for the Chargers. As cool as Tagovailoa would be, the Dolphins are a spot higher with more draft capital to trade up if need be.
Looking at it from the perspective of Tom Telesco, there’s reason to believe he’d like Love over Herbert. Telesco has always been about who he thinks is the best player available, regardless of the circumstances. If he believes that Love has the higher ceiling over Herbert, he’ll go for it.
He’s never been about the safe option, and that doesn’t start now. The Chargers are a very tight-lipped organization, but my gut feeling says they think Love is the player is the more versatile player.
General managers across the league have been pretty high on Love’s ceiling and ability throughout the process while being a little more tepid on Herbert and Tagovailoa. That comes to a crescendo on draft night when the Chargers take Love at six.