LA Chargers: What the Chargers could get for trading down with Atlanta

The LA Chargers have the sixth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft but it is far from a guarantee that the team will select with its original pick. In fact, out of any team in the top-10, the Chargers probably have the best case to move from their selection.

The team could look to trade up in the trade to leapfrog the Miami Dolphins for Tua Tagovailoa. If so, the Detroit Lions would be the best team to do business with. However, with news that the Lions interviewed both Justin Herbert and Tua, they might be in the market for a quarterback as well.

If the Chargers stand pat and hope Tua falls to the sixth pick, and he doesn’t, then trading down in the draft makes sense as well. The team could get more draft capital and most likely end up with the same quarterback (Justin Herbert, Jordan Love) in the first round than they would have otherwise.

The Atlanta Falcons are perfect trade-down partners for the LA Chargers.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Wednesday that the Falcons are poised to move up from the 16th overall pick in the NFL Draft. Most of the Falcons’ needs are on the defensive side of the ball and chances are that either Jeffrey Okudah or Isaiah Simmons will be available for the sixth overall pick.

While Charger fans would love to see either prospect in LA, both players fit the Falcons perfectly, making the sixth pick the right pick to target in a trade. But the question arises: what will the Chargers get from moving down 10 spots in the order?

Our own Tyler Gallagher broke down six potential trade-down options for the Chargers and gave his proposed value for moving down 10 spots. Using historical context, we can pinpoint even further what the Chargers will receive.

Last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers traded their second-round pick as well as their third-round pick in this year’s draft to move up exactly 10 spots from 20 to 10. The Buffalo Bills traded two second-round selections in the 2018 NFL Draft to move up five spots from 12 to 7 to draft Josh Allen, as well as a seventh-overall pick.

Moving into the top-seven is costly, especially if you are leapfrogging 10 picks. Using these trades as historical context, as well as Pro Football Reference’s Draft Pick Value Trade Chart, we came up with the following deal.

The price for moving up 10 spots to the sixth overall pick is going to be two second-round picks as well as allowing the LA Chargers to essentially move up from the sixth round to the fourth round to draft a better prospect.

The fourth-round selection that the Falcons will trade to the Chargers is the compensatory pick that the team received from the Baltimore Ravens in the Hayden Hurst trade. So the Chargers only add one selection this year, but they move up 44 selections in the later rounds, which is important.

It is important as the Chargers need to draft several skill positions in this year’s draft and teams can typically find solid additions in the mid-rounds. The Chargers could land a true difference-maker by moving up this far rather than drafting a depth option in the sixth round who likely would not play.

With the 16th overall pick, there is a good chance that Justin Hebert and/or Jordan Love will still be available, so they could draft the quarterback of the future. Then, with two picks in the second round, the Chargers could address both the offensive line with the 37th pick and then add a WR3 or cornerback with the 47th pick.

Both WR3 and cornerback are draft needs for the team, but not big enough to take precedent over quarterback and offensive tackle. By adding a second-round pick, the Chargers would be allowing themselves to draft both positions in succession with the 47th and 71st pick, adding two players that would start right away.

Without this trade, the team would likely have to wait until at least the fourth round to draft one of the positions, so that is a big difference.

And in return, the Atlanta Falcons could bolster their defense with either Isaiah Simmons or Jeffrey Okudah. If the Falcons are going to trade up, their best partner is the LA Chargers.