LA Chargers: Why Desmond King shouldn’t be re-signed

4. The LA Chargers can easily replace Desmond King

Replaceability is one of my key concerns with the thought of giving King a contract extension. If we’ve established that King declined last year, that he doesn’t have a well-defined role, and that Harris has usurped him, why consider keeping him at a higher price instead of drafting a cornerback?

Elijah Molden, for example, is a really talented nickel corner that you could have in the mid-rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft for really cheap.

There’s plenty of cornerback talent that will be available in next year’s draft and the LA Chargers will have an extra third-round pick due to their free-agent departures. Keep in mind, they decided to not take a cornerback this year.

In next year’s draft, they could do a couple things at the position. Bradley could find the future replacement for Casey Hayward, he could look for a CB2, or he could find a player like King to ultimately replace him on the cheap. That corner would also get to develop with a great secondary.

If King’s snaps are going down and his value is dropping, it simply doesn’t make sense to pay him more money. Look at some of the free agents next year as well.

Charvarius Ward, Cre’von LeBlanc, and J.C. Jackson are just a few of the guys available who will probably make near the same money that King will. All three of those guys can also play the outside in addition to slot and zone in certain looks.

King must prove in 2020 that he’s beyond replaceability, and that becomes awfully hard to do with Harris in the picture and the lack of outside ability.