Quarterly 2021 LA Chargers Mock Draft: Bolts take pair of Buckeyes
By Jason Reed
The first of our four quarterly 2021 LA Chargers mock drafts is here!
The last thing that might be on your mind as an LA Chargers fan right now is the 2021 NFL Draft, but here we are. Throughout the 2020 NFL season, we here at Bolt Beat will provide four quarterly 2021 mock drafts.
A lot is going to change not only as the Chargers’ season goes along but the college football season goes along. Of course, there are a lot of variables that go into play in making these selections, so we will explain each selection.
We are using FanSpeak’s On the Clock Mock Draft Simulator, using the Las Vegas odds for the 2021 draft order. The Chargers pick 12th.
With the 12th overall pick, the LA Chargers select Shaun Wade, CB, Ohio State
Shaun Wade is one of the best cornerbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft and the Chargers are able to snag him up with the 12th overall pick.
You definitely could make the case for the Chargers taking an offensive lineman here but outside of Penei Sewell, I am not sure if I would pick an offensive lineman this early (and it ended up panning out nicely based on the rest of the picks).
Instead, the Chargers get some help at cornerback that they probably would have picked in the 2020 NFL Draft if they did not trade up for Kenneth Murray.
Shaun Wade can instantly slot into the second outside cornerback position, even if Chris Harris returns next season, and will essentially be the team’s CB1 option once Casey Hayward eventually phases out of the defense.
Wade is capable of the early selection and is on the same level as Jeff Okudah, who was the first corner taken in the 2020 NFL Draft.