Why the LA Chargers should trade down from 13 in the 2021 NFL Draft

3. Penei Sewell and Rashawn Slater both may be gone by the time the LA Chargers pick rolls around

Penei Sewell is a lock to be off the board by the time the LA Chargers’ pick rolls around, I just wanted to put his name here to reiterate the fact for any hopeful fans out there.

The tackle prospect to watch is Rashawn Slater. Slater is getting a lot of love from draft analysts here recently, in large part due to his really great showing against Chase Young in 2019. Slater, like Sewell, opted out of the 2020 season.

Some have even ranked Slater ahead Sewell in their big boards. Regardless, it is clear that these two tackle prospects are the two best in the draft this year and the Chargers might be circling Slater as their best-case scenario for the 13th pick.

The problem is that there is a fairly good chance that Slater is off the board by the time the 13th pick rolls around. That would really hammer it home that the Chargers should trade down in the draft as they could get another solid tackle, such as Samuel Cosmi or Christian Darrisaw, with the 19th pick.

This is the classic case of the Chargers maximizing their pick by trading it and still getting a similar player at 19 (or later) than they would have if they reached with the 13th pick. Heck, you could even make the case that Cosmi or Darrisaw would a better selection in general than Slater as Slater is projected to potentially move to guard.

Sewell absolutely should be taken by the Cincinnati Bengals to protect Joe Burrow and if they do not pick him then someone deserves to be fired. The Eagles, Panthers, Cowboys and Giants could all use Slater’s services as well.