Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports – LA Chargers
The LA Chargers are currently slated to pick 13th overall in this April’s 2021 NFL Draft. This is much lower than where we all expected the team to pick with a month left in the season as the Bolts rattled off four straight wins to move to 7-9 and drop eight or so spots in the order.
The Penei Sewell watch officially stopped once the team was obviously not going to pick in the top five and now there is an assortment of directions that the Chargers could go.
The most likely path is that the Chargers are going to pick an offensive lineman with the 13th overall pick and should probably pick another offensive lineman with the second-round pick as well. The focus has to be to protect Justin Herbert and last year’s line was one of the worst in the league.
Still want the team to draft a receiver in the first round? Go back and watch the game against the New England Patriots with how many shots Herbert was taking and come back to me.
Some fans have floated the idea of the Chargers trading up in the 2021 NFL Draft if Sewell somehow falls out of the top five. And while that would be interesting, I definitely think that it is much more likely that the Chargers trade down in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Here is why.
1. Some team will be desperate for a quarterback when the LA Chargers are up at 13
Just by the order of the 2021 NFL Draft, I feel fairly confident in saying that by the time the 13th pick rolls around, there is going to be a very distinct cut off with the quarterback talent. While there naturally will be teams that trade up ahead of the Chargers, I think the Bolts are in a prime position to leverage their pick.
The big quarterbacks in this draft are Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance. There is then a small drop off to the Mac Jones and Kyle Trask level of quarterbacks that will likely be picked in the late first/early second round.
The Jaguars are going to take Lawrence, the Jets should take Fields or Wilson. The Dolphins, Falcons, Bengals and Eagles all shouldn’t be taking a quarterback. The Detroit Lions will need a quarterback with the team agreeing to part ways with Matthew Stafford, so there goes Wilson or Fields.
You could make the case for Carolina or Denver to take a quarterback, but I doubt it. Carolina is paying Teddy B and wants to contend in the NFC South with Drew Brees retiring and Denver is one more year away from giving up on Drew Lock. The Giants have Daniel Jones and the 49ers have Jimmy G.
If my math is correct, that leaves Trey Lance sitting at 13 with several teams who need quarterbacks in striking range. The New England Patriots at 15, the Washington Football Team at 19, the Chicago Bears at 20, the Indianapolis Colts at 21 and even the Pittsburgh Steelers at 24 could use a quarterback.
We will have a better idea of who really needs a quarterback once Stafford and potentially Deshaun Watson is traded but there are still going to be at least 2-3 teams in that range who need a QB and are competing with each other to move up and get him.
2. It would allow the LA Chargers to address other team needs
The LA Chargers have several pressing needs on the roster. While the team has its stars that will help make it competitive under Brandon Staley, the Bolts need more depth overall and need it at several positions.
While I want to see the Chargers take two offensive linemen with the first two picks, it does make it hard to address some other needs, such as cornerback and outside linebacker/defensive end. If Hunter Henry leaves that is another pressing need for the Bolts.
Trading back will obviously give the Chargers more draft capital and allow them to still pursue rebuilding the offensive line while also filling out some other needs as well. The Bolts would likely get a team’s second-round pick or an early third-round pick (if they have another team’s) for moving down, all depending on how far they move down.
I do think the Chargers can drive the price up and at least get an extra second-round pick to headline the package since the team would be trading up for a QB and would be competing with other teams for said QB.
All the teams mentioned in the previous slide have their second-round picks and the Washington Football Team even has the San Francisco 49ers’ third-round pick.
With that pick being higher than the team’s original pick, I could absolutely see a package where Washington sends 19, 51 and 83 in return for 13 and 109 (Chargers’ fourth-round pick).
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.