LA Chargers: Why Corey Linsley should be the no. 1 free agency priority

3. Signing Corey Linsley allows the LA Chargers to fill other roster needs as well

One thing is for certain. I would much rather the LA Chargers pay Linsley around $10 million per season to snap the football to Justin Herbert than overpay for another veteran defensive free agent because that would be the other move.

Linval Joseph was solid last year but very well could see the same regressions that other veterans see in the last year of his deal. Chris Harris was injured and was not that good and Casey Hayward, who was already with the team, really regressed.

The last thing the team needs is to sign a veteran off of his namesake and overpay him much like the Arizona Cardinals did with J.J. Watt (who I wanted in LA but for a cheaper price). The Chargers’ biggest other needs is cornerback and edge rusher and I really do not want to see the team strike a deal with someone such as Patrick Peterson.

Thus, the team can pay Linsley and that is one less roster spot that the team needs to worry about on draft night. That essentially opens another selection for the LA Chargers to pick a young edge rusher or cornerback that can really help the team in 2021 as well as blossom into something special down the stretch.

Plus, signing Linsley may make the team more comfortable in not selecting a second offensive lineman as early. It could be something like a first-round tackle, second-round corner/edge, third-round edge/corner and then the second third-round pick could be that offensive lineman.

That is exactly what happened in the mock draft above as we landed a starting-caliber guard in Aaron Banks with the second pick of the third round.