LA Chargers mock draft: Trading up after first wave of free agency
By Jason Reed
With the 28th overall pick, the LA Chargers select Liam Eichenberg, OT, Notre Dame
This is a very similar trade to what the LA Chargers did in the 2020 NFL Draft. Will the team essentially pull off the same deal? Only time will tell, but this is a fair trade for both sides and one that New Orleans would probably say yes to.
In return for moving down 19 spots, the Saints get the Chargers’ third-round pick in the draft as well as their fifth-round pick. The value of the Saints’ pick on the NFL Trade Value Chart is 660. The Chargers’ three picks are worth 661.
The Saints are not in a friendly position with the salary cap, either, so the team should be willing to move down to get more picks to build out the roster. The Chargers can afford to do this as well with a compensatory pick in the third round as well as the first pick of the sixth round.
With the 28th overall pick the LA Chargers select Liam Eichenberg out of Notre Dame. Eichenberg is projected to be a starting-caliber left tackle as soon as he comes into the league and gives the team its starting left tackle for the 2021 season and beyond.
In most drafts, Eichenberg might be a top-15 pick, so this is really good value for the Chargers. The drop-off from Horn to who the team could pick in the second round is big, the drop-off from getting a tackle at 13 and 28 is not that significant.
The Chargers then will roll out an Eichenberg-Feiler-Linsley-Aboushi (or someone else to create a competition for RG)-Bulaga offensive line. That is a promising outlook.