LA Chargers: The potential cost of drafting Penei Sewell
By Jason Reed
Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell has been atop LA Chargers fans’ wishlist for months now. Sewell is the top tackle prospect in the 2021 NFL Draft and is one of the best tackle prospects that we have seen in quite some time.
Rarely do we see offensive linemen and know that they are going to be home run picks. Quinton Nelson was a home run prospect and he is now a two-time All-Pro in two years. Penei Sewell is a home run prospect.
It looked like the Chargers were going to be able to draft Sewell as well. At one point, the Chargers had the fifth overall pick and a 3-9 record on the season. However, four straight wins to end the season pushed the Bolts all the way up to the 13th overall pick.
Some still think that Sewell could fall to the Chargers, though. Sewell fell all the way to the Chargers at 13 in Todd McShay’s latest two-round mock draft (ESPN+ subscription required). While that would be awesome for the Bolts, it is extremely unlikely.
The LA Chargers would have to trade up for Penei Sewell.
There are other solid tackle prospects that the Chargers could take with the 13th overall pick, which will probably keep Tom Telesco from trading up in the draft. However, Telesco has surprised us before and has traded up in the first round before, so we cannot completely rule it out.
So what will the cost be? There are several teams that could be interested in drafting Penei Sewell and the Chargers would have to jump each team.
There is one team that is the biggest variable in the potential cost to trading up for Penei Sewell: the Cincinnati Bengals. On the following pages we will break down the price for jumping the Bengals as well as the price if the Bengals pass on Sewell for Ja’Marr Chase. Then we will discuss whether or not it is worth it.