LA Chargers: 4 hometown USC players that could be drafted in 2021
By Jason Reed
Safety Talanoa Hufanga
I have talked about it here on Bolt Beat before and I will hammer it home until the 2021 NFL Draft starts. Safety is a substantial need for the LA Chargers with the team not signing anyone in free agency.
Nasir Adderley has been really disappointing and Derwin James is injury prone. We have no reason to expect him to play all 16 games, let alone be the same player after suffering a torn meniscus. Even if James is the same player and Adderley plays better, the team desperately needs safety depth. The only depth option is Alohi Gilman.
That may lead the team to draft a safety sooner than most fans expect and if they take one with the 97th overall pick it very well could be USC’s Talanoa Hufanga.
Hufanga should be a late third, early fourth-round pick. What makes Hufanga so exciting is how he was used in the Trojans’ defense. The Trojans would line Hufanga up in various places, whether it be at safety, in the box, or at slot corner. That is something that the Chargers have always valued and value more with Brandon Staley.
He is a great tackler and is going to be a positive impact on the special teams unit as well. His on-ball skills still need some work and he projects to be a strong safety first because of it, but those issues could be masked with how they use him.