Draft prospects the Chargers should pray don’t end up on AFC West foes

Kansas City Chiefs: Teven Jenkins

It feels like a foregone conclusion that the Kansas City Chiefs are going to take an offensive tackle in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. While the team signed the top offensive lineman on the market in Joe Thuney, the team still needs a lot of help at the tackle position.

The Chiefs would not have released Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz a year early if they did not have a plan in place to replace them. That plan is to take a tackle in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft and Charger fans better hope it is not Teven Jenkins.

It is most likely that the team will end up with either Samuel Cosmi or Dillon Radunz, but they very well could end up with Jenkins. I personally have Jenkins as the OT4 in this draft class behind Penei Sewell, Rashawn Slater (although he will likely play inside in the NFL) and Christian Darrisaw.

I don’t blame anyone for having Jenkins over Darrisaw, either. It is that close.

The LA Chargers are most likely going to end up with Darrisaw with the 13th overall pick, meaning Jenkins would have to fall another 18 selections. It is more likely that he gets taken before then, but it certainly is possible that he falls that low.

All it will take is one team falling in love with Alijah Vera-Tucker and perhaps one more team liking a different tackle prospect. Players fall every year and I would not be totally shocked if Jenkins falls to the Chiefs at 31.

That is the worst-case scenario for the Bolts. Patrick Mahomes would get the best possible prospect to protect his blindside moving forward to take away the one area where the Chargers could potentially expose the Chiefs.