LA Chargers mock draft if the Bolts trade down with Arizona Cardinals to 16
By Jason Reed
With the 16th overall pick, the LA Chargers select Teven Jenkins, OT, Oklahoma State
Like many, I grade Teven Jenkins as the fourth-best offensive tackle prospect in the 2021 NFL Draft (assuming we are considering Rashawn Slater a tackle). I have Christian Darrisaw ahead of Jenkins, but just slightly. Darrisaw would be the pick at 13 if the team does not trade down and the added capital is absolutely worth going Jenkins over Darrisaw.
It is especially worth it if the LA Chargers have Jenkins higher on their board than Darrisaw. If that is the case then this is a no-brainer, as Darrisaw will almost certainly be picked by Minnesota before Jenkins is (which happened in this mock draft).
Tom Telesco recently spoke to the media and his comments were extremely revealing for a prospect like Jenkins. The Chargers have a massive hole on the left side of the offensive line and Jenkins played most of his snaps at right tackle in college.
However, Jenkins did play left tackle and even some guard. Telesco’s comments were revealing as he stated that the team does not separate left tackles from right tackles. At the end of the day, tackles are tackles and that makes it much more likely that they would take a prospect like Jenkins to put him on the left side.
He showed the versatility that the team values as well. While he likely won’t play any guard in the NFL, the ability to move around makes him that much more valuable in the case of injuries or in the future.
Darrisaw is primed to be better right away but it is still really hard to not like what Jenkins brings to the table.