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Teddy Bridgewater trade could increase odds of Chargers trading down

By Jason Reed

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Uchenna Nwosu #42 of the Los Angeles Chargers pressures Teddy Bridgewater #5 of the Carolina Panthers from the pocket during the first half of a game at SoFi Stadium on September 27, 2020 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Uchenna Nwosu #42 of the Los Angeles Chargers pressures Teddy Bridgewater #5 of the Carolina Panthers from the pocket during the first half of a game at SoFi Stadium on September 27, 2020 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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Some big NFL news dropped on Wednesday one day ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft. Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Denver Broncos traded a sixth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. This could impact the LA Chargers for reasons beyond the fact that they play Denver twice a year.

The Broncos pick ahead of the Chargers in the draft and every pick before the Chargers at 13 is going to have a big impact on what the Bolts do. This trade could directly impact LA, increasing the chances that the team trades down in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Let me explain.

Why the Teddy Bridgewater trade could increase the odds of the LA Chargers trading down in the 2021 NFL Draft:

Quarterbacks. It is that simple. The Denver Broncos were believed to be a team that was in the market for a quarterback with Drew Lock not playing very well last season.

The initial reports of the trade indicate that Denver could still be in the market for a quarterback but personally, I think that is all smoke and mirrors. This trade, to me, is a one-year insurance plan for Drew Lock.

The Broncos just drafted Lock two years ago and he has not had very much time to succeed. He only got five games in 2019 and got a weird COVID year with injuries in 2020. While I do not think he is very good, the Broncos are likely going to give him one more year; or at least they should.

Bridgewater is a cheap insurance plan in case Lock continues to be terrible but the Broncos have a good team around him. We know that Teddy B can handle a talented football team and is good enough to pilot a playoff team with talent around him.

MORE: Chargers who will benefit the most from a strong draft

I might be a lot higher on Teddy B than most, but he is an exceptional game manager at the very least.

The Broncos being off the board for a quarterback makes it more likely that one falls to 13. Hopefully, for the sake of the trade down, that quarterback is Trey Lance. Lance could make a team like Chicago or Washington excited enough to move up a significant number of spots, netting the Chargers a bigger return.

Regardless of if it is him or Mac Jones or even Justin Fields (it shouldn’t be), having one of the top five quarterbacks fall to 13 is a huge blessing for the Bolts. We have already discussed the benefits of trading down and this makes those benefits more likely.

Don’t believe the smoke screens. Denver is not picking a quarterback with the ninth overall pick and the LA Chargers will either face Drew Lock or Teddy Bridgewater next season (maybe both).

What time the Chargers should be making the 13th selection. Next

Keep an eye on those quarterbacks and who else is on the board on draft night.

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