LA Chargers: Breaking down the counterpoints of a Julio Jones trade

4. The LA Chargers would be trading too much draft capital

Just so we are clear, the highest draft pick the LA Chargers would be trading is a second-round pick and personally, I think the absolutely ceiling of the package would be a 2022 second and 2023 third. I broke down why in the initial Jones article.

The package would likely lean more towards a second and fourth, but that is not the point here.

There is a portion of Charger fans who do not want to see the team trade the second-round pick for Jones. They don’t want to see the Chargers trade a second-round pick for a future Hall of Famer who is still going to produce at a Pro Bowl level.

This is a classic case of fans overrating draft picks. It happens in basketball too. I get that second-round picks have value, but if the Chargers are as good as they can be (ESPECIALLY if they add Julio Jones) then that pick is going to be in the 50s.

You wouldn’t trade a pick in the 50s for Julio Jones? Just for a refresher, here is who the LA Chargers have picked in the second round under Tom Telesco (not including Asante Samuel Jr, who has not played an NFL snap):

• 2019: Nasir Adderley
• 2018: Uchenna Nwosu
• 2017: Forrest Lamp
• 2016: Hunter Henry
• 2015: Denzel Perryman
• 2014: Jeremiah Attaochu
• 2013: Manti T’eo

Not a single Pro Bowler in that list. Hunter Henry is the most impactful and he lasted five years with the team. Would I trade a player who will probably have two somewhat impactful years on his four-year rookie deal just to sign elsewhere after it is up? Absolutely!

Just think of it this way. If someone were to offer a second-round pick for three years of Keenan Allen you would probably be outraged and say it is undervalued, right? But then why is it suddenly overvalued if it is Julio Jones?

The answer is that it isn’t. With four projected compensatory picks next year the LA Chargers will be just fine trading a second-rounder.