When you've worked in the industry long enough, people are going to start picking up on your "tells" if they're consistent enough. Los Angeles Chargers GM Joe Hortiz is only entering his second year with the team, but he worked for 26 years with the Baltimore Ravens. Every NFL team is allowed 30 pre-draft visits to the team facility with any players they want, and the Ravens typically utilize those to confirm medical/off-field/character concerns.
Last year, Hortiz and the Chargers didn't draft a single player they brought in for a top-30 pre-draft visit.
Needless to say, it's worth keeping an eye on the guys who are getting brought in for top-30 visits because, at this point, it seems like they are all but guaranteed not to be drafted by the Chargers. Of course, there is no guarantee when it comes to the NFL Draft, but it might not be great news for Chargers fans who really want the team to select promising young tight end Mason Taylor out of LSU.
Chargers getting up-close look at Mason Taylor, son of NFL legend Jason Taylor
The Los Angeles Chargers are hosting LSU TE Mason Taylor for a 30 visit today, source said.
— Ryan Fowler (@_RyanFowler_) April 3, 2025
One of the premier TEs in the class and a player who has Day 1 buzz across the league.
The Chargers are hosting Mason Taylor on a pre-draft visit and if last year is any indicator, that can only mean one thing...
Many Chargers fans out there who are starving for the team to draft any pass-catching weapon at the tight end position love the idea of bringing in Mason Taylor. Justifiably so. Taylor is an exciting young player, one of the youngest in the entire 2025 NFL Draft class. He's also got NFL bloodlines as the son of NFL and Miami Dolphins legend, Pro Football Hall of Famer Jason Taylor.
Mason, unlike his dad, is going to be making plays in the NFL as a receiving threat. He's considered an unrefined overall prospect but with massive upside due to his athleticism and natural feel for the game.
Not that NFL teams wouldn't want to meet with him anyway, but Taylor seems to be one of the "cleaner" evaluations in this incoming draft class, at least from a football character aspect. With NIL and players getting paid by schools as well as endorsement deals, there's really been a massive shift in the NFL evaluation side of things where teams now have to go to greater lengths to determine how much guys actually "want" it. How much do they truly love the game?
You would think that would be a huge aspect of the top-30 visits but that's never come up as an issue for Taylor, who was a three-year star at LSU. He's borderline a rarity of a player who stayed at same school. His medicals should be clean at this stage as well, and the Chargers likely spent a lot of time around the LSU program last year when they were contemplating using a top-five pick on wide receiver Malik Nabers.
So what gives?
Maybe the Chargers are trying to give themselves every excuse to move up for Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland if it comes to it. They just want to make sure that staying put with the 22nd overall pick and "settling" for someone else is not the right move. Or maybe they are going to buck historical trends and use a 1st-rounder on the guy.
That's what makes the NFL Draft so much fun each year.