The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft did not break in a favorable way for the LA Chargers. UNC running back Omarion Hampton was the best player on the board when the Chargers were on the clock, and despite some fans' distaste, the Chargers stuck to their best player available philosophy.
Los Angeles may have taken the longest of any team in the first round to make a selection. The 10-minute timer was taken to its absolute limit, with many speculating that the Chargers were trying to work out a trade.
That speculation was confirmed by NFL insider Ian Rapoport. According to Rapoport, the Philadelphia Eagles nearly traded up to the No. 22 pick to take Jihaad Campbell, who the Eagles ended up taking with the No. 31 pick.
By not executing the trade, whether it was their fault or not, the Chargers indirectly helped their bitter rivals: the Kansas City Chiefs.
Chargers indirectly help Chiefs with failed Eagles trade
Update: Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported that the reason for the trade falling through as a communication issue where both teams didn't submit the terms of the trade to the league.
The Eagles originally held the No. 32 pick in the draft and traded up one spot with the Chiefs to take Campbell. To move up one spot, the Eagles traded a fifth-round pick to Kansas City.
Kansas City ended up taking offensive lineman Josh Simmons so it is safe to say the team was not interested in Campbell. However, the Eagles still executed the trade up to keep any other teams from trading up and taking a player they so clearly coveted.
Obviously, Kansas City would have traded further down if there was a bigger return to be had so it is safe to say the Chiefs got an extra pick for nothing. None of that would have happened if the Eagles made the aggressive move to trade all the way up to the No. 22 pick.
And if the Eagles did trade up that far, the Chargers likely would have received at least a third-round pick in return. Instead, whether it was because the Chargers got cold feet or the Eagles didn't want to pay the price, the trade didn't happen.
No other running backs were taken in the first round so Hampton may have still been available at No. 32. However, he was clearly the best running back still on the board, so that could have changed another team's eventual first-round selection.
The Chargers either didn't want to risk losing out on Hampton by moving down 10 spots or were asking for too much from Philadelphia. Either way, the Chargers created a situation in which their bitter rival received more draft capital for nothing.
But hey, at least the Chargers landed who they wanted with the No. 22 pick.