The Chargers surprised the fanbase with a major trade on deadline day. Reports over the weekend from ESPN and other sources indicated that LA would be fairly quiet at the deadline. They supposedly didn't like the message that selling would send to the team. Khalil Mack was reportedly not a serious trade consideration. But then, the team dealt LB Daiyan Henley to divisional rival Denver for a 2027 fourth-round pick and 2028 fifth-rounder.
The draft return for Henley if the team was not going to re-sign him in the offseason is good value. The team essentially netted a mid to late 3rd round pick that they weren't going to come close to with the comp formula-Henley was an expiring contract. For an 0-8 team, it felt like they had to get at least some draft capital back this week. There's more angles to get to with the Henley trade as far as team leadership and the future of the LB position. But as far as the return, they did about as well as they could've.
How is the 2027 draft looking for the Chargers now?
The Chargers now have nine picks in the 2027 NFL Draft. Considering the team is entering a bit of a retooling phase after a down season, they'll need all the assets they can get. Their 2027 draft picks are as follows:
LAC 1st, LAC 2nd, LAC 3rd, LAC 4th, DEN 4th, Comp 4th (Odafe Oweh), LAC 5th, SEA 6th, LAR 7th
The Chargers retain their own first, second, third, fourth, and fifth-round picks. They received a sixth-round pick from Seattle for CB Avery Smith. In the Odafe Oweh-Alohi Gilman trade of 2025, they got a Rams' 7th rounder. The team will have 3 fourth-round selections between their fourth, Denver's fourth for Henley, and their projected compensatory pick for Oweh. The comp pick for Oweh has not been officially awarded, but OTC's Nick Korte has them currently projected to get a fourth in his table.
The Chargers have also filled up the cupboard decently well for 2028. Denver's fifth-rounder in that draft gives them a total of 10 draft picks for that draft season. Between the next two drafts, the Chargers have a total of 19 picks.
While no one will be happy with how the season has gone, the Chargers are at least set up pretty well from a draft standpoint. A top 5 pick at least this year could either juice the roster immediately or be a valuable trade chip to collect more picks.
Time will tell if the current regime is back next year in order to use these draft selections after a rough year. But if Hortiz is back, he'll at least have the assets to rectify some of the damage he's caused.
Add us as a preferred source on Google