After polarizing first and second-round picks, the LA Chargers found themselves back on the clock with the No. 86 pick, looking to find a difference-maker. And with the pick, the Chargers selected... more draft picks on day three.
Los Angeles traded the No. 86 pick to the Cleveland Browns for the No. 105, No. 145, and No. 206 on Day 3. Earlier on Day 2, the Chargers traded back eight spots in the second round to pick up an extra fourth and sixth-round pick. As a result, the Chargers have seven picks in total on day three of the draft.
The Chargers have a 25-year-old rookie edge rusher and a center who has never played guard, who will probably play guard. Not exactly the kind of draft we all expected, so excuse me if I fail to be excited about trading out of the third round.
Chargers' love for late-round pick strikes again in the NFL Draft
It's pretty well known that Joe Hortiz loves compensatory picks. He has willingly let free agents walk and has avoided external options because of it. It was pretty well known that the Chargers would try and trade down in the NFL Draft considering the team had only five picks.
The mission was accomplished in the second round. At No. 86, the Chargers had a real chance to take another top-100 talent who can make an instant difference. Instead, they won't pick again until early in the fourth round. Exciting.
Look, there's a chance Hortiz nails all his Day 3 picks and the Chargers make out like bandits because of it. It goes without saying that late-round picks have far more variance than early-round picks, so the Chargers are playing with fire.
A Day 3 pick could end up like Tarheeb Still, who is a fundamental part of the Chargers' offense. It could also be Kyle Kennard, who has already found himself as an afterthought in the edge rusher room after the Akheem Mesidor selection.
Also, here is a philosophical question for you: why value compensatory picks to the point that it changes your free-agent approach when you can just trade down and get all those picks anyway? The Chargers added five Day 3 picks to the war chest on Friday night. You're telling me it's really worth avoiding talent to maybe get a fifth-round pick in a year when you can just trade for more picks?
All we can do as Chargers fans at this point is trust in Hortiz and the Chargers front office. We could look back at this draft class as the perfect example of Hortiz and Co. outsmarting the entire league and building up a great core.
But there's just as likely of a chance that we look back at this draft class as a missed opportunity; a draft class where the Chargers operated like a rebuilding team, not one that has legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.
Hopefully, it's the former.
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