The LA Chargers prioritized wide receiver in the 2025 NFL Draft, taking Ole Miss' Tre Harris in the second round. While the Chargers used premium draft capital to take a wideout, it still left the door open for a long-rumored reunion with Keenan Allen.
That door may officially be closed after the team's fifth-round pick. With the No. 158 pick in the draft, the Chargers selected Auburn wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith. Lambert-Smith is nothing like Allen as a wideout, but his addition to the roster may keep Allen from returning.
This may be disappointing to Chargers fans who were hoping for an Allen reunion this offseason. What will inevitably make the selection even more disappointing is how confusing the pick is in the bigger picture.
Chargers may have killed a Keenan Allen reunion with the team's first questionable pick in 2025 NFL Draft
There are only 53 roster spots to give out and the Chargers' WR room just got one deeper. As it stands right now, Ladd McConkey, Harris, Mike Williams, Quentin Johnston, Lambert-Smith and Derius Davis make up the top six receivers. 2024 seventh-round pick Brenden Rice is also in the picture.
The Chargers still have the means to sign Allen and the case can definitely be made that the team still has the need. However, it seems unlikely the Chargers would use a fifth-round pick knowing they have a slim chance of making the roster because Allen is coming to town.
What makes this pick so confusing, though, is that Lambert-Smith may already have a slim chance of making the Week 1 53-man roster. While Lambert-Smith may have top-end speed, he has flaws in his game that are going to hurt his production as a wideout.
The Chargers already have a speedster who is dangerous with the ball in his hands and adds special teams value (Davis). It feels redundant to add another wideout with a similar profile to add to a wide receiver room that already fails to make the most of Davis.
Sure, Lambert-Smith could be Davis insurance after Davis battled injury last season. But using a fifth-round pick on a backup to a gadget player would be awful asset management, so the Chargers have to have something bigger in mind for Lambert-Smith, right?
There is no room for Allen if the Chargers have bigger plans for Lambert-Smith. The actual selection can be dissected all day, but unless the Chargers are willing to just throw away a fifth-round pick, the fact remains that this directly impacts the team's potential pursuit of Allen.