If the circumstances are right, the Los Angeles Chargers should attempt to trade down out of the first round in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The case, on the surface, is relatively easy to lay out. As it stands, they only have five total selections. They're missing their fifth and seventh-round picks as a result of the Odafe Oweh and Elijah Molden trades, respectively. They have a plethora of needs across their defense, and they have a desperate need for a starting-caliber offensive guard.
Olaivavega Ioane, the top guard in this draft class, is looking more and more likely to be off the board at 22nd overall. If they can move back into the early second round and still grab one of the class's top guards (securing extra draft capital in the process), that's a no-brainer move.
Of course, things can never be that simple.
In ESPN's roundup of draft intel from April 10, it was reported that there's buzz around the league for as many as three guards to go in the first round. The Chargers, in this case, are listed as a potential suitor at 22nd overall.
Theorized runs on position groups in the weeks leading up to the draft are not rare. But if this proves to be a possibility, it makes the Chargers' decision infinitely more difficult.
Chase Bisontis, Keylan Rutledge, and Emmanuel Pregnon could all move out of the Chargers' range if they trade down
Los Angeles could certainly use their first-round selection on one of the class's top defensive line pieces given their depth needs at defensive tackle and edge rusher. But no matter what, they need to come out of the first two rounds of the draft with a starting-caliber guard.
Ioane, who was mocked to the Chargers at a ridiculous frequency earlier in the draft process, now appears to have a number of suitors above Los Angeles' draft range.
If they end up selecting from the second tier of guards, Texas A&M's Chase Bisontis, Georgia Tech's Keylan Rutledge, Oregon's Emmanuel Pregnon, and Kentucky's Jalen Farmer could all be in play. According to ESPN's NFL Draft team, however, one or more of these pieces could see a rise into the late first round:
"Olaivavega Ioane (Penn State) is the clear top interior offensive lineman, but many sources believe as many as three interior blockers could go in the first round. Texas A&M's Chase Bisontis, Oregon's Emmanuel Pregnon and Georgia Tech's Keylan Rutledge were mentioned as the top candidates to sneak in. The Chargers and Seahawks were two teams repeatedly suggested as ones to watch here."- ESPN's NFL Draft Team
The Chargers would not be ridiculous to stay put at 22nd overall and take the guard of their choice. But that would be rich for any of these prospects. With Seattle (and presumably other teams) looking into this group of guards at the end of the first round, however, the prospect of trading down becomes infinitely more risky.
This, unfortunately, is the position Los Angeles has left itself in. Its lack of aggression in free agency will likely force them to fill a position of need in the Draft. With the landscape rapidly changing, an already difficult calculation is quickly becoming more impossible.