The NFL Draft is always full of surprises. All LA Chargers fans have to do is look at last year when the team drafted tackle Joe Alt over wide receiver Malik Nabers in a move that shocked most of the fanbase.
There will be more surprises in store in 2025, regardless of how much we all study the draft. Nobody truly knows what the Chargers will do but the Chargers, and that is important to keep in mind as the draft approaches.
That being said, we can all read the tea leaves and get an idea of what the team might be angling to do in the draft. After all, the Alt selection was much less surprising with the benefit of hindsight. The Chargers clearly valued Ladd McConkey in the second round and still managed to draft a WR1 while also landing Alt.
There may not be a first-round surprise this year as there is no bona fide favorite for the No. 22 pick. However, the Chargers are set up to make a surprising pick later in the NFL Draft that most fans won't see coming; that is, until they read this article.
Chargers should (and probably will) draft a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft
No, this has nothing to do with Justin Herbert. Herbert is one of the best quarterbacks in the league and should be the team's quarterback for another decade-plus. This has to do with Herbert's backup.
The Chargers re-signed Taylor Heinicke to serve as Herbert's backup in 2025. Heinicke signed a one-year deal with the Chargers, so he obviously is not the long-term option. Los Angeles needed to bring back a viable backup quarterback option and that is what the team did.
Ideally, Los Angeles will find a cost-controlled backup quarterback with multiple years of team control and the one way to do that is the NFL Draft. General manager Joe Hortiz knows exactly what that looks like as the Baltimore Ravens benefitted from having Tyler Huntley as a cost-controlled backup for four years.
The Chargers need to find their version of Huntley. That doesn't mean it has to be a quarterback with the same skill set as Huntley, but someone who can serve as the backup quarterback in 2026 and beyond so the team doesn't have to spend on Heinicke or another backup option.
It definitely won't come on the first two days of the draft. It should come in the sixth round, where the Chargers have four total selections to make. There are several quarterbacks in the draft class who project to go in the late rounds that the Chargers can take.
The most enticing may be Kurtis Rourke. Rourke is not a gunslinger and doesn't come close to having the same arm talent that Herbert had when he was coming into the league. Where Rourke lacks in arm strength, he makes up in efficiency.
The Indiana quarterback completed 67.4% of his passes for 8,506 yards and 65 touchdowns with only 14 interceptions in his last 34 starts. He averaged 250.2 yards per game and just under two passing touchdowns per game. Pro Football Focus ranks him 187th on the 2025 big board.
Hopefully, the Chargers would never have to even use a backup quarterback who is taken in the 2025 NFL Draft. However, it's always best to play it safe and Rourke is as safe as it gets as a backup.