The wide receiver position has been circled as an area of need for the LA Chargers at the 2024 trade deadline. With a star quarterback under center and a real contending window with Jim Harbaugh, bolstering the roster by any means necessary should be the M-O at the deadline.
That being said, general manager Joe Hortiz is savvy and he won't make a move just for the sake of making a move. Los Angeles' wide receiver room is not as destitute when it is fully healthy, so the Chargers may pivot to another area of need at the deadline.
This is more likely after the Dallas Cowboys muddied the waters on Tuesday ahead of the deadline. Despite falling to 3-6 on the season with Dak Prescott out several weeks, the Cowboys opted to trade a fourth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers for Jonathan Mingo and a seventh-round pick.
This overpay does not make much sense for Dallas, and it may lock the Chargers out of the wide receiver trade market.
Cowboys' overpay hurts the Chargers' chances of trading for a wide receiver
There is such a thing as market price in the NFL and the Cowboys just raised the market price for wide receivers. Other teams in the league are going to look at this Mingo deal, which is a massive overpay, and use it as evidence to increase the trade cost for wide receivers.
If the Chargers were the only team in the NFL that needs a wide receiver then it would not matter. Hortiz could call another team's bluff and execute a trade at a reasonable price.
But that is not the reality of the situation. There are several teams throughout the league who need wideouts and are in a more desperate position to trade capital. If it turns into any kind of bidding war, the Chargers will justifiably back out.
Neither Mike Williams nor Darius Slayton, who are the two biggest names Chargers fans have clamored for, are worth anything more than a sixth-round pick. With Mingo going for a fourth, the New York Jets and New York Giants should raise their asking price to at least a fifth.
For context, Mingo has 55 receptions for 539 yards with no touchdowns since the start of 2023. Quentin Johnston, who has been hailed as a draft bust, is better than him in every statistical category despite playing one fewer game.
Chargers fans may need to pivot away from the idea of trading for a wide receiver and instead focus on more reasonable trade targets. You can thank the Dallas Cowboys for that.