Jauan Jennings emerged as a potential target for the LA Chargers the moment the Bolts hired Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator. After all, McDaniel previously coached Jennings in San Francisco and runs the Kyle Shanahan-style offense that Jennings has made a career out of.
Those who closely follow the Chargers know that Jennings was never going to be signed before the NFL Draft. General manager Joe Hortiz loves compensatory picks too much and won't sacrifice the projected third for Odafe Oweh by signing Jennings before the draft. This dynamic always put a natural timeline on any Jennings move.
That timeline may crumble entirely, though, based on how Jennings views himself. An anonymous NFL head coach told Matt Barrows and Vic Tafur of The Athletic that Jennings is asking for too much money and that he has "outplayed his talent".
If there's one thing this Chargers front office won't do, it's overpay for a free agent.
Jauan Jennings' is making himself too expensive for the Chargers
It's unclear what exactly Jennings is asking for in free agency but it's definitely a pretty penny. The wide receiver market has been bloated, just look at Alec Pierce, and it would not be surprising if Jennings is asking for a deal in the $20 million AAV range.
Regardless of what the asking price actually is, it's clear the league does not value Jennings as much as he values himself. And if the general league consensus is lower on Jennings, then the frugal Chargers are definitely valuing Jennings less than he is valuing himself.
This also indicates that the league doesn't believe Jennings' talent is solely his own doing. There is a natural Shanahan bump that is coming with his production that impacts his price. While the Chargers can replicate that with McDaniel, it also shows that McDaniel can simply do that with someone else.
That someone else could be Tre' Harris, who LaDainian Tomlinson went as far as to compare to Keenan Allen. And even if Harris doesn't reach that standard, the Chargers can still re-sign Allen himself for less than Jennings will sign for.
Heck, Tyreek Hill would be a better option at a lesser price point than Jennings. There are simply too many options for the Chargers to chase after someone who views himself more favorably than the rest of the league.
One of two things will happen: Jennings will either come down to Earth and his aggressiveness in free agency will result in him signing a cheap prove-it contract in a depleted market, in which the Chargers will be interested. That, or the Chargers will simply tell Jennings' camp they are not interested in overpaying a non-needle-moving asset.
As it stands right now, door No. 2 seems far more likely.