Chargers big board: Ranking the best prospects for the Bolts at 17
By Jason Reed
4. Trevor Penning, OT, Northern Iowa
Trevor Penning has a lot of raw attributes that are really easy to get excited about but there could also be quite the learning curve when he makes the jump to the NFL level coming from Northern Iowa. Penning certainly is raw as a prospect and may not be that impact starting right tackle for the Bolts in 2022.
That being said, Penning still has a really high ceiling as an NFL right tackle and he should definitely still be better than Storm Norton was for the team in 2021. The Bolts have the right pieces to make life easier for Penning, including a gifted blocker in Tre' McKitty that can help on that right side.
If the Chargers are drafting for positional need then Penning might be the pick. But if we are talking about pure talent and the ceiling of the team, he checks in at four.
3. Zion Johnson, IOL, Boston College
I personally am not a huge fan of the Chargers moving Matt Feiler from left guard to right tackle and drafting a guard in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. My personal thoughts aside, it is something that Daniel Popper of The Athletic has mentioned multiple times, and for that reason, cannot be ruled out.
For that reason, from a pure prospect talent standpoint for the Chargers, Johnson ranks higher than Penning on this Chargers big board. Johnson would start at left guard with the team, in theory, signing Oday Aboushi to play right guard and moving Feiler to right tackle.
Johnson has a very high floor as an NFL guard and will be a solid starter no matter what. However, there is still another interior offensive lineman I like more for the Chargers. More on that on the next page.