What the Chargers' 2022 draft class would have been without Khalil Mack trade

3. The LA Chargers would have signed Tyrann Mathieu + other draft implications

Without the Khalil Mack trade I do believe that the Chargers would have spent that cap space on Tyrann Mathieu, who the team had some interest in earlier in the offseason. Mathieu ended up signing with the New Orleans Saints after the draft on a three-year, $42 million contract with $26.8 million guaranteed. Meanwhile, Mack is under contract for another three years worth $63.9 million.

Mathieu has a $5.9 million cap hit this season and the Chargers would have manipulated in a manner similar to Mack to make it work for the team. Regardless, we would assume that the Chargers would have the same aggressive mindset and would sign the safety help that the team is getting from JT Woods instead.

This would have been an interesting situation as it would have given the Chargers two interchangeable pieces in the secondary with Mathieu and Derwin James. For what it is worth, I would rather have Mack as I think he will be more impactful and will age better than Mathieu.

So how would the rest of the draft be impacted? The Chargers would have likely made the same decision in the fourth round and taken the RB2 for next season in Isaiah Spiller. However, in taking Leal in the third, defensive line would not have been a need for the team in the fifth.

Instead of Otito Ogbonnia, I think the Chargers would have taken Samuel Womack. They showed us that the secondary was an area of need and Womack fits the same athletic billing as the guys that the Chargers actually took. The later rounds would remain the same, although the Chargers would still look to trade two seventh-round picks for a future sixth.

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What do you think of this hypothetical scenario in which the Chargers never traded for Khalil Mack? Let us know in the comments down below.