The LA Chargers have the 17th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and more so than the last two years, it is hard to predict what the Bolts are going to do with the pick. There are several needs that could be addressed and the direction that the Bolts go is going to be decided by the 16 picks before they are on the clock.
There are certain prospects that the Chargers are going to hope fall to them with the 17th pick. However, while players fall in the draft every year, there is no guarantee that the Bolts end up with any of those players. In fact, the Chargers' dream scenario with the 17th overall pick might not involve any of those prospects.
The Chargers' dream scenario involves trading down from the 17th overall pick.
There has been a lot of talk about the Chargers potentially trading down in the 2022 NFL Draft and the best-case scenario for the team is a very specific trade down. Of course, there is a chance that this trade is not even possible, but if it is, the Bolts should jump all over it.
This dream scenario involves the Chargers trading down with the New York Jets. The Jets have two picks in the top-10 of the draft as well as two picks in the early second round. Depending on who the team takes in the first round, and who is on the board at 17, there could be reason to move up.
Getting three top-20 prospects is more impactful to a team like the Jets, especially if there is someone who falls to 17 that was a borderline top-10 prospect. The Jets could end up getting Ahmad Gardner at four, Charles Cross at 10 and then move up to get someone like Jameson Williams, Chris Olave or Treylon Burks at 17. That would be quite the haul for New York.
In return, the Chargers would get picks 35 and 38 for pick 17. The value of pick 17 on the NFL Draft Pick Value Chart is 950 points. The value of those two picks is 1,070. It favors the Bolts slightly, but they can throw in one of their compensatory picks to even it out. If there is someone who the Jets really like at 17, they are not going to avoid moving up because of the draft value chart.
This dream scenario does not just involve the Bolts moving down to get an extra pick in the top 40, it also involves very specific prospects being on the board to take with those two picks. Let's jump into those prospects.