Chargers have perfect 2022 NFL Draft trade-down after Khalil Mack trade

The LA Chargers made a massive blockbuster trade on Thursday as the team added Khalil Mack for the price of a second-round pick in 2022 and a sixth-round pick in 2023. The Chicago Bears' incentive in the deal was to free up Mack's salary as the Bolts will take on his contract for the next three years.

Chicago is still paying some dead cap on Mack in 2022 but will be completely free of the contract in 2023. Mack does come at a pretty penny but is manageable for the Chargers, especially with outs later in his deal that the team can execute if need be.

This is an emphatic statement from Tom Telesco and Brandon Staley that comes after the team paid up to bring Mike Williams back into the fold. Based on what we have seen thus far, the Chargers do not appear to be done being aggressive and will continue to try and rebuild the roster in any means necessary.

Which could entail the Chargers trading back in the 2022 NFL Draft

The LA Chargers do still have money to spend this offseason, especially considering they can cut Bryan Bulaga to free up space, frontload contracts with the salary cap expected to grow substantially over the next two years, and can still restructure contracts to free up another $57 million if they really wanted to.

The Bolts are obviously going to still want to infuse young talent into the team from the 2022 NFL Draft and having as many picks in the top-100 that can be true impactful players is important. After trading away the second-round pick for Mack (which is absolutely worth it), the Chargers can be savvy and pick up some draft capital in return.

This deal likely won't happen until actual draft night but once the Bolts are on the board with the 17th overall pick they should be calling the Pittsburgh Steelers, who will likely be looking to select a quarterback in the first round. With a potentially quarterback-hungry team in the Saints at 18, 17 is the spot for the Steelers to move up and get their QB without paying too much.

The trade is simple: the Bolts send the 17th overall pick (and maybe one of their two sixth-round picks) to the Steelers in exchange for the 20th pick and the team's third-round pick. The Bolts would be replacing their second-round pick with a third-round pick at the cost of moving back just three spots.

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It would be a genius trade and would continue the aggressive and savvy mindset that Tom Telesco and Brandon Staley have this offseason.