Chargers make genius trade in ESPN's latest 2024 NFL mock draft

There is a lot of speculation about what the LA Chargers might do in the 2024 NFL Draft. With the fifth overall pick in Jim Harbaugh's first draft with the team, the Bolts have a real opportunity to add a franchise-altering player and a great draft class behind it.

Many are predicting that the Chargers won't end up with the fifth overall pick, however. With this draft class being so quarterback-heavy, the door is wide open for the Chargers to trade back and accumulate draft capital to build out the roster.

The Minnesota Vikings have been circled as the team to trade back with and that is exactly what ESPN's Mel Kiper predicted would happen in his latest 2024 NFL mock draft. However, Kiper predicted that the Chargers would make another trade early in the 2024 NFL Draft, and that trade is the one that Chargers fans should be excited about.

Chargers trading down in second round would be pure genius

If the Chargers were able to swing a trade like this it would be in the best interest of the franchise. For moving down just 15 spots in the second round, the Chargers would pick up an extra third-round pick as well as a pick in the middle of the sixth round.

Unless there is a first-round prospect that falls to the second round and is impossible to pass on, the Chargers wouldn't be sacrificing much to make a move like this. After all, picks in the second round can be a crapshoot and the Chargers can potentially land the same prospect they would have taken at 37.

Kiper has the Bolts taking defensive tackle Ruke Orhorhoro with the 52nd pick. Orhorhoro is not the best fit for the Chargers logistically, but the logic behind trading down 15 spots to accumulate those extra picks remains.

The Chargers can also do this without trading down in the first round. This could truly be a best-of-both-worlds situation where the Chargers land a franchise receiver with the fifth pick but still manage to add extra draft capital by moving down in the second.

This is the kind of savvy draft move that the Chargers never made under GM Tom Telesco. With Joe Hortiz now calling the shots, don't be surprised if the Bolts pull off something like this to build up the roster without losing out on the chance to take a top-tier prospect.