1. Brenden Jaimes, RG
To be completely clear, I was a big fan of Brenden Jaimes in the 2021 NFL Draft. The Chargers drafting him in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft seemed like an absolute steal for the team as on paper, Jaimes was a quality depth guard with starting potential that was versatile.
I think the Chargers projected Jaimes to come along faster than he did considering they just signed Oday Aboushi to a one-year flier deal. Now a year later, it is hard to be comfortable with Jaimes being the starting option and it seems increasingly likely that the Bolts will bring Aboushi back on a one-year deal.
It would be shocking if Jaimes was tabbed as the starter in Week 1 because of Aboushi as well as the potential of drafting a guard in the 2022 NFL Draft. Like Norton, if Jaimes is starting in Week 1 then that is probably an indication that something went wrong.
Jaimes could very well be better in 2022 than Norton was in 2021 and it would not be a shock at all as there still is potential there. However, the fact that the Bolts would rather turn to Michael Schofield, who was on his way to retirement, than give Jaimes reps at right guard is concerning.
It is more concerning that the Bolts thought that Senio Kelemete was a better option at left guard against the Denver Broncos than Jaimes. Kelemete had arguably the worst game of the season and he beat out Jaimes for the job.
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Maybe the Chargers are just saving him but those two decisions are extremely telling in where Jaimes was last season.