Chargers can ruin the 2024 NFL Draft for Bills after Stefon Diggs trade

Just a few weeks after the LA Chargers traded Keenan Allen to create one of the worst wide receiver rooms in the league, the Buffalo Bills traded Stefon Diggs to create another painful wide receiver room with a franchise quarterback.

The Bills should actually be thanking the Chargers after this trade as without the Bolts, it may not have happened. It is beyond obvious that the Bills were in a hurry to get Diggs out of the locker room and the Texans may have been the only team willing to trade a valuable pick for him. If Allen gets traded to Houston instead of Chicago then the Bills probably would have had to take pennies on the dollar for Diggs.

Alas, Allen being traded to the Bears allowed the Bills to get maximum value for Diggs. Now Buffalo turns to adding a wide receiver in the 2024 NFL Draft and the Chargers have the opportunity to once again impact the Bills' WR room.

But this time, the Chargers may actually hurt Buffalo and take away who could be the team's ideal target in the first round of the draft.

Chargers could ruin Bills draft by trading down, drafting Brian Thomas Jr.

There has been a lot of talk around the Chargers potentially trading down in the 2024 NFL Draft. The most theorized package would be to trade the fifth overall pick to the Minnesota Vikings for the 11th pick, 23rd pick, and whatever future draft capital the Bolts can milk out of Minnesota.

While this writer would prefer if the Chargers just take one of the franchise receivers that will be available with the fifth pick, it is understandable why so many fans want to turn one first-round pick into two. With Joe Hortiz coming from a team that historically trades down a lot, it definitely is possible.

Trading down does not change the need at wide receiver, however, and the Bolts should still look to take one early in the 2024 NFL Draft. After the big three of Marvin Harrison Jr, Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze, LSU's Brian Thomas Jr. checks in as the obvious fourth option.

Thomas is not on the same tier as the big three but he is on his own tier above the rest of the draft class. He is a special talent with game-breaking speed that could absolutely turn into a legitimate WR1 in the NFL. He would need the right team with a great quarterback, but he has the skillset to be great.

After trading Diggs, it is probably the Bills' dream scenario to get Thomas in the first round. It may seem unlikely to some but he could fall. After all, Pro Football Focus ranks Thomas as the 28th prospect in the class and the Bills have the 28th pick.

Even if the Bills are worried about him falling to 28, the team could try and trade up a handful of spots to take him. But if the Chargers trade back and have the 23rd pick then the Bolts could stop that from happening.

The Bills don't really have the means to trade into the teens and would need Thomas to slip to the 24th pick to be able to reasonably move up and get him. At 23, the Chargers would serve as a barrier, and could prevent the Bills from even having a chance of taking Thomas.

Heck, the wide receiver need is so big that it would not be the most surprising thing in the world if the Bolts "reach" for him with the 11th pick and take a different prospect at 23. Either way, the Chargers trading back would be bad news for the Bills on the Thomas front.