Heading into Week 18 of the 2023 season there was an outside chance that the LA Chargers could jump into the top four of the 2024 NFL Draft and have a real chance of selecting Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr. The Chargers had to lose to Kansas City's backups (which they did) and needed the Arizona Cardinals to upset Seattle Seahawks.
Arizona nearly pulled off the upset and had a game-winning field goal attempt down one against Seattle. Matt Prater missed the kick, though, allowing the Cardinals to secure the fourth pick while the Chargers slot in with the fifth pick.
The dream of drafting the best wide receiver prospect to enter the draft in quite some time died for Chargers fans. However, that dream has yet again come alive, as Arizona drafting Harrison may not be as surefire as we all thought.
According to The Athletic's Dianna Russini, there has been some chatter around Arizona trading the fourth pick to a quarterback-hungry team that wants to move up. There is a chance that the top four picks in the draft are all quarterbacks, which would allow the Chargers to take Harrison with the fifth pick.
The Cardinals pick fourth in the draft, and some in the league believe they are open to trading back. Could we see four quarterbacks go with the top four picks? One general manager told me, “Absolutely!”
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 2, 2024
Teams will trade if they can get the value. https://t.co/Nzod31U0n6
Chargers now have a real chance at drafting Marvin Harrison Jr.
General manager Joe Hortiz has made it clear that he is going to draft the best player available with the fifth pick and there is no question that Harrison would be the best if he fell to five. Harrison is arguably the most talented prospect in this entire draft class (even over Caleb Williams), he just does not play the quarterback position.
Harrison is a franchise-altering prospect. It might seem unfair, or extreme, to say that someone who has never even stepped foot on an NFL field can change a franchise. But that is how great Harrison is. Sometimes you just know when a prospect is going to be a game-changer and Harrison is as safe of a bet as they come.
As great as Malik Nabers is (and he would also be a great pick at five), Harrison is just a level above. Nabers would be the WR1 in many of the recent draft classes but not this year because he has a generational prospect that he is coming into the league with.
That is how special Harrison is and alongside Justin Herbert, Jim Harbaugh would have an elite offensive tandem that could lead the team to a Super Bowl. It is not crazy to say that Harrison would be at least a Pro Bowler in his rookie year, and could be an All-Pro as early as his sophomore season in the league.
This is the new dream scenario for LA Chargers fans. Forget taking Nabers, or trading down in the draft to pick up more capital. The best-case scenario for the Bolts in the 2024 NFL Draft is the first four picks being quarterbacks.