The Chargers should consider trading this former first-round pick

The NFL offseason is effectively over as we enter the summer months that serve as a prelude to training camp. The LA Chargers were very active during the offseason, making a myriad of improvements to the roster that is sure to put the team in Super Bowl contention.

With a bloated roster and not a lot of cap space, the Chargers are likely done adding talent before the 2022 season. Anything can happen in the NFL but the chances of the Chargers making any kind of splashy addition is extremely slim.

However, the Chargers are going to have to trim down the roster and it would not be totally shocking to see the team trade talent away. Obviously, the Chargers need talent of value to trade away as no team is going to trade for an undrafted free agent who is going to get cut anyway.

The Bolts do have value to trade as they have a former first-round pick who may lose his spot in the rotation that could be of value to another team. The first-round pick I am talking about is, of course, Jerry Tillery.

What would a Jerry Tillery trade look like for the LA Chargers?

Jerry Tillery only has one more year under contract and the Chargers would not get a huge return for the former first-round pick. The absolute ceiling for what the Chargers could get in return is a sixth-round pick, with the most likely return being a seventh-round pick.

That might not seem like much for the Chargers but it is better than nothing, especially if Tillery does not end up getting a role in the defensive line rotation. Tom Telesco and Brandon Staley completely rebuilt the defensive line and there is a world in which Tillery is the sixth or seventh option.

If that is the case, I would rather see the Chargers give someone like Breiden Fehoko or Christian Covington a chance. We know what Tillery is at this point in his career and quite frankly, the Chargers signed a better version of Tillery in Morgan Fox after the 2022 NFL Draft.

With Fox, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Austin Johnson and Otito Ogbonnia, there are already four players head of Tillery that could make the case for more playing time. Add Fehoko and Covington and the Chargers have a rotation that is six deep and quite frankly, they would not be sacrificing much in losing Tillery.

Of course, this is all under the assumption that Tillery does not come into camp looking like a completely different player. If he improves then the Chargers are going to be more interested in keeping him around.

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However, if he looks like he is going to be more of the same then the Chargers would probably get more out of selling his first-round pick status for a pick in next year's draft.