ESPN predicts 2 overwhelming favorites for the Chargers with the 5th pick

There has been a lot of chatter about what the LA Chargers are going to do with the fifth overall pick. Los Angeles could either select a franchise-altering prospect high in the draft or leverage the team's draft position to accumulate more capital.

Then there is also the debate around what position the Chargers should target wherever they end up in the draft. On one hand, the Bolts have one of the thinnest wide receiver rooms in the league but on the other hand, they have a head coach and offensive coordinator who want to run the ball.

Fans won't truly know what is going to happen until it happens later in April but there have been a lot of outlets forecasting what will happen. That includes ESPN, who released its annual NFL Draft Day Predictor that gives a percentage chance for when each prospect will be taken in the first round.

ESPN overwhelmingly predicts Chargers to draft a wide receiver with No. 5 pick

LSU's Malik Nabers is the favorite to be taken with the fifth pick, with ESPN giving it over a 35% chance that he will be taken by the Bolts. Nabers is not the only prominent receiver who has good odds of going to the Chargers, though, as Marvin Harrison Jr. also has a high-percentage chance of going to the Bolts.

ESPN gives it a 29% chance that Harrison will be taken with the fifth pick. He is still favored to go fourth overall to the Arizona Cardinals (over 30%), but there is a massive drop-off after the fifth pick (12%).

Between Nabers and Harrison, ESPN gives the Chargers a 64% chance of drafting a wide receiver with the fifth pick. If we include Rome Odunze, that jumps to 66%. Here are all the projected favorites to be taken at pick No. 5:

• Malik Nabers - 35%
• Marvin Harrison Jr. - 29%
• Joe Alt - 10%
• J.J. McCarthy - 7%
• Jayden Daniels - 5%
• Drake Maye 5%

The quarterbacks in this list are obviously in the case that the Chargers trade down to a quarterback-hungry team. It is worth mentioning that McCarthy is an overwhelming favorite to be drafted with the No. 6 pick.

Quite frankly, all of this makes perfect sense. We are in the part of draft season where every pundit and analyst overthinks the draft and makes new mock drafts and big boards just to be different from everyone else.

That is not to say that the Chargers won't take a different position or trade down in the draft but it is abundantly clear that wide receiver is the pick.