The 2023 NFL Draft is nearly upon us and the speculation around who the LA Chargers and the other 31 teams in the league will bring in is continuing to grow. As always, the conversations around the quarterbacks in this class have taken precedence with several QB-hungry teams looking to potentially add a franchise guy.
Los Angeles is not in the market for a quarterback and shouldn't be for a long time with Justin Herbert under center (who will hopefully ink his contract extension this summer). That being said, the Chargers can still benefit from the quarterback class in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The team specifically might benefit from Tennessee's Hendon Hooker, who has been climbing up the draft boards and gaining speculation as a late first-round pick. In a perfect world, Hooker would be the key to the Chargers maximizing their draft return in 2023.
Hendon Hooker may help the Chargers trade down in the 2023 NFL Draft.
With the Chargers needing depth more than anything and having multiple directions to take in the first round, trading back and picking up another pick in the top 75-100 would be the best-case scenario. This is something that Tom Telesco has never done with the Bolts but already hinted at this offseason.
Teams are much more likely to want to trade down for a position like quarterback and the Chargers are in a key spot for potential QB-hungry teams to move down to because of the teams directly behind LA. Baltimore and Minnesota have the 22nd and 23rd picks in the draft and both are threats to take a quarterback.
if a team like the Las Vegas Raiders doesn't take a QB early in round one and wants to move down from its early second-round pick then they might have to bite the bullet and do business with the Chargers. If they wait until pick 22 or later then it could be too late.
This is more than just a pipe dream, though. According to ESPN Analytics' Draft Day Predicter, Hooker is the fourth-most likely player to be selected with the 21st overall pick. The first three, in order, are Zay Flowers, Calijah Kancey and Jordan Addison. All of those would be Chargers' selections.
Hooker, obviously, would not be a selection by the Chargers. So while you are watching the 2023 NFL Draft this year be sure to keep an eye on Hooker and his draft status. If he is there at 21 we could see some movement.