The 2022 NFL Draft is officially in the books and it is time to pivot from countless mock drafts and draft scenarios to breaking down what actually happened in the draft. For the most part, the LA Chargers' selections in the draft fell on the unexpected side with the draft itself being a wild one.
The majority of Charger fans seem to be grading the draft in the B- to B+ range with my personal grade for the draft being a C+. Regardless of how you feel about the draft as a whole, there are some key takeaways from the Bolts' eight selections in the draft.
4 takeaways from the LA Chargers' selections in the 2022 NFL Draft:
1. Trevor Penning was likely never in the equation for the LA Chargers
The LA Chargers selected Zion Johnson with the 17th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and in the process showed their hand about their feelings about Trevor Penning. Right tackle was the bigger need because of the position and ability to still re-sign Oday Aboushi but instead, the Bolts went with a guard in Zion Johnson.
There is no denying that Johnson is the better prospect heading into the league and some believed that the team had the intention of playing Johnson at left guard and kicking Matt Feiler out to right tackle. Nope. Tom Telesco said in a press conference after the first round that the Chargers view Johnson as a right guard.
This selection, and the fact that the Bolts took Johnson over Trent McDuffie, who was the next-best available on the board, showed that no matter what, the Chargers probably were not going to take Trevor Penning. There was never going to be a reality in which both Johnson and McDuffie were off the board at 17 and Penning was the best available. And if they were, that would have meant another top prospect (like Kyle Hamilton or one of the top receivers) would have fallen instead.
Either way, many fans' nightmare scenario of the Bolts getting Trevor Penning was likely never in the cards.