NFL Rumors: Chargers could stop Chiefs from potential first-round target

The 2023 NFL Draft is just over a week away and with that, the NFL rumors are starting to swirl. NFL fans are starting to get a better idea of what the draft could look like, allowing Chargers fans to piece together what may be available to the team with the 21st overall pick.

The direction that the team takes in the first round has been hotly contested by fans this offseason. There is not a pressing first-round need for the Bolts so it very well may boil down to who the best player is on their board, regardless of position, when they are on the clock.

That being said, there could be some added motivation of trying to keep certain prospects from falling to division rivals. If there is a tie between two prospects on the team's big board then the tie very well could go to the player who might end up in the AFC West anyway.

Of course, this is all just conjecture but the Bolts still can steal away prospects that potentially interest their division foes. The latest example of that would be Boston College's Zay Flowers.

NFL Rumors: Chiefs potentially interested in Zay Flowers, who the Chargers could steal at 21

Of course, Flowers working out with Patrick Mahomes does not guarantee anything but it is enough to raise an eyebrow at. You don't bring in someone to work with your star quarterback if there is not at least some level of interest there.

Some fans have pointed out the possibility of the Chargers trading down from 21 to 31. Kansas City has been pegged as a potential trade-up team in this year's draft and that would help the Bolts have a better draft class. But if that package is not there, it is not absurd to think that Flowers could be the pick at 21.

Flowers does not seem to be fans' favorite option in the first round but there is still a lot to like about him. He has top-end speed that can help open up the vertical part of the field and he is also a playmaker with the ball in his hands.

He is undersized and that goes against what the Chargers traditionally draft but he also would instantly fill a need that the team has. Flowers would be the team's kick and punt returner on day one and would essentially give the Bolts a rich man's version of DeAndre Carter.

Flowers would have a lesser role in his rookie year before blossoming into a bigger role in the offense in 2024 and beyond. There absolutely is an upside to his game and it is not hard to see the Chargers selling themselves on this vision with the 21st pick.

It is even easier to see the team selling itself on this vision if they already like Flowers and are worried that he will end up in Kansas City instead.

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