3 players the Chargers could have drafted instead of Tre' McKitty

After not making a single trade at the NFL trade deadline, the LA Chargers decided to cut ties with one of the worst players on the roster: Tre' McKitty. McKitty, a 2021 third-round pick, was made a healthy scratch in Week 7 and clearly wasn't producing at the level that the Chargers thought he would.

Waiving McKitty is a painful reminder of some whiffs that the Chargers have had in the NFL Draft. While there have been good selections, there is too long of a list (especially in recent years) of players who did not make an impact in LA.

Hindsight is always 20/20 but it is even more painful considering who the Chargers could have taken instead of McKitty. Technically, anyone taken after the 97th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft would apply but there are three realistic players, in particular, that the Chargers legitimately could have picked instead of the Georgia tight end.

The Chargers could have drafted Quinn Meinrez (taken 98th)

This is not totally a hindsight selection as Quinn Meinrez was a very popular name for Chargers fans leading into the 2021 NFL Draft. Heck, right after the 2021 NFL Draft happened we wrote on Bolt Beat that the Chargers should have taken Meinrez over McKitty.

Instead, the Denver Broncos drafted Meinrez one pick after the Chargers took McKitty and he has turned into what Chargers fans thought he would be: a production interior offensive lineman. Meinrez is a dog and he certainly could have helped the Bolts in 2021 and beyond.

Just imagine a world where the Chargers took Meinrez in 2021 and were comfortable enough with him starting in 2022. Then, the need for Zion Johnson would not have existed and the team could have gone a different direction. Maybe then the Chargers would have actually taken Trent McDuffie, gving the team a legitimate CB1 prospect.

The ripple effect of taking Meinrez could have been huge.