5 realistic centers the Chargers can add to replace Corey Linsley
By Jason Reed
Corey Linsley is likely calling it a career just three years into the record-setting five-year contract that he signed with the LA Chargers. Linsley spent most of the season on the IR with a non-emergent heart issue in 2023 and gave it a "99%" chance that he would be forced into retirement.
The Chargers restructured Linsley's contract on Monday, all but confirming that the Pro Bowl center would be heading into retirement. This is a situation that the Chargers have had plenty of time to prepare for as the team now must pivot and find its next starting center.
Finding a center as impactful as Linsley can be hard but there are a few different avenues that the Chargers can take to replace him. All in all, there are five realistic center options that the Chargers should be circling as potential Linsley replacements.
Chargers could draft a trio of talented mid-round centers to replace Corey Linsley
The first path that the Chargers could take to replace Linsley adds three names to the list. This is the most likely path (because there are more options) and it is the best use of overall resources for the team. If the Chargers look to solve the center equation in the third or fourth round in the 2024 NFL Draft then there are three names to circle:
- Sedrick Van Pran
- Beaux Limmer
- Drake Nugent
While it might seem dicey to trust a mid-round rookie to be the team's starting center, all three prospects are talented and it is not unheard of for great centers to come out of the middle rounds of the NFL Draft. All three players have the tools to succeed at the next level, and while there may be a learning curve, the Chargers can be hopeful that whoever they draft here will blossom.
Drake Nugent will probably be the last of the three to be selected but he might be the favorite to be drafted by the Chargers as is coming into the league from the University of Michigan. Nugent was a staple of Jim Harbaugh's offensive line in Ann Arbor and he may look to continue that in Los Angeles.