The Los Angeles Chargers need to make the most of the 2026 NFL Draft, especially in regards to bringing in offensive weapons for Mike McDaniel to work with.
Although their running back room is relatively set with Omarion Hampton and Kimani Vidal, the draft could present an opportunity to bring in an additional back with the skill-set to fit McDaniel's outside-zone scheme.
Demond Claiborne out of Wake Forest has emerged as a serious option in the later rounds. He displayed enough speed and lateral cut ability at the college level to take on a workload as a utility back even as a rookie. This is not an RB-heavy draft. But if Los Angeles is able to grab him with one of their two sixth-round selections, it would be a major victory.
Claiborne's performance at the NFL Combine could make this a much more difficult task.
Demond Claiborne may have improved his draft stock with an impressive Combine showing
In his senior season at Wake Forest, Claiborne put up impressive numbers on a heavy workload. Across 12 games, he totalled 907 yards and 10 touchdowns on 179 attempts. Although he did not take on special teams duties in 2025, he had extensive experience as a return man during his sophomore and junior seasons.
For the Chargers, a speedy back such as Claiborne could add a much-needed change of pace to their offense, even if he is not called upon often.
But if his Combine performance vaults him into the fourth or fifth round of the draft, this could all be a moot point. Mike Washington Jr. and Jerimiyah Love led the way at the Combine in terms of running back athleticism, but Claiborne's 4.37-second 40-yard dash put him in the same echelon as those two players. He also recorded a 10'2" broad jump.
Although those were the only two events he participated in, he showed enough to turn the heads of teams looking for an athletic weapon to add to their offense. He's been linked to teams like the Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans in various mock drafts as early as Round 4, per NFL Mock Draft Database.
While Los Angeles does not have a fifth-round selection, their fourth-round pick is still intact. But would they truly want to spend that level of capital on a running back? With the needs they have on the defensive side of the ball and the opportunity to grab an offensive lineman in that range, probably not.
A rise for Claiborne, therefore, could essentially take him off the table for the Chargers.